Computational Thinking

5 ANTICIPATING AND DEALING WITH ERRORS

OBJECTIVES

• Explain techniques for preventing errors being introduced into your solution.

• Discuss how to mitigate the effects of errors that are introduced.

• Introduce a systematic approach to testing via top-down and bottom-up strategies.

• Show how to test individual parts of a solution in isolation.

• Discuss a number of debugging strategies.

• Explain how to manage the bugs found in your solution.

COMING TO TERMS WITH BUGS

I well remember when … the realization came over me with full force that a good part of the remainder of my life was going to be spent in finding errors in my own programs.

(Wilkes, 1985)

You should get used to the idea that solutions you create will not work flawlessly. They ...