Ars Technica has compiled some tips for solving bugs quicker from a question on Programmers Stack Exchange. Here are the highlights:
- Break out the notebook – keep a log of your progress and methodology
- Look for patterns and use the right tools for the job.
- Self-reflection time – a non-technical approach.
- Read and apply Working Effectively with Legacy Code
Danny Thorpe, former Borland Chief Scientist, had a conference session on Reading Tea Leaves: The Fine Art of Debugging. Luckily Joe White took some great notes, and Danny revisited some of his tips in another Stack Overflow answer.
I’m curious what tips and techniques you have for solving bugs, especially those really nasty ones. Are there specific tools your use? I know there is a lot of functionality in the Delphi debugger, much of which is rarely used to its fullest potential.