Meaning of confessional debugging | Babel Free

Definitions

The debugging technique wherein a programmer explains a problem to someone else, and in the process realizes the source of it.

informal, rare, uncountable

Examples

“Talk⟳ to someone else about the problem. Some people call⟳ this “confessional debugging.” You often discover⟳ your own⟳ error in the act of explaining it to another person.”

“There are two more bits of strategy you might want⟳ to consider⟳. Many programmers find⟳ “confessional debugging” to be one of the most useful techniques around. Confessional debugging works something like⟳ this: you grab⟳ your printouts and go into the next cubicle, interrupt⟳ the programmer working there, and say⟳, […]”

“If you have⟳ worked at a help⟳ desk, you have⟳ probably experienced the phenomena^([sic]) known as “confessional debugging.” A person is explaining the problem and as they do so, it suddenly dawns on them what the problem is. The act of explaining the code to someone makes you think⟳ a little more clearly, not skip⟳ steps, and so on. Confessional debugging is surprisingly effective.”

“Programmers call⟳ the computer equivalent "confessional debugging." "Hey, Eric, can you look⟳ at this code? I can't understand⟳ why it doesn't--oh! Never mind⟳."”

CEFR level