From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.7 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,MSGID_RANDY autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,75a8a3664688f227 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-01-12 17:24:04 PST Path: supernews.google.com!sn-xit-03!supernews.com!mtu.ru!newsfeed.direct.ca!look.ca!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!nntp2.deja.com!nnrp1.deja.com!not-for-mail From: Robert Dewar Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Parameter Modes, In In Out and Out Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 01:13:43 GMT Organization: Deja.com Message-ID: <93oa42$fsh$1@nnrp1.deja.com> References: <7Cx56.90736$A06.3322588@news1.frmt1.sfba.home.com> <937jab$s23$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <3A57CD7F.2228BFD5@brighton.ac.uk> <938p3u$omv$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93cagm$c1j$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93e4e6$ucg$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93encq$brm$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93f6ar$m44$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93flab$2mh$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93fqau$6m2$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93h9mo$bbm$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93il87$iqo$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93k6dv$qt6$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93ko49$auq$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93modu$36k$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <93n2co$alq$1@nnrp1.deja.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: 205.232.38.14 X-Article-Creation-Date: Sat Jan 13 01:13:43 2001 GMT X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla/4.61 [en] (OS/2; U) X-Http-Proxy: 1.0 x56.deja.com:80 (Squid/1.1.22) for client 205.232.38.14 X-MyDeja-Info: XMYDJUIDrobert_dewar Xref: supernews.google.com comp.lang.ada:3974 Date: 2001-01-13T01:13:43+00:00 List-Id: In article , Dale Stanbrough wrote: > Which, interestingly, is a very good description of > debugging. I find it amusing that what is often considered > the lowest form of "computer science" is the closest to the > process of science that most computer people get to. Very true, I had not specifically made this identification before, but you are absolutely right, and indeed, part of the skill in debugging is exactly the same kind of careful experimentation and theory formation that is characteristic of empirical science. This is especially true if you are dealing with a large program whose structure you are not completely familiar with. The other view of debugging is that it is for some people a kind of computer RPG game "in the large array on the right, you spot an uninitialized pointer ...." I definitely note that some people enjoy debugging a lot, and one of the interesting dynamics is that if you enjoy debugging, then there is not much incentive to write code right the first time. Personally I like programming, but I hate debugging, so I have a big incentive to get things right first time (and I find the clean room approach quite appealing :-) Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/