The document discusses debugging errors in code. It recommends first looking at the code and stack trace for clues, then searching online for the error message. If the problem remains unsolved, it advises posting on forums like StackOverflow, providing thorough technical context and details of attempts to solve it yourself. Finally, it emphasizes debugging independently before seeking outside help.

1. FIXING
GOOGLING THE ERROR MESSAGE
Tom Lous - @tomlous

2. BREAKIN
G THE
UNDERSTANDING THE
ERROR
Tom Lous - @tomlous

3. UNDERSTANDING THE ERROR
WE’VE ALL EXPERIENCED ERRORS AND
EXCEPTIONS IN OUR CODE
Tom Lous - @tomlous

4. UNDERSTANDING THE ERROR
SEEMS OVERWHELMING
FOR BEGINNERS
▸ BUT THE CLUE IS MOST OF THE TIME IN THE STACK TRACE
Tom Lous - @tomlous

5. UNDERSTANDING THE ERROR
SOMETIMES IT’S LESS OBVIOUS
▸not (always)
repeatable
▸warning instead of
error
▸inside async thread
▸works on my machine
▸events leading to
message are unclear
Tom Lous - @tomlous

6. FIXING THE ERROR
STEPS TO TAKE
▸Look at the code
▸Debug the code
▸Have someone else look
at the code
▸Write tests
▸Go online and search
Tom Lous - @tomlous

7. FIXING THE ERROR
GOOGLE IS YOUR FRIEND
▸only the relevant message
▸use “ “ to search for the
exact message
▸remove local info
Tom Lous - @tomlous

8. FIXING THE ERROR
GOOGLE IS NOT ALWAYS YOUR FRIEND
OR
Tom Lous - @tomlous

9. FIXING THE ERROR
… NOT EVEN WHEN THERE IS 1 HIT
Tom Lous - @tomlous

10. SHARE THE PROBLEM
POST YOUR PROBLEM
▸Any Tech Community
Forum, like:
▸StackOverflow.com
Tom Lous - @tomlous

11. STACKOVERFLOW.COM
WHAT IS IT?
▸Q&A site for programmers
▸Built & run by the community
Tom Lous - @tomlous

12. STACKOVERFLOW.COM
SEARCH FIRST
▸Was a similar question posted before?
▸Avoid basic questions
Tom Lous - @tomlous

13. STACKOVERFLOW.COM
DO YOUR OWN WORK
▸Don’t ask the community to do your work for you
Tom Lous - @tomlous

14. STACKOVERFLOW.COM
DO YOUR OWN WORK (2)
▸Don’t just dump your problem
Tom Lous - @tomlous

15. STACKOVERFLOW.COM
PROVIDE CONTEXT
▸Don’t just ask questions out of the blue
Tom Lous - @tomlous

16. STACKOVERFLOW.COM
WRITE THE PERFECT QUESTION
▸Imagine you’re trying to answer the question
▸Provide a good title: should be a question.
▸Give technical context
▸What language / platform / framework & versions
▸Give operational context:
▸What should happen, what happend, what did you already try?
▸Formulate your problem statement
▸Give sample code & data
▸Check spelling, grammar & formatting
Tom Lous - @tomlous

17. FINALLY
CONCLUSION
▸Write code yourself, everyone started as a beginner
▸Failure is always an option. Make many mistakes as fast as
possible
▸Try to solve it yourself first, if all else fails ask community for
help
Tom Lous - @tomlous

18. FINALLY
BUT MOST OF ALL
▸HAVE FUN!
Tom Lous - @tomlous