What we can learn from how programmers debug their code

Thomas Hirsch; Birgit Gertraud Hofer

doi:10.1109/SER-IP52554.2021.00014

What we can learn from how programmers debug their code

Thomas Hirsch, Birgit Gertraud Hofer

Institute of Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence (7160)

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference paper › peer-review

Abstract

Researchers have developed numerous debugging approaches to help programmers in the debugging process, but these approaches are rarely used in practice. In this paper, we investigate how programmers debug their code and what researchers should consider when developing debugging approaches. We conducted an online questionnaire where 102 programmers provided information about recently fixed bugs. We found that the majority of bugs (69.6 %) are semantic bugs. Memory and concurrency bugs do not occur as frequently (6.9 % and 8.8 %), but they consume more debugging time. Locating a bug is more difficult than reproducing and fixing it. Programmers often use only IDE build-in tools for debugging. Furthermore, programmers frequently use a replication-observation-deduction pattern when debugging. These results suggest that debugging support is particularly valuable for memory and concurrency bugs. Furthermore, researchers should focus on the fault localization phase and integrate their tools into commonly used IDEs.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021
Publisher	IEEE Computer Society
Pages	37-40
Number of pages	4
ISBN (Electronic)	9781665444767
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/SER-IP52554.2021.00014
Publication status	Published - Jun 2021

Publication series

Name	Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021

Keywords

debugging in practice
user questionnaire

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Software
Decision Sciences (miscellaneous)

Fields of Expertise

Information, Communication & Computing

Treatment code (Nähere Zuordnung)

Basic - Fundamental (Grundlagenforschung)

Access to Document

10.1109/SER-IP52554.2021.00014

Cite this

Hirsch, T., & Hofer, B. G. (2021). What we can learn from how programmers debug their code. In Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021 (pp. 37-40). Article 9474832 (Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021). IEEE Computer Society. https://doi.org/10.1109/SER-IP52554.2021.00014

What we can learn from how programmers debug their code. / Hirsch, Thomas; Hofer, Birgit Gertraud.
Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021. IEEE Computer Society, 2021. p. 37-40 9474832 (Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference paper › peer-review

Hirsch, T & Hofer, BG 2021, What we can learn from how programmers debug their code. in Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021., 9474832, Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 37-40. https://doi.org/10.1109/SER-IP52554.2021.00014

Hirsch T, Hofer BG. What we can learn from how programmers debug their code. In Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021. IEEE Computer Society. 2021. p. 37-40. 9474832. (Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021). doi: 10.1109/SER-IP52554.2021.00014

Hirsch, Thomas ; Hofer, Birgit Gertraud. / What we can learn from how programmers debug their code. Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021. IEEE Computer Society, 2021. pp. 37-40 (Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice, SER and IP 2021).

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What we can learn from how programmers debug their code

Abstract

Publication series

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Fields of Expertise

Treatment code (Nähere Zuordnung)

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

FWF - AMADEUS - Automated Debugging in Use

Cite this

What we can learn from how programmers debug their code

Abstract

Publication series

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Fields of Expertise

Treatment code (Nähere Zuordnung)

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

FWF - AMADEUS - Automated Debugging in Use

Cite this