RahulRachhoya Debugging
Process
- Reproduce — get a reliable reproduction case with minimal steps
- Read the error — stack traces tell you exactly where and what. Parse them fully before touching code
- Form a hypothesis — what could cause this? List 2-3 possibilities
- Isolate — binary search: comment out half the code, check if error persists. Use
git bisectfor regressions - Fix — smallest change that resolves the root cause
- Guard — add a test that would catch this bug, add logging for next time
Techniques
- Rubber duck: explain the problem aloud. The fix often appears mid-explanation
- Divide and conquer: binary search through commits (
git bisect), files, or functions - Minimal repro: strip away everything non-essential until only the bug remains
- Read the docs: especially for library/framework behavior you assume you understand
- Check the data: many bugs are not logic errors but unexpected input
Common Root Causes
- Null/undefined values where you expected a value
- Off-by-one in loops or indexing
- Race conditions from shared mutable state
- Incorrect assumption about API behavior
- Environment differences (dev vs prod configs)