Debugging Quote by Ellen Ullman
““Debugging: what an odd word. As if "bugging" were the job of putting in bugs, and debugging the task of removing them. But no. The job of putting in bugs is called programming. A programmer writes some code and inevitably makes the mistakes that result in the malfunctions called bugs. Then, for some period of time, normally longer than the time it takes to design and write the code in the first place, the programmer tries to remove the mistakes.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Bug” in her 2001 book “Close to the Machine”
Programming inevitably introduces errors; debugging is the process of finding and fixing those errors after code is written.
In simple terms: Programming creates bugs; debugging removes them.
Key Takeaway
Embrace debugging as essential problem solving.
Themes
software
programming
debugging
error handling
Mood
analytical
technical
Type
instructional
reflective
When to use this quote
- coding
- testing
- maintenance
- learning from mistakes
Key Concepts
software development
quality assurance
Questions to Reflect On
- What practices reduce the need for extensive debugging?
- How can you design code to minimize bugs?
A Different Perspective
Debugging can be time‑consuming and may mask deeper design issues.
![“I've always written. I'm from an older generation of programmers [who] did not come out of engineering. [A]ll sorts of people were drawn in from the social sciences and humanities.” quote by Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/341/ellen-ullman-3943_engineering_i-ve-always-written-i-m-from-an-older-ge_363898.jpg)
