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Understanding Software

Understanding Software

By : Max Kanat-Alexander
3.8 (11)
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Understanding Software

Understanding Software

3.8 (11)
By: Max Kanat-Alexander

Overview of this book

In Understanding Software, Max Kanat-Alexander, Technical Lead for Code Health at Google, shows you how to bring simplicity back to computer programming. Max explains to you why programmers suck, and how to suck less as a programmer. There’s just too much complex stuff in the world. Complex stuff can’t be used, and it breaks too easily. Complexity is stupid. Simplicity is smart. Understanding Software covers many areas of programming, from how to write simple code to profound insights into programming, and then how to suck less at what you do! You'll discover the problems with software complexity, the root of its causes, and how to use simplicity to create great software. You'll examine debugging like you've never done before, and how to get a handle on being happy while working in teams. Max brings a selection of carefully crafted essays, thoughts, and advice about working and succeeding in the software industry, from his legendary blog Code Simplicity. Max has crafted forty-three essays which have the power to help you avoid complexity and embrace simplicity, so you can be a happier and more successful developer. Max's technical knowledge, insight, and kindness, has earned him code guru status, and his ideas will inspire you and help refresh your approach to the challenges of being a developer.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
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Free Chapter
1
Table of Contents
2
Understanding Software
3
Credits
4
About the Author
6
Customer Feedback
7
Foreword
15
Index

Chapter 14. What is a Bug?

Okay, most programmers know the story – way back when, somebody found an actual insect inside a computer that was causing a problem. (Actually, apparently engineers have been calling problems "bugs" since earlier than that, but that story is fun.)

But really, when we say "bug" what exactly do we mean?

Here's the precise definition of what constitutes a bug:

  1. The program did not behave according to the programmer's intentions, or
  2. The programmer's intentions did not fulfill common and reasonable user expectations.

So usually, as long as the program is doing what the programmer intended it to do, it's working correctly. Sometimes what the programmer intended it to do is totally surprising to a user and causes him some problem, so that's a bug.

Anything else is a new feature. That is, if the program does exactly what was intended in exactly the expected fashion, but it doesn't do enough, that means it needs...

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