Rubber duck debugging
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Rubber duck debugging,[1][2] Rubber Ducking,[3] or the Rubber Duckie Test[4] is an informal term used in software engineering to refer to a method of debugging code. The name is a reference to an apocryphal story in which an unnamed expert programmer would keep a rubber duck by his desk at all times, and debug his code by forcing himself to explain it, line-by-line, to the duck.
The process is to meticulously explain code to an inanimate object, such as a rubber duck. It is expected that when the programmer comes across a piece of code that is incorrect, they will realize this[1]. The method exploits cognitive dissonance; the programmer will be confronted with the fact that their code is not what they intended to write.[5]
Similar terms
- Cardboard Programmer or Programmer's Dummy [6][5]
- Cardboard Coder
- Cone Of Answers [7]
- Thinking Out Loud [8]
References
- ^ a b Essential Equipment - The Third Bit
- ^ What is this particular type of revelation called? - Stack Overflow
- ^ Rubber Ducking - The Pragmatic Programmer
- ^ The Rubber Duckie Test - Technically Speaking
- ^ a b The Contribution of the Cardboard Cutout Dog to Software Reliability and Maintainability.
- ^ Cardboard Programer - The Pragmatic Programmer
- ^ Cone of Answers- The Pragmatic Programmer
- ^ Thinking out Loud - The Pragmatic Programmer
External links
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