Rubber Duck Debugging

Nick Holland on Flickr

Ducks, dolls, and other stuff make great programmers. Here's how it works.

Got an impossible coding error to figure out, no matter how many times you read your code, line after line? How do you solve an unsolvable problem?

Talk to a duck. Or a teddy bear. Or your Star Wars Pop! Vinyl doll (or American Girl doll). While it’s called Rubber Duck debugging, any inanimate object works.

If you sit your duck down next to your computer and carefully explain what your code is designed to do, then explain line by line how your code does what it’s supposed to do, at some point you will find a solution to your problem. You will find the bug. Or find an idea or two how to fix the problem.

While it’s fun to think of inanimate objects as master coders, when humans explain code in detail often they see things they don’t notice when simply reading code. The difference between what we think happens and what actually happens becomes clear.

So keep a duck or other favorite object by your computer when you code. While they might be happy to stand around all day, they also can help when you get stuck coding.

Learn More

Rubber duck debugging

Why Rubber Duck Debugging is the best way to debug your code

The Rubber Duck Story

Rubber Duck Problem Solving

Ask the Duck

How a Rubber Duck Taught Me to Be a Better Programmer

Also In The December 2017 Issue











