Following is our list of the most famous debugging quotations and slogans. We've compiled this selection of inspirational debugging quotes. Hopefully, these debugging quotes will keep you motivated not only during hard times but to expand your debugging knowledge!
If debugging is the process of removing software bugs, then programming must be the process of putting them in. — Edsger Dijkstra
The most effective debugging tool is still careful thought, coupled with judiciously placed print statements. — Brian Kernighan
Programming allows you to think about thinking, and while debugging you learn learning. — Nicholas Negroponte
Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it. — Brian Kernighan
When debugging, novices insert corrective code; experts remove defective code. — Richard E. Pattis
Testing proves a programmer’s failure. Debugging is the programmer’s vindication. — Boris Beizer
Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence! — Edsger Dijkstra
Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow (e.g., given a large enough beta-tester and co-developer base, almost every problem will be characterized quickly and the fix obvious to someone). — Eric S. Raymond
Faultfinding without suggestions for improvement is a waste of time. — Ralph C. Smedley
Testing a product is a learning process — Brian Marick
Code never lies, comments sometimes do. — Ron Jeffries
First, I'd like to see the basic tools such as compilers, debuggers, profilers, database interfaces, GUI builders, CAD tools, and so forth fully support the ISO standard. — Bjarne Stroustrup
The trouble with programmers is that you can never tell what a programmer is doing until it's too late. — Seymour Cray
The trouble with programmers is that you can never tell what a programmer is doing until it's too late. — Seymoure Cray
Short Debugging Quotes
System debugging has always been a graveyard-shift occupation, like astronomy. — Fred Brooks
Each new user of a new system uncovers a new class of bugs. — Brian Kernighan
Premature optimization is the root of all evil in programming. — Tony Hoare
Premature optimization is the root of all evil. — Donald Knuth
The wages of sin is debugging. — Ron Jeffries
If you're as clever as you can be when you write it, how will you ever debug it? — Brian Kernighan
There has never been an unexpectedly short debugging period in the history of computers. — Steven Levy
System debugging, like astronomy, has always been done chiefly at night. — Fred Brooks
Would you rather Test-First, or Debug-Later ? — Robert Cecil Martin
People get annoyed when you try to debug them. — Larry Wall
As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had to be discovered. I can remember the exact instant when I realized that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in finding mistakes in my own programs. — Maurice Wilkes
We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. — Donald Knuth
We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. Yet we should not pass up our opportunities in that critical 3% — Donald Knuth
The most frequent complaint is that it's hard. True. it's a hard game to win Also, many people ask me how to use the secret debugging commands, apparently under the impression that I'll tell them. — Graham Nelson
The hardest part of the software task is arriving at a complete and consistent specification, and much of the essence of building a program is in fact the debugging of the specification. — Fred Brooks
If you want more effective programmers, you will discover that they should not waste their time debugging, they should not introduce the bugs to start with. — Edsger Dijkstra
Building technical systems involves a lot of hard work and specialized knowledge: languages and protocols, coding and debugging, testing and refactoring. — Jesse James Garrett
Treating your users as co-developers is your least-hassle route to rapid code improvement and effective debugging. — Eric S. Raymond
Early Apple machines - don't know how to answer what it was like since there were so few tools. Just had to keep debugging by isolating a problem, looking at memory in the limited debugging (weaker than the DOS DEBUG and no symbols) patch and retry and then re-program, download and try again. And again. — Bob Frankston
I realized that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in finding mistakes in my own programs. — Maurice Wilkes
The three most important aspects of debugging and real estate are the same: Location, Location, and Location. — Richard E. Pattis
The process of debugging, going an correcting the program and then looking at the behavior, and then correcting it again, and finally iteratively getting it to a working program, is in fact, very close to learning about learning. — Nicholas Negroponte
Real software engineers don't debug programs, they verify correctness. This process doesn't necessarily involve execution of anything on a computer, except perhaps a Correctness Verification Aid package. Sex without love is an empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, it's one of the best. — Woody Allen
Very clever implementation techniques are required to implement this insanity correctly and usefully, not to mention that code written with this feature used and abused east and west is exceptionally exciting to debug. — Erik Naggum
We can debug relationships, but it's always good policy to consider the people themselves to be features. People get annoyed when you try to debug them. — Larry Wall
Regardless of whether one is dealing with assembly language or compiler language, the number of debugged lines of source code per day is about the same! — Fernando J. Corbato
Science requires a society because even people who are trying to be good thinkers love their own thoughts and theories - much of the debugging has to be done by others. — Alan Kay
Most programs are not write-once. They are reworked and rewritten again and again in their lived. Bugs must be debugged. Changing requirements and the need for increased functionality mean the program itself may be modified on an ongoing basis. During this process, human beings must be able to read and understand the original code. It is therefore more important by far for humans to be able to understand the program than it is for the computer. — Yukihiro Matsumoto
Programmers waste enormous amounts of time thinking about, or worrying about, the speed of noncritical parts of their programs, and these attempts at efficiency actually have a strong negative impact when debugging and maintenance are considered. We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. Yet we should not pass up our opportunities in that critical 3%. — Donald Knuth
I find that getting something on the screen as soon as possible really helps focus the problem for me. It helps me decide what to work on next. Because if you're just looking at that big to-do list it's like, eh, I don't know which one I should do—does it matter which one I do? But if there's something you can actually look at, even if it's just the debug output of your mailbox parser, it's like, OK, there! — Jamie Zawinski
Customers are a great way to finance a business for many reasons. First, customer financing is typically non dilutive. They want something from you other than equity in your business. Customers also help you fit your product to the market. And customers will help debug and improve the quality of the product. — Fred Wilson
By recognizing that we are all human – we can break down and debug this idea that leaders have to be infallible. — Paul Jarvis
In Conclusion
Which quotation resonated with you best? Did you enjoy our collection of debugging quotes? Or may be you have a slogan about debugging to suggest. Let us know using our contact form.
Citation
Feel free to cite and use any of the quotes in this collection of debugging quotations. For popular citation styles(APA, Chicago, MLA), please use this citation page.