an underrated developer skill you should master

Most developers suck at debugging.

I used to suck too.

Why?

First of all, because I hated it.

Finding an error in your code makes you realize you also make mistakes.

Tons of mistakes.

So debugging always was at the bottom of my favorite tasks.

This brings me to the second point.

I didn’t like it, so I didn’t do it often enough!

Nobody does it often enough. And there is not enough training regarding debugging. Most courses and tutorials focus on how to build shiny new stuff!

My guess is you are not good at debugging because you’ve never been shown the proper way!

That’s a pity because debugging is one of the most frequent interview questions.

And it is also the easiest way for you to stand out in your team.

Saving the day when the application goes down is the easiest way to stand out.

Here are 3 ways you can get better at debugging and stand out:

1. Stop bugs before they happen: use Static Code Analysis (by integrating tools like ESLint in your codebase) and aim for an appropriate test coverage (85% is great). If your testing skills are rusty, you might want to level that up a bit. Start with unit testing but don’t obsess over it too much.

2. Detect bugs effectively: in the front end, for example, all browsers include powerful profiling tools to help you detect performance issues or memory leaks. In Chrome, you can analyze network connections, simulate slower CPUs, and do overall performance analysis using Lighthouse.

If you want to go even further, add a framework-specific profiler (React has its own, you can find it in your “Profiler” tab).

3. Trace them bugs like a pro: most developers' favorite debugging tool in JavaScript is still console.log(). It might be enough for beginners, but console logging every line of code is time-consuming and prone to errors.

A better way is to get familiar with conditional breakpoints in your IDE. Investing 10 minutes to set up your debugger in VS Code will pay off greatly. The watch feature is a lifesaver. Make sure you try it out.

I just realized you can save this email for your next technical interview.

You can bet some debugging questions will come up!

Well, give those 3 things a try, and you will be ahead of 95% of developers addicted to console.log(). But more importantly, you will become an authentic “Bug Hunter”!

If you like this email and want me to continue in this direction, just reply with “I like it.”

I will take note and do more of this kind of stuff.

Take care, Dragos “The Expert Debugger”

P.S. Interesting fact: your debugging skills might be related to your personality type. People that are big-picture thinkers struggle to find tiny bugs in huge codebases. Detail-oriented people will do better. If you are a big-picture person, focus on architecture and bug prevention more and pair up with one of your more detail-oriented colleagues when hunting nasty bugs.

Bogdan, for example, is an excellent debugger. The dude loves to dive deep into three different layers of code and find what’s not working. I always use him when faced with a dirty bug.

P.S. I am a bit under the water these days, so I am no longer taking calls on Wednesday. But we are filling up the next cohort for Software Mastery, so if you want to jump in, you have until the 15th of this month to join. Only if you want to gain more confidence in your technical skills, get to Senior faster, and earn more. What are you waiting for? Click here to see if you qualify! <https://www.theseniordev.com/apply>