Find out what bugs are, why they happen, and how programmers track them down and fix them.
Even the most experienced programmers make mistakes — errors in code are called bugs, and fixing them is called debugging. The term ‘bug’ became famous in computing history when a real moth was found inside a computer in 1947, causing it to malfunction! Today, debugging is one of the most important and common skills a programmer needs. There are several types of bugs. A syntax error happens when code is written incorrectly — like a spelling or grammar mistake in English; the computer can’t understand it. A logic error means the code runs without crashing, but the output is wrong because the instructions don’t do what the programmer intended. A runtime error causes the program to crash while it’s running. Good debuggers approach errors systematically: re-reading the code carefully, tracing through it step by step, testing small sections, and using print statements to check what the program is doing at each stage. Debugging builds critical thinking, patience and problem-solving skills.
