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Sam Jarman 👨🏼‍💻
Sam Jarman 👨🏼‍💻

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100 Bytes Of Wisdom: Day 23

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Now, this is a classic. You're 45 minutes into your code not working. You're reading docs, trying code, debugging hard. Suddenly, a new error. Whys it doing that?

A less wise developer might want to throw in the towel at this point? A new error!? I've made it worse!

No. A new error is progress. Something has changed. That's a clue! Why has it changed? What is it saying now? Can I google this one? Maybe I won't be alone in a forum by myself.

When debugging in times like these, there are always more clues. Keep poking and prodding with the tools you have until a path forward reveals itself. It takes a while to get these skills and they really only come with (horrible) experience but once you start to feel proficient with this, you'll feel like you have superpowers.

Heads up: As with any terse bit of advice, there will be exceptions of course, and subtleties and nuance that can't possibly be captured in a Byte of Wisdom. This has been what I've experienced, I'd love to hear yours in the comments too!

You can catch up with all the other bytes at http://bytesofwisdom.com/

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