Lessons from 20 Years of Debugging C++ Code

Explore a comprehensive guide to debugging C++ code based on 20 years of experience in this conference talk from ACCU 2023. Learn the entire debugging process, starting from a program crash to implementing preventive measures. Discover how to gather critical information, reproduce bugs, analyze behavior, and formulate hypotheses. Gain insights into understanding programming language intricacies, system environments, operating systems, and assembly code. Explore various debugging tools, including sanitizers, disassemblers, and reverse debuggers. Learn how to fix bugs effectively, considering both ideal solutions and minimal fixes for shipping releases. Understand the importance of writing tests, changing best practices, improving library code, adding runtime asserts, and implementing reporting infrastructure to prevent future occurrences. Benefit from real-world examples encountered at think-cell over the years to master the art of reproducing, locating, understanding, and fixing even the most challenging bugs in C++ code.