The Clue by Four

I have sat here for hours, staring at the same error message. I have logged in excess of 20 changes to find this error. And then, with all the subtly and force of a 5kg hammer being applied directly to my overly thick skull, I read the error message. One simple change later and the problem is solved.

The art of debugging is to empty oneself of all preconceived notions before one begins and to keep oneself empty until the problem is solved.

Sigh
mikfire

Comment on The Clue by Four

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RE: The Clue by Four by awwaiid (Friar) on Jul 13, 2000 at 00:55 UTC
On a similar note... A novice asked the master: "I have a program that sometimes runs and sometimes aborts. I have followed the rules of programming, yet I am totally baffled. What is the reason for this?" The master replied: "You are confused because you do not understand the Tao. Only a fool expects rational behavior from his fellow humans. Why do you expect it from a machine that humans have constructed? Computers simulate determinism; only the Tao is perfect. The rules of programming are transitory; only the Tao is eternal. Therefore you must contemplate the Tao before you receive enlightenment." "But how will I know when I have received enlightenment?" asked the novice. "Your program will then run correctly," replied the master. -- The Tao of Computer Programming Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Brother mikfire. --awwaiid	[reply]
RE: The Clue by Four by frankus (Priest) on Jul 13, 2000 at 14:30 UTC
Was it Socrates who said "The greatest wisdom is in knowing that we know nothing" ? The most important thing is to feel no rancour or concern for the lost for hours, "Fear Anger these are the Dark side", The lesson meant spending 4 hours, next time 10 minutes, it's an investment. IMHO. Frankus.	[reply]
RE: The Clue by Four by Adam (Vicar) on Jul 13, 2000 at 01:58 UTC
A novice was trying to fix a broken Lisp machine by turning the power off and on. Knight, seeing what the student was doing spoke sternly: "You can not fix a machine by just power-cycling it with no understanding of what is going wrong." Knight turned the machine off and on. The machine worked. - Stolen from the Fortune program on BSDI BSD/OS 4.1	[reply]