PSA: A senior dev showed me how to debug with print statements properly

I was stuck on a Python script for 3 hours at a coworking space last month. A guy in his 60s walked over and saw me adding print statements everywhere. He told me to use the same variable name at each check point so I could see the flow clearly. That one tip saved me so much time, I honestly wished I learned it in my first coding class. Has anyone else had a simple trick from a stranger that just clicked?

2 comments

2 Comments

amyh125d agoTop Commenter

That trick reminds me how my grandma's kitchen timer fixed spaghetti timing better than any app could.

adam_baker5d ago

And my dad swore by a burnt-out lightbulb for timing his eggs.