Word.ws English Dictionary

confessional debugging

confessional debugging noun: the debugging technique wherein a programmer explains a problem to someone else, and in the process realizes the source of it.

Noun

confessional debugging (uncountable)

  1. (informal, rare) The debugging technique wherein a programmer explains a problem to someone else, and in the process realizes the source of it.
    • Talk to someone else about the problem. Some people call this “confessional debugging.” You often discover your own error in the act of explaining it to another person.1993, Steve McConnell, Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, Microsoft Press, →ISBN, page 635
    • There are two more bits of strategy you might want to consider. Many programmers find “confessional debugging” to be one of the most useful techniques around. Confessional debugging works something like this: you grab your printouts and go into the next cubicle, interrupt the programmer working...2001, Paul Litwin, Ken Getz, and Mike Gunderloy, Access 2002 Desktop Developer’s Handbook, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, →ISBN, page 948

Examples of confessional debugging in a sentence

  • Many programmers find “confessional debugging” to be one of the most useful techniques around.2001, Paul Litwin, Ken Getz, and Mike Gunderloy, Access 2002 Desktop Developer’s Handbook, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, →ISBN, page 948:
  • Confessional debugging is surprisingly effective.2004, James P. Cohoon, Jack W. Davidson, Java 1.5 Program Design, McGraw Hill Professional, →ISBN, pages 672–673:
  • Programmers call the computer equivalent "confessional debugging." "Hey, Eric, can you look at this code?2004 May 25, “Mary K. Kuhner”, “Re: rec.arts.sf.compostion^([sic]) FAQ”, in rec.arts.sf.composition (Usenet):

Questions about confessional debugging

What does confessional debugging mean?
Confessional debugging means the debugging technique wherein a programmer explains a problem to someone else, and in the process realizes the source of it.
How do you use confessional debugging in a sentence?
Many programmers find “confessional debugging” to be one of the most useful techniques around.
What part of speech is confessional debugging?
Confessional debugging is a noun.

Words near confessional debugging in the dictionary

  1. confession box
  2. confession boxes
  3. confessional
  4. confessional chair
  5. confessional chairs
  6. confessional debugging
  7. confessional state
  8. confessionalise
  9. confessionalised
  10. confessionalises
  11. confessionalising

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: confessional debugging (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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