This document discusses how to become a successful bug hunter. It recommends training on the job by using internal resources like a skill matrix and composing your own expertise directory. When hunting bugs, it suggests thinking like a detective by collecting facts and suspects, being patient, and considering impossible explanations. The document also advises instrumenting code with checks, thinking outside the box, changing your perspective, and using principles like telling your findings to others and staying curious never to give up. Bug hunting is described as a learnable skill that sometimes requires intuition and luck.

1. In a world of bugs –
How to become a successful
bug-hunter?
by Georg Lohrer
from EmbeddedSuccess.com

2. The Trains

3. The Trains

4. License: CC0 Public Domain

5. Training on the job

6. 1st Carriage of the „People“-Train

8. Use your internal resources

10. Use a skill-matrix!

12. Compose Your Own Who‘s Who

13. 2nd Carriage of the „People“-Train

14. Non-Destructive vs. Destructive

15. Analyze the logfiles

16. Search the history

17. Drill and strip off
Blablablabla blabla
…
#if 0
blabla {
bla = blabla();
blablabla(bla);
bla(bla; bla; bla) {
…
}
if (bla > bla) {
blabla;
} then {
bla;
}
}
bla (bla ? bla : bla);
#endif
bla(bla);
}
Blablablabla blabla
…
blabla {
bla = blabla();
#if 0
blablabla(bla);
bla(bla; bla; bla) {
…
}
#endif
if (bla > bla) {
blabla;
} then {
bla;
}
}
bla (bla ? bla : bla);
}
Blablablabla blabla
…
blabla {
bla = blabla();
blablabla(bla);
bla(bla; bla; bla) {
…
}
if (bla > bla) {
blabla;
} then {
bla;
}
}
bla (bla ? bla : bla);
}

18. Instrument your code
int foo(double& y) {
int x = 0;
x = enumerate(y);
return x;
}
int foo(double& y) {
int x = 0;
ENSURE(y >= 0.0);
x = enumerate(y);
ASSURE(x > 10);
return x;
}
int foo(double& y) {
CHECKPARAM1(y);
STARTMEMCHECK();
int x = 0;
ENSURE(y >= 0.0);
x = dofoo(y);
ASSURE(x > 10);
ENDMEMCHECK();
return x;
}

19. 3rd Carriage of the „People“-Train

20. The Detective‘s Mindset
© ullrich / Fotolia

21. Collect facts

22. Collect Suspects

24. Do NOT trust witnesses!

25. Stay Patient

26. © HitToon.com / Fotolia

27. Sherlock Holmes
© HitToon.com / Fotolia
Once you eliminate
the impossible,
whatever remains,
no matter how
improbable, must
be the truth.
Arthur Conan Doyle

28. 4th Carriage of the „People“-Train

30. Thinking out-of-the-box

31. Think the Impossible

32. Change …

33. Change Your Perspective

34. Good Cop – Bad Cop
or
The Devil‘s Advocat

35. 5th Carriage of the „People“-Train

36. „Tell Your Dog“-Principle

37. 横 展開
Yoko Ten Kai
横 beside, lateral, horizontal
展開 deployment, development,
advance
Yoko Ten Kai

38. The Trains

39. Bug Hunting
… is a learnable skill
Finally

40. Bug Hunting
… is a learnable skill
Sometimes
You need a pinch of intuition and luck.

41. Keep in Mind
Stay Curious

42. Keep in Mind
Stay Curious Never Give Up

43. http://embeddedsuccess.com/podcast
https://de.linkedin.com/in/georglohrer
https://www.xing.com/profile/Georg_Lohrer
https://twitter.com/GeorgLohrer