A software bug is a defect, failure, error, or problem in software or the entire system that causes unexpected or incorrect results. Suppose you take refuge in your computer on a boring afternoon and are engaged in one of the best and most exciting computer games; You hit the keyboard keys with intensity and stress and monitor your opponent’s movements to show the best possible response. Suddenly you notice a weakness in your opponent, and you are ready to kill the enemy team in the last move when suddenly, Ding! The system gives an error, that too at the worst possible moment!
You can now throw the desk, keyboard, and monitor out of the window together! No problem, we understand you! Anyway, what happened to you is one of the most nerve-wracking things that gamers and all computer users sometimes experience and deal with: a software bug. In this article, we intend to get acquainted with the exact definition of the bug and its types and find solutions to deal with it, so stay with us until the end of this article!
What is a bug, and is it important?
A software bug is an error in programming or software. Errors cause various problems, from operational problems to system stability problems, usually caused by human errors during software programming. The term bug is mostly used for programming errors. Still, regardless of its original usage, any software error that occurs in a program’s reference code, elements, or operating system is called a bug. The problems and risks that these errors can cause are placed in different categories.
For example, one recent example is a bug in the iPhone operating system that prevented users from typing the letter “i.” Such a problem is not very dangerous, but some of these troubles can cause serious problems, Like the error in the Patriot missile system that occurred in 1991 and led to the failure of the missile system and the death of 28 people! Yes, some errors can be that troublesome!
How does a software bug occur?
A bug is usually nothing more than the result of bad coding. If there is wrong or imprecise code in a program or software coding, it can lead to problems ranging from unrelated output to the failure of the entire software. Such errors can be the result of a mistake or error or originate from a defect in the system. Software bugs should be identified and fixed during the program testing phase of the software development process.
But sometimes, a mistake remains in the program structure without being detected or fixed. A software bug can cause an app to freeze or crash completely, while others can only cause the software to close and not harm the system. For example, if the program is supposed to add two numbers together, it may make a mistake and subtract them or continue to work but return the wrong result.
The First Bug ever!
Before dealing with the types of bugs and the available solutions to get rid of them, let’s first go back a little and see where such a phenomenon came from! It might be interesting for you to know that the first bug was discovered by someone to whom we owe many other technological advances: Thomas Edison! But the first bug was not a software error because at the time of its discovery, i.e., 1878, no computer had been invented yet!
You probably know that the word bug means insect in English. But have you ever thought to yourself, what is the reason for naming? Now that your curiosity is well piqued, it’s time to meet the world’s first and most real bug; An insect stuck inside one of Edison’s telegraphs and disabled its system! In the picture below, you can see this famous and impressive insect!
Finding insects in mechanical systems was common then, and this phenomenon caused Edison to call the problems in his projects a bug. With the expansion of electronic science and the invention of transistors, computers opened to the modern world, and this term also spread to software problems. As a result, a small and nosy insect caused the creation of a technical term in one of the most extensive branches of technology, computer engineering!
Types of software errors
There are different types of software errors that you encounter as a programmer. But these ten things that we mention below are the most common errors:
Defects in efficiency
Another type of software bug is related to the program’s speed, stability, response time, and resource consumption. This error is detected at the stage of measuring the program’s efficiency, which is one of the stages of software development. Such a problem, which happens to be very common, causes the program to work at a lower speed than the intended time or its response time to be longer than acceptable based on the defined characteristics of the project.
Functional error
When it comes to proper functioning, we expect all programs to work without errors, but things don’t always go well. When the program does not behave as we expect it to, we encounter a performance error. A functional error is a broad category of errors that can start from simple, functional problems, such as simple keys not working and the inability to use the software’s core functionality.
A functional error is usually found during the performance testing phase of the program. After performance testing, the person who evaluates the program may come across more specific errors after fixing the functional error and then put each in a specific category of the software bug and classify them according to the type of error. Pay to fix them.
Defects in the program’s capabilities
Deficiency in capabilities is an error that prevents the user from making the most of the program’s capabilities. This error makes it difficult or impossible to use a part of the program. Examples of problems related to defects in application capabilities can be seen in the complex layout of content or complex registration steps in an application. To find such errors in the application, software engineers and user experience designers during the application functionality testing phase must test their software against access to web content and other expected functionality and fix its defects.
Failure to adopt
An application compatibility error occurs when an application cannot work correctly and consistently on different versions of operating systems, hardware, and browsers or when running with certain software under certain conditions. These error models are not necessarily identified in different stages of program testing, so they are sometimes identified and reported by end users.
Therefore, compatibility tests are performed in different hardware and conditions to find such errors. An example of this bug is when the program has problems implementing the program’s font size, color, or layout. The font of the texts may be displayed with the wrong size or layout, while there is no such problem in a browser or other hardware.
Defects in safety
Security bugs are probably one of the most serious bugs a software engineer or developer can encounter. Security bugs can distinctly differ from other bugs because they make your project insecure. A security bug leaves your software, company, and customers vulnerable to a serious attack. These attacks can cause heavy financial losses, especially for smaller businesses.
Companies with fewer than 500 employees suffered a loss of around $205 million due to data errors, devastating for small and medium-sized businesses. The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has published a list of ten security risks. Still, many of the most common bugs include encryption bugs, vulnerability to SQL inputs, XSS vulnerabilities, buffer overflows, logic errors, and insecure authentication.
Typing errors in programming
This type of hardware bug occurs in the reference code of a program. Typing or syntax errors are one of the most common types of bugs in programming and prevent your program from working properly. Such problems occur when you miss a character or write it wrongly in the reference code. A misspelled command or placement of parenthesis and the like are examples of writing bugs that negatively affect your program. Usually, the development team finds this bug during the compilation stage of the program and fixes it easily.
Logical errors in programming
Logical errors are other bugs in coding that lead to wrong output, damage, or even shutdown of the program. A logical bug is a kind of disruption in the program flow that sometimes occurs in the form of an infinite loop. An infinite loop usually occurs due to poor or incorrect coding and causes the program to repeat an endless stream of reactions and produce countless false results. External intervention can only terminate this loop, such as closing the program or turning off the power supply.
Single step bugs
Another common type of error is single-step software bugs. When application code is written, Agile teams and other software developers typically perform single-step testing on the code, running smaller sections of the application as a separate program to ensure that it performs correctly and as expected. . In this one-step test, bugs such as calculation errors and simple logical errors are identified. Because you’re only dealing with a small portion of the reference code at this stage, it’s easier to find bugs and fix them than in other tests.
Critical system errors
This error model occurs when an error occurs in the interaction between two different subsystems. In general, identifying and fixing this type of software bug is more difficult than other bugs because, at this stage, several system software is involved, which are usually written by different developers. Examples of this bug include byte swapping, message parsing, and out-of-memory.
Data type mismatch
Data type mismatch is another common type of error. This bug occurs when a specific variable is assigned the wrong data type. Examples of this are when we put numeric characters in a part of the program that only accepts written characters such as names. This type of bug can be easily identified and corrected.
Are bugs always harmful?
First, we emphasize that we do not intend to ask you to accept or ignore these bugs by presenting this section. But the undeniable fact is that encountering bugs in programming is inevitable if you are a programmer. Every bug in the app can add positive features to you as a software developer. Every programming mistake you make is an opportunity to learn and improve your ability as a programmer.
How to identify and correct the bug?
Before offering any solutions, you should understand that no software is free of bugs. You should also know that, contrary to what it seems, developing and designing even very simple software is not easy. No matter how skilled a programmer is, it is still possible to find bugs in his code. Even a very small and seemingly insignificant typo can make software unreliable or unusable.
Runtime errors are just one of the worst effects an unresolved bug can have. As a result, it is necessary to perform various tests to fix bugs before delivering the program to the end user. There are six stages in the software development process, and the program testing stage is one of the most critical stages. Application testing should be done after design, but these steps can be done during the entire software development process or wait until the end of the work.
To ensure the correct operation of the program and the efficiency of all the features in the software, the program must pass a powerful and difficult test. During the testing phase of the program, any existing bugs and errors are identified and fixed.
However, sometimes it happens that some errors in the system remain undetected. This problem occurs for many reasons; For example, the end user may use the software in a way the developer did not foresee, causing the software to crash or produce erroneous results.
Suppose an end user or public use identifies a software bug. In that case, a healthy version of the application can be produced and released during the application life cycle maintenance phase. Software developers typically have access to a wide variety of solutions that can help them identify application bugs. For example, defensive programming solutions help identify typographical errors, while unit testing methodologies allow developers to test the functionality of each piece of software to identify potential bugs and errors.
A software bug can lead to a small annoyance or a big problem. In any case, the software developer’s responsibility is to detect, fix and correct all errors and bugs in a program to ensure its correct operation and accurate output. This article taught us about the history and types of software bugs. Every programmer’s life is filled with these errors and there is no escape from this problem! So if you are interested in programming, you should know that struggling with problems is an inescapable part of a programmer’s job position, although there is no need to worry.
Today, many interactive groups among programmers worldwide help in cooperation and interaction between them. People can share their experiences of facing problems with each other.