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The problem is older than I thought... (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/iiiiiiitttttttttttt@programming.dev
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I guess now we finally know why Babbage never finished building the Analytical Engine.

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[–] 164 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

And then had the wisdom to die before a computer capable of running her programs was invented, thus saving the bother of having to debug them.

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  • [–] 47 points 1 year ago

    Writes code.

    Realises that debugging code that was written by the lunatic that is yourself two nights ago is going to be a big part of her life.

    dies

    We've all had debugging sessions where that feels like the best option. Right?

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Debugging was easier when all you had to do was spray the room with fly spray and vacuum the tubes.

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    Just that the Analytical Engine she'd have had to debug was all gears and levers and cranks and linkages and shit. One wrong move and it'll take off a finger, or a hand, or more.

    In hindsight, if modern computers were like this, probably users would be different, too...

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I realize you jest, but I bet she did actually debug them by running through them by hand. I've found and fixed many bugs via code review without actually running into the bug during a run. Plus wtf else was there to do in the 1800s? Debugging might have been relatively highly entertaining in those days.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    I'm sure she did. I've also heard that when computers could run her code existed someone tried to run her programs and found several simple bugs that had not been seen before even though they are obvious. (I don't know how to verify that claim but it wouldn't surprise me)

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