Debugging is the systematic process of identifying and fixing errors in code. Consider a bubble sort implementation that fails to sort correctly. The function loops through the array but stops one iteration too early, leaving the largest element unsorted.
The bug occurs because the outer loop runs n-1 times when it should run n times. Adding print statements reveals that the last element never gets compared. The fix changes the range from range(n-1) to range(n).
Beyond logic errors, common debugging scenarios include null pointer exceptions, infinite loops, off-by-one errors, race conditions in concurrent code, and memory leaks. Systematic debugging uses techniques like binary search debugging, rubber ducking, and using debugger tools.
