Debugger

Updated: 11/12/2023 by Computer Hope
Robotic bug on a circuit board.

A debugger is a program designed to help a computer programmer locate errors within a program's source code. Debuggers find errors by giving the exact or general location of the error, allowing the programmer to step through the program, set breakpoints, and monitor conditions (e.g., variable values).

Types of debuggers

There are the following types of debuggers a programmer may use. The debugger depends on your programming language and how you write your program or script.

  • Command line - A debugger that can run in the command line either separately from the program or as part of the compiler or interpreter. For example, using the -d switch with the Perl interpreter runs its debugger.
  • IDE - A debugger that's part of the IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
  • GUI - A GUI (Graphical User Interface) that gives the programmer a more visually friendly interface for interacting with a program

Bug, Debug, Debugging, Dump, Logging, Programming terms