CSC 216 F09/debug1

Debugging Exercise

Goal

The goal of this exercise is to reinforce terms and concepts of debugging in Eclipse.

Props

• Two sets of note-cards or sheets of paper--each a different color. Each card in the first color contains a description of a term or concept while each card of the other color contains a matching answer. Both colors should be combined into one stack of cards and shuffled. Note: The total amount of cards must be exactly equal to the number of participants.

• A stopwatch or timer.

Example of Pairs of Cards

Debugger	A program that can execute another program and analyze its run-time behavior
Unit testing	The most basic kind of testing

Procedure

The cards are passed out to the participants. After each person receives a card, set the timer (preferably to 2 or 3 minutes). The student's goal is to find the student in the classroom who has the matching term or description to his or her own card before time runs out. For instance, a student's card reads "Test Coverage", he or she needs to find the student with "A measure of how many parts of a program have been tested."

The exercise can be repeated by recollecting the cards, shuffling, and passing them out again.

Competitive Version

If a more competitive atmosphere is needed, several rounds of the game can be played. In each round, the last pair of students to find each other is disqualified from the next round, until 6 or 8 students are left. At this time finding matching pair becomes too easy. (Remember to leave out a matching pair of cards from the card stack for each pair of disqualified students before passing out the cards again.)