The Elephant Versus the Bug

Debugging with PostgreSQL -- the Elephant takes on the Bug

Depending on the project, debugging can take 50 to 90% of development time. But it usually gets less than 10% of the press. PostgreSQL has great tools for debugging, but they are most effective when deployed as part of an overall strategy.

Ten days from now I’m doing a webinar on how best to do this. That’s 1pm, July 29th, 2020. You can register here.

It’s a fun talk: I focus on the key ideas, give a few good examples, have a quick quiz “There are three bugs on this slide: you have the next two slides to find them!” and then finish with some of my favorite debugging references: selected as particularly readable & practical.

[Update: the talk was given as planned. Thanks to Lindsay Hooper for great support! Video is online. And the audience of invisible Zoomers upped the number of bugs on the quiz slide from three to five!]

Last time I did this talk, my favorite piece of feedback was from Bruce Momjian, a founder of PostgreSQL and a member of the core team: Bruce said there was stuff he knew but hadn’t heard put into words, and stuff he just hadn’t seen yet.

And that’s how I hope this will be for you!

We will look at strategies for debugging PostgreSQL: how to find bugs, how to fix them, and how to keep them from happening in the first place.

We’ll look at root causes, technical tricks, and scientific strategies, and why — even if you can’t always write perfect code — it is usually a good idea to try.

We’ll hear from Bjarne Stroustrup, Sherlock Holmes, Kernighan and Ritchie, Pogo, & the experts of the PostgreSQL community.

Goal: less time debugging, more time building great tools and apps that stay up & get the job done.

If you can’t wait or just can’t make it, I have the latest version here: PDF, KeyNote, and PowerPoint, name your poison.

Update

Talk went off smoothly, about 65 or 70 attendees. The invisible Zoomers found two more bugs on the “quiz” slide! The event organizer, Lindsay Hooper of the PostgreSQL conference, did a great job setting every thing up, watching over a dry run, and giving feedback during. And she recorded and edited the webinar, so if you are interested in see the video “live”, herewith.

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