Identify
Problem
Provide
IPPS Solution
● (Syntax) Errors
○ You wrote bad code
Things that ● Exceptions
○ Code is fine; There is a problem
can go wrong: ● Bugs
uploading
○ You wrote good code that
it’s depressing how many ways you doesn’t work like you expect it to
can find to screw things up ● Wiring / Mechanical Bugs
○ duh
Syntax Errors
First - what does “Syntax” mean?
Syntax - grammar - the rules of the language.
Syntax Error:
You broke the rules of the language such as missing semicolons or putting values
on the left side of the assignment operator.
In English it would be like saying: I bacon? breakfast for ate That is a nonsense
sentence because the order of the words is wrong and the punctuation is both
incorrect and misplaced.
Syntax Error Example
Your code doesn’t verify. You receive the following error message:
Blink:33: error: expected ';' before 'delay'
delay(1000); // wait for a second
^
exit status 1
expected ';' before 'delay'
Notice the parts:
Blink - the name of the code
33 - the line where the error is discovered
^ - points to the spot where the error is discovered
expected ‘;’ before ‘delay’ - a description of what to fix
I ate bacon for
breakfast.
Pro tips about syntax errors
1. Start at the top - sometimes one error can make the system think there are
multiple errors. Fix the first error then verify and others might disappear.
2. Look at the line number in the error to find out where the error is
3. Don’t be fooled by the line number - the number shown is when the system
REALIZED the error. The cause of the error could be anywhere UP TO AND
INCLUDING that line number. Frequently when there is a missing semicolon,
the error will report the following line. If you forget a semicolon in line 2, the
error may be reported in line 3 when another statement begins.
4. Think broadly about what this line depends on. If you try to declare the same
variable twice, for instance, it will report the second one as problematic.
However, it could be the case that the first one is unintentional. It may be
anywhere.
Exceptions
These are errors that happen when you try to upload good code to the board.
If, for instance, you have the wrong serial port selected, or the board is not
connected, you would get an exception. Also if you try to access a library that is in
the wrong place, an exception could be thrown.
READ THE ERROR messages and look for some kind of Exception in the
description. As with syntax errors, scroll to the top of the error messages to find out
what is wrong.
When in doubt,
search engines
are your friend.
If you can’t figure it out
Paste the keywords of the exception into the search box and chances are,
someone else has experienced the same problem. They have probably found a
solution as well.
COLLABORATE
Collaborate
Within your group or class, ask your classmates:
Have you seen this error before? What does it mean? What is the solution?
Your teacher is
there to help
Ask your teacher
I did X and the result was Y … Our group is stumped - here’s what we tried and here
are the searches we did so far … can you point me/us in the right direction?
Your teacher can guide you toward the answer - if you can discover it, you’ll keep
the knowledge longer and be able to apply it to more similar problems.
There’s an old saying:
If you give a person a fish, they eat for a day.
If you teach them to fish, they eat for a lifetime.
Bugs
the troubleshooting process
Bugs Read your code. No, really read your code.
Your code verifies. No errors.
You successfully upload to the Trace it line by line. Imagine what happens.
Arduino. No exceptions.
It doesn’t work… Keep track of values and see if what you
or tell it to do is what you want it to do.
It doesn’t work right.
the problem:
debugging is the
hardest part of
programming
the solution:
plan better.
write better code.
measure twice; cut once.
