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28.3.2: Debugging

  • Page ID
    103128
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    The traceback Python displays when an error occurs contains a lot of information, but it can be overwhelming. The most useful parts are usually:

    • What kind of error it was, and
    • Where it occurred.

    Syntax errors are usually easy to find, but there are a few gotchas. Whitespace errors can be tricky because spaces and tabs are invisible and we are used to ignoring them.

    >>> x = 5
    >>>  y = 6
      File "<stdin>", line 1
        y = 6
        ^
    IndentationError: unexpected indent

    In this example, the problem is that the second line is indented by one space. But the error message points to y, which is misleading. In general, error messages indicate where the problem was discovered, but the actual error might be earlier in the code, sometimes on a previous line.

    In general, error messages tell you where the problem was discovered, but that is often not where it was caused.


    This page titled 28.3.2: Debugging is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Chuck Severance via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.