Developer’s best friend

Let me explain. It’s called Rubber Duck Debugging. It can be anything: a cat, or even a Kinder egg toy, if you like sweets as much as I do. All you have to do is explain your problem to the duck, and simply by describing, in as much detail as possible, what your code is supposed to do, something magical happens—almost every time—you find the solution. The duck will sit there motionless, satisfied that it has helped you on your journey.This is what the term “rubber duck debugging” refers to, and it originates from a book by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas, The Pragmatic Programmer. The authors share a story about a programmer who carried a rubber duck and debugged their code by explaining, line-by-line, what was happening in the code to that duck.

Some studies suggest that verbal explanation of a concept helps you understand it better. This is because we often believe we understand an idea but fail to articulate it in detail. Explaining it to someone—or something—that doesn’t understand forces us to replace our false sense of understanding with a logical, rational foundation. Once you have to explain a concept to someone who knows nothing about it, you stop taking things for granted and examine the problem with fresh eyes.

Another reason this technique is so popular is that it reduces the need to ask for help from teammates, who may be busy. The duck will patiently listen and has no expectations. Of course, if you’re stuck, you shouldn’t hesitate to ask your teammates for assistance.

If you get bored with your rubber duck, you can find virtual ones online. Or, you can even become one (without growing a beak) by collaborating with others in real-time and listening to their technical problems.