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EECS 183 Troubleshooting Guide

Starter code won’t run/IDE problem at beginning of project

• For Visual Studio, check that you created/opened the project. You cannot just double-click the .cpp file(s) to run the starter code.

• Copy and paste your work so far into Notepad - do not use Word or another word processor!

• Start a new project in VS/XCode and re-add files

• Paste your work back into files

• Post question to Piazza

Compile error

• Re-read (1) the line of code with the error, (2) the line before

• Make sure that every ( [ { has a closing brace } ] )

• Search Google for the error message (StackOverflow is a helpful website)

• Post text of error (without code) to Piazza. Include specific error information. For example, the Xcode error “duplicate symbol: main” is much more helpful to include than “linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)”

Wrong output

• Write down what was expected vs. what actually happened. “How do you know there is a problem?”

• Read spec and RME describing function out loud to stuffed animal

• Explain how your code works to stuffed animal

• Trace through your code with the problem input. The debugger can help

• When you find the problem, explain what it was to your stuffed animal

• Add the case you just discovered as a test case in test.cpp

• Ask question on Piazza

Wrong output for autograder test case but not for test cases in spec

• Compare Expected Output to Student Output in Output Diffs section

• Deduce what autograder input was and try on own computer - make a test case with this input for your test.cpp

• Once you can reproduce bug on own computer, go to “Wrong Output”

• Ask question on Piazza

Other autograder issue

• Hover over question mark icon with mouse

• Post screenshot or photo on Piazza