Debugging Checklist for Beginners

Learning Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will have a condensed, practical checklist to run through during an actual debugging session, drawing on both Debugging Batches covered in this path.

Simple Explanation

The Basic Troubleshooting Flow for IBM i Developers lesson explained the reasoning behind a five-step flow. This lesson condenses that, and the rest of both debugging lesson groups, into a quick checklist for use in the moment, without re-explaining the reasoning behind each item.

Why It Matters

A condensed checklist is faster to actually use during a real debugging session than re-reading full explanations each time. Having it available as a quick reference turns everything covered across both Debugging Batches into something immediately actionable, rather than knowledge that has to be recalled from scratch each time.

Practical Example

Imagine sitting down to investigate a report producing a wrong total, with this checklist open alongside. Working through it in order: the job log shows nothing unusual, the problem is confirmed as a runtime issue rather than a compile error, and the program is confirmed to already have debugging data from an earlier compile. STRDBG is started, a breakpoint is set at the total calculation, and EVAL confirms the running total variable's value at each step, quickly narrowing down exactly where it diverges from the expected amount.

This is a simplified, illustrative example rather than a specific real session, but it reflects exactly how this checklist is meant to be used in practice.

Common Confusions

"Do I need to check every single item on this list for every problem?" No, exactly as covered in the Basic Troubleshooting Flow for IBM i Developers lesson. Some items only apply in specific situations, such as the batch-job and SQLRPGLE-specific items; skip whichever ones do not apply to the particular problem at hand.

"Is this checklist a replacement for actually understanding why each step matters?" No. This checklist is meant as a quick reference once the reasoning behind each step, covered throughout both Debugging Batches, is already understood. Skipping straight to a checklist without understanding why each step matters makes it harder to adapt when a specific situation does not fit neatly into one of these items.

"Should this checklist be followed in the exact order listed?" Generally yes, since it mirrors the flow covered in the Basic Troubleshooting Flow for IBM i Developers lesson, though, as covered there, some steps can reasonably be skipped once earlier ones already explain the problem.

Quick Recap

This checklist condenses both Debugging Batches into a quick, practical reference for use during an actual debugging session.
It generally follows the same order as the Basic Troubleshooting Flow for IBM i Developers lesson.
Not every item applies to every problem; batch-job and SQLRPGLE- specific items only matter when relevant.
The checklist is meant to be used once the reasoning behind each step is already understood, not as a substitute for that understanding.

Try Asking the AI Tutor

Use the AI Tutor to ask follow-up questions about this lesson. For example, try asking:

"Which items on this checklist would I skip if a program failed with a compile error?"
"How would I adapt this checklist for a problem that doesn't seem to fit any of these items directly?"