Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Rubber duck debugging
open-in-new
<p>In <a href="/facts/Software_engineering/KX6cE9kz">software engineering</a>, rubber duck debugging (or rubberducking) is a method of <a href="/facts/Debugging/QtdpPJT0">debugging</a> code by articulating a problem in spoken or written <a href="/facts/Natural_language/B4gLS7Kd">natural language</a>. The name is a reference to a story in the book <i><a href="/facts/The_Pragmatic_Programmer/rQeDXFMK">The Pragmatic Programmer</a></i> in which a programmer would carry around a <a href="/facts/Rubber_duck/2vKXXwvl">rubber duck</a> and debug their code by forcing themselves to explain it, line by line, to the duck. Many other terms exist for this technique, often involving different (usually) inanimate objects, or pets such as a dog or a cat. <a href="/facts/Teddy_bears/ytQpa06s">Teddy bears</a> are also widely used. </p>