Poem: The Joy of Debugging

This is a poem I wrote a long time ago as a young engineer. I still love debugging. I feel like Sherlock when I am chasing down a mysterious, tricky problem 😃 I am fortunate that I have had the chance to debug many interesting problems throughout my career, problems that were often long unsolved before I took them on. I think it's just that I enjoy the process, and hence I don't give up easily!

It teases me. Challenges me.
Bet you can't find me.
Bet you can't get rid of me.
Not the one to let go, I take up the challenge.

And where do I find him, 
where do I start, 
him hiding behind a million lines of code,
cocking a sneer at me.

And I trust my instinct, bit by bit,
as each clue leads to another,
one small victory at a time,
bringing me closer to his hideout.

And the adrenaline rises as I reach near.
Sometimes it’s so near yet so far.
But never do I feel like giving up.
Can’t go home. Can’t relax, until I hunt down this rat.

And finally I lay a trap for him.
And finally I outwit him.
Finally I catch him, and put him behind the bars.

And what a joy it is.
What was impossible a moment ago,is now achieved.
What was a mystery a moment ago, is now out in the light.

And I smile a quiet satisfaction at him.
Got you boy, how long did you think you could have hid.

Have enjoyed the art of debugging since my childhood. Back then it was guessing who was the killer in the mystery novels. Loved the deductive reasoning style of solving crimes made famous by Sherlock Holmes’s. One of my favourite quotes from the series,

"When you have eliminated all the impossibilities, whatever left however improbable, is nothing but the truth"

Though sometimes I simply love to trust my instinct and guess the
approach to take instead of logically putting together the bits and pieces. But nothing beats a good round of analytical inference to solve a mystery.

Though often my style is a mix of both with the instincts helping me to take a shortcut and solve the problem faster.

But ultimately the joy is in the duel.
It’s me against him.One on one.
Only one can win.
But both are determined.
And both love the fight.

But I always win in the end :-).

Oh what joy it is to win!
The harder the battle, sweeter the victory!!