Every gamer has ever encountered problems in a computer game. And if he already has a long gaming experience, then he knows that in his environment such failures are called bugs. However, not all people know what a bug is, so when they read posts on forums or reviews of games, they may not understand what they are trying to tell them. But you must understand this, because bugs are a very big drawback of computer games, and if you find out from somewhere that a certain game has a lot of them, it’s better to refrain from buying. Why? This article will tell you about this.
The term "bug"
Naturally, you should start by considering the term itself, its etymology and meaning. What is a bug? Why is it called that way? This story is quite interesting, because this term came from the English word bug, which translates as "bug". But it means a mistake - how does the insect and problems in computer code fit together? Of course, there is no direct connection - it’s just a jargon that appeared among programmers for a long time and was firmly entrenched in errors that managed to get into the code even taking into account a full check. Thus, bugs creep into the final version of the code and are detected only after starting the program itself. Regarding this term there is still a lot of useful information, but now you at least know what a bug is. Move on!
Classification
Naturally, after people find out what a bug is, they want to understand what such errors can be. There is a full classification, which includes a wide variety of options. Bugs may vary in place and time of occurrence, in size, in the nature of the error, and so on. Most often, they are distinguished by severity and size - the most important characteristics that allow you to understand how long it takes to fix the error and what damage it can cause or has already done. Unfortunately, bugs can be not only in computer games, where they simply spoil people's impression. They can also be found in very serious software - an error crept into the autopilot code of an airplane can even lead to its crash. Therefore, do not think about how to make a bug - it is better to think about how to fix it.
Error correction
The process of developing programs, including computer games, consists not only of writing code. The meaning of the word "bug" hints that this error managed to get through more than one layer of protection. So what allows you to catch 99% of all bugs? The answer is simple - this is the testing phase. When the program code is written, it is sent for verification to special professional testers who run it and check for errors. The role of the tester is no less important than the role of the programmer, and if the bug goes into the release version of the product, then the fault will equally lie with the person who made this error and the one who did not notice it during the check. Fortunately, 99% of bugs are filtered during such a check. But what happens if some of them still manage to slip away?
Bugs in releases
99% is a lot, but still 1% is also significant, especially when it comes to errors. And if they fall into the release product, which is sold and falls into the hands of the client, then here the manufacturing company has to take responsibility. Most often, the problem is solved very quickly - as soon as the players express their dissatisfaction, the specialists immediately get down to business. And after a while a patch comes out (from the English patch - "patch"), after installing which the problem is solved automatically.
Bug reports
In computer games, errors can only be noticed by the player himself, because there are no programs that can catch them. However, in other cases, there is special software that allows you to automatically track bugs in programs, make a detailed report that the programmer can understand, and send it to the developer's address. This is incredibly convenient and useful, because you can immediately find out exactly where in your software there are errors, and also let developers eliminate them as quickly as possible. Thus, you will help them, yourself, as well as many other users who have purchased this program. Needless to say, this approach works exclusively with licensed software - pirated software simply has no connection with the developer, because it was not purchased and, accordingly, does not fall under the seller’s warranty obligations to the buyer.
Unfortunately, such specific errors as, for example, the VKontakte bug, these programs cannot be eliminated - just like in games, they will have to be caught manually and then reported personally to tech support of this site or any other page on which you found a bug.