Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I had to google "wolf-fence debugging".

I found I knew of it under a different name: binary search debugging. Git includes built-in support under the bisect command.




I also looked this up, and found the original paper that coined the term, which starts:

> The "Wolf Fence" method of debugging time-sharing programs in higher languages evolved from the "Lions in South Africa" method that I have taught since the vacuum-tube machine language days. It is a quickly converging iteration that serves to catch run-time errors.

http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=358695 (if you have access)

Anyone know what the "Lions in South Africa" method is? I couldn't find it via Google, it just kept turning up references to the same paper.


After a quick googling I found this explanation of wolf-fence debugging:

http://coreygoldberg.blogspot.com/2008/12/wolf-fence-debuggi...

It stipulates that the state of Alaska has got exactly one wolf, so you build a fence across the middle of the state to find on which side wolf would howl, then subdivide the problem, etc...

I'm assuming in your case the wolf got replace with a lion and Alaska with South Africa.


Personally I always preferred the mathematician's method for catching a lion in the Sahara...


First, place a lion in Egypt so you know your algorithm will terminate...


Typical global-warming propaganda.. :)




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: