What is Bug: Definition and 103 Discussions

A software bug is an error, flaw or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways. The process of finding and fixing bugs is termed "debugging" and often uses formal techniques or tools to pinpoint bugs, and since the 1950s, some computer systems have been designed to also deter, detect or auto-correct various computer bugs during operations.
Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made in either a program's design or its source code, or in components and operating systems used by such programs. A few are caused by compilers producing incorrect code. A program that contains many bugs, and/or bugs that seriously interfere with its functionality, is said to be buggy (defective). Bugs can trigger errors that may have ripple effects. Bugs may have subtle effects or cause the program to crash or freeze the computer. Other bugs qualify as security bugs and might, for example, enable a malicious user to bypass access controls in order to obtain unauthorized privileges.Some software bugs have been linked to disasters. Bugs in code that controlled the Therac-25 radiation therapy machine were directly responsible for patient deaths in the 1980s. In 1996, the European Space Agency's US$1 billion prototype Ariane 5 rocket had to be destroyed less than a minute after launch due to a bug in the on-board guidance computer program. In June 1994, a Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter crashed into the Mull of Kintyre, killing 29. This was initially dismissed as pilot error, but an investigation by Computer Weekly convinced a House of Lords inquiry that it may have been caused by a software bug in the aircraft's engine-control computer.In 2002, a study commissioned by the US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded that "software bugs, or errors, are so prevalent and so detrimental that they cost the US economy an estimated $59 billion annually, or about 0.6 percent of the gross domestic product".

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  1. N

    Comp Sci (C++) ubuntu g++ bug: multiple definition of a function. What went wrong?

    Homework Statement I can't understand what's causing this bug. I'm not trying to actually use this program, but it's just something I made up to learn how it works, and understand why things don't work, while I'm learning C++. So my question is, what's causing this program to get this error...
  2. J

    Moment of inertia wheel and bug

    Homework Statement There is a wheel with spokes rotating on a horizontal axis about its center. the Wheel has a w(omega) of 6∏ and a radius of .04meters there is a bug on one of the spokes at exactly 1/2 radius or .02meters. the bug has a mass of .005kg. Homework Equations not really sure...
  3. J

    Fortran Small FORTRAN code for combinations. BUG

    small FORTRAN code for combinations. BUG! PROGRAM test implicit double precision(a-h,o-z) INTEGER :: r=2,n=4,k=1 INTEGER,allocatable :: comb(:) !array to hold a set of combinations allocate(comb(r)) comb(1)=1 CALL iterate(1,n-r+1,1) CONTAINS...
  4. G

    Mathematica Dealing with a Discontinuous ArcTan[] Function in Mathematica

    Hello everyone, I copy-paste here a little bit of code: In[4417]:= x = (1.5` + 0.` I); y = (0.` + 0.` I); (* 1 *) ArcTan[x, y] (* 2 *) ArcTan[x // Chop, y // Chop] (* 3 *) -I Log[(x + I y)/Sqrt[x^2 + y^2]] {y == 0, Re[y] == 0, Im[y] == 0, Im[x] == 0} Out[4419]= -1.5708 + 0. I...
  5. M

    How Fast Must a Bacterium Cling to a Spinning Jet Tire?

    Homework Statement At takeoff, a commercial jet has a speed of 60.0 m/s. Its tires have a diameter of 0.850 m. (a) At how many rpm are the tires rotating? (b) What is the centripetal acceleration at the edge of the tire? (c) With what force must a determined 10-15 kg bacterium cling...
  6. A

    Simple bug on uniform rod rotational momentum problem

    Homework Statement A small 10.0-g bug stands at one end of a thin uniform bar that is initially at rest on a smooth horizontal table. The other end of the bar pivots about a nail driven into the table and can rotate freely, without friction. The bar has mass 60.0g and is 90cm in length...
  7. A

    LaTeX Solving Latex (MathJax) Bug - Partial Derivatives

    This doesn't work properly: \begin{array} \frac {\partial}{\partial a^1} = \cdots \\ \frac {\partial}{\partial a^2} = \cdots \\ \frac {\partial}{\partial a^3} = \cdots \end{array} It gives \begin{array} \frac {\partial}{\partial a^1} = \cdots \\ \frac {\partial}{\partial a^2}...
  8. Andy Resnick

    Identify Unknown Bug Found in Ampicillin Starter Culture

    I'm hoping someone with more experience can help us identify these: [PLAIN]http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/4836/1ugmlamp2crop2.jpg This image was acquired at 40X phase contrast. This summer, we have been trying to amplify a plasmid (provided by Monique) in E. coli. We have colonies...
  9. A

    What is this giant buzzing beetle in my garden shed?

    Found this "not so little" beast flying round my garden shed today. A lower pitched "buzz" than a typical bee - it sounded a bit like a very small motorbike engine! I presume it's some sort of beetle. The wingspan was at least 2 inches. The first picture is after it crashed into the window -...
  10. V

    Mathematica Bug with Mathematica: Simplify Function Output

    When I try Simplify[Sqrt[1/(c^2 L^2 - k^2 q^2 Q^2)] Sqrt[c^2 L^2 - k^2 q^2 Q^2], c^2 L^2 - k^2 q^2 Q^2 > 0] I get Sqrt[1/(c^2 L^2 - k^2 q^2 Q^2)] Sqrt[c^2 L^2 - k^2 q^2 Q^2] as output but when I try Simplify[Sqrt[1/(c^2 L^2 - k^2 Q^2)] Sqrt[c^2 L^2 - k^2 Q^2], c^2 L^2 - k^2 Q^2 >...
  11. DaveC426913

    What is this mysterious bug with a hook in its tail?

    This critter (see attachment - not diagram) came to my attention by pricking me in the hand with a hook in its tail. About 7mm long. Flattened profile. Prehensile hook in tail. Two tusk-like appendages straight out front. Very active, very supple. Must be a larva of some sort. Ideas...
  12. IllyaKuryakin

    The Copernican Principle and the Waveform of Reality - A Copenhagen Bug

    So, let's say that a star 50,000 light years distant does not exist until it is observed. One day I look up and see a bright star and it's waveform collapses into existence as we know it. Now suppose my pet kitty observes it, does the waveform collapse? What if a tiny bug saw the star? It has...
  13. Borek

    LaTeX LaTeX Bug: Identical Pictures with Different Code | Physics Forums

    See https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=486869 Both pictures identical, but when you click on them code is different.
  14. M

    MATLAB MATLAB 2010a surf bug? Can someone try to replicate?

    Hello, anyone with MATLAB 2010a would you be able to type the few lines of code into try to replicate this problem I am having? >> p = rand(400); >> surf(p) Once you get the image, maximise the window and rotate the axis until you are looking vertically down (z-axis out the screen). Then zoom...
  15. DaveC426913

    Why Are My Mosquito Bites Only Behind My Knee?

    Sunday night I sat outside for three hours. I was wearing long pants and a sweatshirt and there was a mosquito candle on the table in front of me. There are confirmed mosquitos still in our yard, though I did not swat any away that night. A few hours after coming in, I found I had about 9...
  16. M

    Fix Dynamic Array Bug: Find the First Item Less than Preceding

    this function is supposed to find the first item in an array that is less than the element preceding it, and set the p parameter to point to that item, so the caller can know the location of that item. when i run it.. it fails. there are probably multiple bugs.. any suggestions on how to fix...
  17. lisab

    Is Google's Pac-Man Doodle Causing Frustration Among Users?

    OK, I think it's clever that Google changes its home page now and then, to honor a holiday or other significant event. But today's is just annoying. It's Pac-Man's 30th birthday...fine, a big *yawn* from me but I liked the graphic. But if you leave the home page up for a few minutes, the...
  18. G

    Mathematica [Mathematica] Baffling bug in LogLinearPlot[]

    Hello everyone, This drives me nuts… I want to plot a function using LogLinearPlot. Take a look at what's happening : http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/8346/picture4b.jpg I printed the values of the variable passed to my function because I didn't understand what happened… Although...
  19. T

    Antibiotic resistant super bug quickly spreading in U.S. and Canada.

    http://chattahbox.com/health/2010/04/24/deadly-airborne-fungus-spreading-fast-kills-one-out-of-four/ A bizarre airborne fungus which has a mortality rate of 25% is spreading quickly in the United and Canada. Apparently it is completely immune to the effects of antibiotics, and there is no...
  20. R

    Fortran Why is my FORTRAN 90 Program Producing Unexpected Matrix Elements?

    Hi all, I encountered a problem while running a FORTRAN 90 program, which appears (to me) to be quite surprising. Can someone please explain the following things: 1. Why the (4,1) element of the beta matrix is 5.0 instead of being 2.0 ?? 2. Why the (5,8) element of the beta matrix...
  21. Math Is Hard

    HP Investigating Face-Tracking Bug Reports

    Can't believe I haven't seen a thread on this yet. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/22/hp.webcams/ The YouTube video is here, and it's pretty darned funny.
  22. S

    Archer fish shoots a bug (similiar to another question)

    Homework Statement Upon spotting an insect on a twig overhanging water, an archer fish squirts water drops at the insect to knock it into the water. Although the fish sees the insect along a straight-line path at angle φ and distance d, a drop must be launched at a different angle θ0 if its...
  23. S

    Bug on a pivoted ring: rotational velocity

    Homework Statement Hi guys, this question is from Kleppner and Kolenkow, problem 6.3. A ring of mass M and radius R lies on its side on a frictionless table. It is pivoted to the table at its rim. A bug of mass m walks around the ring with speed v, starting at the pivot. What is the...
  24. T

    The Bug and the Rod: AP Physics Mechanics Section II Mechanics 2

    1992 Physics-C Section 2 Mechanics 2 See the attached Word document, which preserves the original formatting of the question (to visualize the diagrams, see below) and my work and answers. The diagrams are as follows: There is a horizontal rod of length 2l with its axis at its midpoint...
  25. Math Jeans

    LaTeX Troubleshooting a Weird LaTex Bug

    I'm getting this weird LaTex bug that is really messing with my posts. Sometimes when I use the tex tags, I get this weird problem that no matter what I put inside them, the post will always display the a certain equation inside of the tags. For example: I am trying to edit my signature...
  26. G

    Solving a Frictionless Bug Problem in a Bowl

    Homework Statement A bug slides back and forth in a bowl 11cm deep, the bowl is frictionless except a 1.5cm patch at the *flat* bottom coefficient of friction = .61 Homework Equations W = f*d r= 11cm \mu=.61 stickypatch=1.5cm The Attempt at a Solution i can get the first part (its...
  27. T

    How to Fix the 'main' Must Return 'int' Error in C Programming

    how to solve this bug?? when i run this code instead of getting some expected out put i get line 17: `main' must return `int' but main is a void function it can't return int ? #include <stdio.h> int a(int n,int count){ int i; for(i=0;i<n;i++) count...
  28. DaveC426913

    Identifying Bug Bites in the Great Lakes Area

    I live in the Great Lakes area. I've been working out in my yard for the last month tearing down my old, rotted fence and putting up a new one. I have acquired a couple of mind-numbingly itchy bites. I assumed they were just mosquito bites - the first ones of the season are usually particularly...
  29. G

    Bug lands on a frictionless sphere. Show that the Bug leaves head when

    Homework Statement A bug lands on top of the frictionless, spherical head of a bald man. It begins to slide down his head. Show that the bug leaves the head when it has dropped a vertical distance 1/3 the radius of the head. Homework Equations Not sure. Maybe: E_f - E_i = 0...
  30. ~christina~

    Fish shoots water droplet at bug

    Homework Statement A Sharp Shooter fish is a fish that hunts insect from the water. It is able to project water droplets toward insects causing them to drop into the water where they can be eaten. In the figure below the sharp shooter is at rest and spots a insect at rest on a leaf hanging...
  31. robphy

    What was the Excel 2007 Multiplication Bug and how did it affect users?

    As reported in Slashdot, http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/09/24/2339203.shtml "Excel 2007 Multiplication Bug"
  32. W

    What is the Bug's Velocity Relative to the Road?

    Homework Statement car moving 12.0m/sec eastward on straight road. inside car, bug is flying eastward at 2.0m/s relative to the car. how fast is the bug moving relative to the road? repeat for the bug moving westward. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution i assume the...
  33. B. Elliott

    Blogger Finds Y2K Bug in NASA Climate Data

    Years of bad data corrected; 1998 no longer the warmest year on record http://www.dailytech.com/Blogger+finds+Y2K+bug+in+NASA+Climate+Data/article8383.htm A friend of mine just pointed this out to me. Very... interesting. Edit by Ivan: copyright violation. Please quote only...
  34. K

    Pill bug Selective Breeding for breathing underwater

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillidium_vulgare they are terrestrial crustaceans, but they have gills, i know this might be kind of a stupid topic but could it be practical and it be possible to select the bugs with better gills then the rest, have them breed with each other, so on and so...
  35. D

    Velocity & Acceleration of Bug on Rolling Wheel

    Homework Statement A bug of mass m is stuck to a point on the rim of a rolling wheel (of radius r)... which traces out a path called a cycloid. The position vector of the point (bug) is given by: r(theta) = r(theta - sin(theta))i + r(1 - cos(theta))j For a wheel rolling with constant...
  36. gabee

    Will the Bug Reach the Other End of the Rubber Band?

    Homework Statement http://www.feynmanlectures.info/exercises/bug_on_band.html An infinitely stretchable rubber band has one end nailed to a wall, while the other end is pulled away from the wall at the rate of 1 m/s; initially the band is 1 meter long. A bug on the rubber band, initially...
  37. M

    Does the Moon have a rotation?

    For those that reply just to trash others, go find another thread... please! I understand that gravity warps space; I also understand that the moon is revolving once per approx. 27 days. 1) If the moon is going in a straight line and gravity is warping its 'straight' path into an orbit...
  38. X

    Solving Bug Sliding In Bowl: Friction & Potential Energy

    Homework Statement A bug slides back and forth in a bowl 11 cm ddep, starting from rest at the top. The bowl is frictionless except for a 1.5 cm wide sticky patch on its flat bottom, where the coefficient of frictino is .61. How many times does the bug cross the sticky region? Anybody...
  39. russ_watters

    Razr Battery Bug: Solving Low Battery Life

    Razr Battery Bug? My electrical engineering is a little thin, so bear with me... A bunch of my friends and coworkers have Motorolla Razr phones that have absolutely atrocious battery life - single-digit hours. Part of the problem may be how often it powers-up to search for a tower in low...
  40. Ivan Seeking

    Bug DNA kits for designing your own bugs

    ...the puppy that never grows old, bug DNA kits for designing your own bugs, Control Genes [found in every dictator], Orangutans who can speak English, Spanish, or Japanese, and ear enlargements for improved hearing are just a few of the wonderful new products available from Michael Crihton's...
  41. S

    Can Insects Survive a Fall from Great Heights?

    An ant has no skeletons, so as long as she doesn't burn by falling, she wouldn't die right? Neither any of hte other animals who don't have skeletons.
  42. H

    What Bug Is This? | Identification Guide & Drawing Included

    (I hope my ASCII drawing is passable) What bug is this? I just saw one in my bathroom. I tried squashing it, but it wound up being pretty resiliant (though, admittedly, all I had handy to squash it with was a dirty towel) It wasn't moving around at all, except for its two antannae out...
  43. M

    Is It Possible for a Bug to Traverse Less Than 14 Meters in a Room?

    I need a help. Here is the question: There is a bug in a room. The room is 4 meters high, 4 meters wide and 10 meters long. The bug is sitting on the left (4x4) wall, one meter up from the ground, in the middle. The bug must come to the goal which is on the totally right side, in the middle...
  44. N

    How Fast Must a Turntable Spin to Slide a Bug Off?

    If the coefficient of friction between a bug and the turntable is 0.55 and the bug is 25 cm from the centre, how fast (in RPM) does the turntable have to spin to cause the bug to slide off? All I know so far is that the frictional force must be 0 (?) Fc = m4pi^2r/T^2 but this obviously...
  45. B

    What Bugs You? A Rant About Political Correctness and Other Irritants

    A topic to rant about the stuff that annoys you/angers you. Just rant away! =D Me? I hate political correctness. IT IS WHAT IT IS, JUST SAY IT. You're POOR, not "Economically Disadvantaged"! It's just what it IS! I'm not "Vertically challenged", IM A FRIGGIN MIDGET. Also, I hate...
  46. P

    Unusual Bug with Grasshopper-like Legs: A Beetle Expert's Perspective

    It was a small beetle like a Ladybug but it had back legs like a grasshopper and it jumped like one too. Any bug experts out there know of a hopping beetle?
  47. A

    Solve Bug Spiral Problem with Parametric Equations

    Hello, Can anyone please help me with this question? I need to get it done VERY soon. If someone could post a full solution I would be extremely grateful. It's probably very easy for someone who understands parametric equations and polar coordinates and such. I don't at the moment! I...
  48. G

    Bug in Mozilla 1.6 AND in Firefox 1.0?

    Bug in Mozilla 1.6 AND in Firefox 1.0? I've been trying to download lecture notes (.pps files) from this website: http://www-cs.engr.ccny.cuny.edu/~zhu/GC-Spring2005/CSc80000-2-VisionCourse.html The ONLY one that I can get with Mozilla Firefox 1.0 OR with Mozilla 1.6 is the "Lecture 5"...
  49. S

    Staphylococcus athletes are contracting this bug

    Coincidentally enough, we had just be learning about microbiology in my bio class. Then, yesterday, I got my Sports Illustrated and noticed they had an article on it. It turns out athletes are contracting this bug at an increasingly alarming rate. Anybody else heard anything about this, or...
  50. marcus

    No he does not say that and why bug him?

    I think it is out of line to pester Carlo Rovelli with one's own specious arguments and put words in his mouth. Carlo has not "conceded" or "admitted" anything remotely like "LQG is wrong" as one of our members claims. The poster has an argument, to which I doubt Carlo would subscribe and...
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