Debugging with pry and byebug in Ruby - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the purpose of the pry gem in Ruby?

The pry gem allows you to pause your Ruby program and open an interactive console to inspect variables, test code, and understand program flow.

beginner

How do you start a debugging session using byebug in Ruby?

Insert the line byebug in your Ruby code where you want to pause execution. When the program runs and reaches this line, it opens a debugging console.

beginner

What command in pry lets you continue program execution after pausing?

Use the command continue or exit in the pry console to resume running the program after inspection.

intermediate

Name one advantage of using byebug over simple puts debugging.

byebug lets you step through code line-by-line, inspect variables at any point, and control execution flow, which puts cannot do.

beginner

How do you install pry and byebug gems for debugging?

Add gem 'pry' and gem 'byebug' to your Gemfile and run bundle install, or install directly with gem install pry byebug.

Which command starts an interactive debugging session with byebug?

A Insert <code>byebug</code> in the code

B Run <code>ruby debug</code>

C Use <code>pry.start</code>

D Call <code>debugger()</code>

You start byebug debugging by inserting the line byebug in your Ruby code.

What does the pry gem provide?

A A tool to automatically fix bugs

B An interactive console to inspect and test code

C A syntax checker

D A code formatter

pry opens an interactive console during program execution for inspection and testing.

Which command in pry resumes program execution after pausing?

A break

B pause

C stop

D exit

Typing exit in the pry console continues running the program.

What is a key benefit of using byebug instead of puts for debugging?

A Run code faster

B Automatically fix errors

C Step through code line-by-line

D Hide errors from users

byebug lets you pause and step through code, unlike puts which only prints output.

How do you install pry and byebug gems?

A Add to Gemfile and run bundle install

B Use <code>npm install</code>

C Download from Ruby website

D No installation needed

You add the gems to your Gemfile and run bundle install to install.

Explain how you would use pry to debug a Ruby program.

Think about where to put the pause and what happens next.

Describe the steps to start a debugging session with byebug and how to control execution.

Focus on how to pause and move through code.