Heisenbugs and schrödinbugs (1 Viewer)

isladogs

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A link in a thread I was assisting with earlier today led me to a Wikipedia article about Heisenbugs.

For those who are unaware of the term, a Heisenbug is a software bug that seems to disappear or alter its behavior when one attempts to study it. Typically you add debug lines or step through the code & the symptoms change or disappear. The name comes from Werner Heisenberg whose uncertainty principle describes similar behaviour in quantum physics.

Other similar ideas include the Schrödinbug (named after Erwin Schrödinger and his thought experiment with the dead/alive cat) which occurs after a programmer notices that the code should never have worked in the first place!

Anyway, I've comes up with my own variation - the Barnes Wallis bug (after the inventors of the bouncing bomb) to describe errors that lack consistency and seem to bounce around from one error to another at different times

I've put together a very simple application as a puzzle for anyone who wants to work out what's causing it. There is just 1 form, 2 tables and a module with a few simple functions mainly to get user name, computer name etc.

The app is an ACCDE (32-bit & 64-bit versions) so the code triggering the errors isn't accessible to view.
Its also encrypted (password = isladogs) but its not fully locked down so you can see the nav pane items

The errors don't always happen and the error numbers aren't consistent. If it interests you, do try & work out what's happening



As its intended as a puzzle, please do NOT post your explanation here or it will spoil the puzzle for others. Instead, please PM or email me (using the link in my signature line)

Hope you enjoy bouncing!
 

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isladogs

MVP / VIP
Local time
Today, 18:43
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Congratulations to the DB Guy who is the first to send me the correct explanation

As I've not minted any BWB medals yet, he now gets an honorary Schrodinger medal as a prize!
Its already reached him in a cat box ... but when he looks for it , it will disappear!

Anyone else understood it yet?
 
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