Debugging can sometimes be fun, or a nightmare. This usually depends on the project, your current mood, and the types of bugs you’re trying to resolve.

Often, fixing a bug means that you read through your code, follow the logic involved, spot the error and fix it. Other times, a bug may only be killed by means of voodoo rituals, and the throwing of a virgin into a volcano. At least it seems that way at times.

A few new articles appeared in the Adobe Developer Center this afternoon, and one of them was a good primer on debugging in Flash by David Stiller. It covers the basics such as using trace () statements, and looping through your objects, then moves on to using the Debugger Panel and debugging your swfs in a browser.

There’s some good info here; for those just starting in development, or who don’t do much development, you might learn something new - for those more experienced, it can a nice little refresher on some basics.

One of the nicest features of the article is that it explains how to actually use the Debugger Panel. Using this thing is a bit of black art to some, as the documentation hasn’t always been as clear as it could be. Many of the Flash developers I know that use it have learned to use it by means of repeated trial and error. The article also mentions some of the third-party debugging tools such as X-Ray.

So, if you’re new to debugging, or just want to read up a little, check it out:

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/debugging_actionscript.html