Enhancing Debugging Skills with AI-Powered Assistance: A Real-Time Tool for Debugging Support
This tool addresses debugging skill gaps for programming students and developers, but it is incremental as it builds on existing AI and debugging techniques.
The paper tackles the problem of insufficient debugging training in CS education by introducing an AI-powered IDE assistant that provides real-time debugging support, showing potential for teaching debugging through a three-level evaluation.
Debugging is a crucial skill in programming education and software development, yet it is often overlooked in CS curricula. To address this, we introduce an AI-powered debugging assistant integrated into an IDE. It offers real-time support by analyzing code, suggesting breakpoints, and providing contextual hints. Using RAG with LLMs, program slicing, and custom heuristics, it enhances efficiency by minimizing LLM calls and improving accuracy. A three-level evaluation - technical analysis, UX study, and classroom tests - highlights its potential for teaching debugging.