Editing 1722: Debugging

{{comic
| number    = 1722
| date      = August 19, 2016
| title     = Debugging
| image     = debugging.png
| titletext = When you Google an error message and it gets no results, you can be pretty sure you've found a clue to the location of Martin's sword.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is telling [[White Hat]] about his attempt at {{w|debugging}}, i.e. the process of finding out what is causing a given (computer) problem, which can become increasingly difficult and convoluted. In this case, Cueball had a problem with his {{w|Web browser|browser}}. His attempts to solve this problem led him to a problem with the {{w|Device driver|device driver}} for his {{w|Computer keyboard|keyboard}}. Chasing that issue, he found an unclear error message from a {{w|Utility software|system utility}}, and so on.

Cueball decides to "make a long story short" by skipping several steps he believes are boring, and he unexpectedly reveals this process has led him to find the “[[wikia:w:c:redwall:Sword of Martin|Sword]] of {{w|List of Redwall characters#Martin I|Martin the Warrior}}”, a legendary relic from the children's fantasy novel series ''{{w|Redwall}}''. This refers to the fact that a complicated riddled path was devised in the series that would lead to the sword, which is similar to the process of debugging, as it involves following clues to achieve an answer. But apart from that, they are entirely different.{{Citation needed}} This is pointed out by White Hat who states that at some point in the process he switched from the puzzle of debugging to the Redwall puzzle of finding Martin's sword. Redwall has been referenced before, most prominently in [[370: Redwall]]; where Martin and the sword can be seen; but also in [[1286: Encryptic]] and more recently in [[1688: Map Age Guide]].

The characters in ''Redwall'' are woodland animals, and Martin the Warrior is a mouse; the sword that Cueball finds is correspondingly tiny.

{{w|Googling}} an error message is a common method used during debugging, often leading to useful information. However, when there are no search results for a given message, it may mean the problem is so obscure that almost nobody had experienced it before. (See also ''[[979: Wisdom of the Ancients]]'' about getting only one result.) Or, as the title text hints, it might mean it was a hidden clue to the location of Martin’s sword.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and White Hat are walking, while Cueball holds a hand out while talking.]
:Cueball: I was trying to figure out why my browser was acting weird.

:[In a frame-less panel they keep in walking, Cueball holds both hands up in front of him.]
:Cueball: Turns out it wasn't the browser-the issue was with my keyboard driver.

:[Zoom in on Cueball's upper torso as he is holding a finger up.]
:Cueball: Debugging '''''that''''' led me to a mysterious error message from a system utility...

:[Zoom out as Cueball holds up a miniature sword by the blade in one hand. White Hat turns his head around and looks at it while they keep walking.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, I found the sword of Martin the Warrior.
:White Hat: I think at some point there you switched puzzles.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Redwall]]