
Ask HN: Is there a name for this semi-common debugging occurrence? - eeegnu
I was building an app for chess on topologies other than just the plane, and in testing I couldn&#x27;t figure out why the king was disallowed from making a certain move. It turned out it was functioning perfectly, and it was just hard for a human to notice the square was rightfully in danger. I feel like there should be a name for this phenomenon where you believe there to be a bug, spend a while searching for it, only to discover your program was actually functioning perfectly.
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jbotz
I don't know of an existing name, but I'll invent one right now that works:
it's a "Scheinbug".

"Schein-" as a prefix in German means something that appears to be one thing
but isn't what it appears to be. Depending on context it can be analogous to
the English "sham", but the later has a more negative, manipulative
connotation, whereas the German "Schein-" connotes a more neutral and complex
confusion of reality and appearance.

It's pronounced exactly like the English "shine", so say "shine-bug".

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weare138
PEBKAC? (Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair)

That's an old one we used to use...

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jbotz
Not the same thing. PEBKAC says the operator is the bug, not that the bug only
exists in the mind of the operator.

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bradknowles
Problem Exists Between Eyes And Fingers?

So, PEBEF?

