The Matter of One Line Fix

At 2pm, someone said it was probably a one-line fix.

This was assessed based on the nature of the bug, the area of the codebase involved, and experience with similar problems. The assessment was accurate. Somewhere in the codebase, there is one line that needs to change. The line has not yet been located.

By 2:45pm, the search had narrowed to three possible files.

By 3:30pm, all three files had been checked and none contained the line. This was unexpected. The narrowing had been confident.

The Expansion

At 4pm, the investigation expanded to files that were connected to the original three but which had seemed less likely. This produced two more likely locations. Both were incorrect.

At 4:45pm, the original three files were revisited on the grounds that something might have been missed. Something had not been missed. The files were the same as they had been at 3:30pm.

At 5pm, the line was found in a file that had been considered unlikely at 2pm because its name suggested it was responsible for something different. It was responsible for something different. It was also responsible for this.

The Fix

The fix was one line. It was changed. The bug was resolved. The investigation had lasted three hours and involved forty-seven files, six dead ends, one meeting to discuss progress, and a brief period at 4:15pm where the original assessment of "one line fix" was reconsidered before being reconfirmed.

It was one line. It is one line. The three hours were the cost of knowing which one.

The next similar bug will also be described as a one-line fix. This will also be accurate.