Files and Paths · interview question

A bug appears around reading text. What is the strongest first debugging move?

Multiple choiceEasychapter-4-curatedpremiumfiles-and-pathsreading-text

python

from pathlib import Path

config_text = Path("config.txt").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
print(config_text.strip())

Delay clarity until production traffic reveals the edge case and then patch it under pressure.Keep reading text implicit so the script stays short and hope the next engineer infers the rule.Solve the symptom with comments only and avoid changing the code shape around reading text.Trace one concrete example, inspect the state transitions, and compare them to the intended rule before rewriting anything.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer

D. Trace one concrete example, inspect the state transitions, and compare them to the intended rule before rewriting anything.

Why

That approach is reliable because it creates evidence. If the script hides encoding or file ownership assumptions, subtle environment issues become harder to explain.

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A bug appears around reading text. What is the strongest first debugging move?

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