A Comprehensive Guide to Solving Code Issues: Case Study with Smartphone Pricing System

When troubleshooting code related issues in a software development project, it is crucial to understand both the basic principles and the specific context in which the code is being tested. This article delves into the debugging process, providing a detailed explanation and analysis of a complex code snippet. We will also explore effective coding practices and common pitfalls to steer clear of in future projects.

Introduction

Developers often encounter code that does not function as intended. Identifying the source of the problem can be a daunting task, especially in large and complex projects. In this article, we will dissect a case study of a smartphone pricing system in the C language, which will help illustrate the debugging process and offer insights into best coding practices.

The Code in Question

Consider the following code snippet that aims to create a pricing system for smartphones:

name  name;     }     void display() {         cout '  name  '
;     }     double returnTotal() {         return total;     } } class smartphone: public phone { private:     int phonee  0, brand; public:     void getPhone() {         displayMenu();         cout Enter brand number: ;         cin  brand;         if (brand  1) {             cout Enter iPhone number: ;             int phonee;             cin  phonee;             total  price_for_iphone[phonee - 1];         }         else if (brand  2) {             cout Enter Samsung number: ;             int phonee;             cin  phonee;             total  price_for_samsung[phonee - 1];         }         else if (brand  3) {             cout Enter Google Pixel number: ;             int phonee;             cin  phonee;             total  price_for_pixel[phonee - 1];         }         cout Total: $  total  
;     }     double calculateDiscount(int qty) {         if (qty  2)             return total - 0.1 * total;         else             return 0;     } } int main() {     string name;     int quantity, discount  0, total  0;     cout Enter your name: ;     getline(cin, name);     phone p(name);     smartphone aa;     cout Enter quantity: ;     cin  quantity;     for (int i  0; i  quantity; i  ) {         // TODO: Implement proper quantity handling     }     if (quantity  2) {         p.display();         discount  calculateDiscount(quantity);         cout Discount: $  discount  
;         total  total - discount;         cout Total: $  total  
;     } else {         cout Total: $  total  
;     }     return 0; }

The code snippet contains a class hierarchy used to simulate a smartphone pricing system. Despite the intentions, the code appears to be fundamentally flawed. The class design and inheritance are not well thought out, and there are several issues that prevent the code from functioning as expected.

Identifying and Solving the Issues

Firstly, the use of global variables and the incorrect logic for the quantity check are apparent issues. Below are the steps to identify and correct them:

1. Proper Class Design and Inheritance

The current class design and inheritance relationships can lead to misunderstandings and errors. For instance, the smartphone class inherits from phone, but the phonee and brand variables are declared in the smartphone class rather than the phone class. This suggests an inappropriate use of inheritance:

class smartphone: public phone { private:     int phonee  0, brand; // Move these variables to the phone classpublic:     void getPhone() {         // ... (same logic as before)    }}

By moving the variables to the phone class, the smartphone can uniformly share these attributes across all smartphone types.

2. Handling the Quantity Check

The current structure of the if (quantity 2) condition and the discount calculation are problematic. The discount should be calculated based on the total price, and the quantity should be correctly handled. Here's a revised approach:

if (quantity  2) {     total  ;     discount  (quantity);     cout Discount: $  discount  
;     total  total - discount;     cout Total: $  total  
; } else {     cout Total: $  ()  
; }

This ensures the discount is correctly applied to the overall total based on the quantity of items purchased.

Conclusion

Solving code issues requires a step-by-step approach, including proper class design, inheritance, and handling logic. The code provided showcases important lessons for developers, including the importance of clear class hierarchies and thorough testing. By focusing on these aspects, developers can write more robust and maintainable code.