Using a real debugger is great, and it gives FAR more power. It also allows me to wander around and check the values of various things without having to re-compile, re-deploy, and re-run the application up to the point where the error is occurring.
But getting the debugger to work takes a few hours of setup. If I'm at someone else's desk helping them debug a problem, it will take hours to get the debugger working, and only a few minutes to add the print statement.
If I'm working at my own desk and I briefly need to make a small change to another application that I don't normally work on, it would take me hours to get the debugger set up and only a few minutes to add the print statement.
If I'm fixing a problem that only occurs in QA (or worse yet, in production) then I have to use logging or a print statement because it would take days to get permission to attach my debugger to QA.
If I'm working on my own usual project, then I use the debugger because it is many, many times more powerful. Unless it's Tuesday, or for some other random reason the environment gods hate me and my debugger isn't working today. Then, depending on how much of a rush I'm in, I invest another few hours into fixing it or I just add a print statement and get on with my work and fix the environment later.
PS: I'm writing this while waiting for my IDE to recompile the world in my 4th attempt to get my debugger working again because my environment broke for no known reason.
Using a real debugger is great, and it gives FAR more power. It also allows me to wander around and check the values of various things without having to re-compile, re-deploy, and re-run the application up to the point where the error is occurring.
But getting the debugger to work takes a few hours of setup. If I'm at someone else's desk helping them debug a problem, it will take hours to get the debugger working, and only a few minutes to add the print statement.
If I'm working at my own desk and I briefly need to make a small change to another application that I don't normally work on, it would take me hours to get the debugger set up and only a few minutes to add the print statement.
If I'm fixing a problem that only occurs in QA (or worse yet, in production) then I have to use logging or a print statement because it would take days to get permission to attach my debugger to QA.
If I'm working on my own usual project, then I use the debugger because it is many, many times more powerful. Unless it's Tuesday, or for some other random reason the environment gods hate me and my debugger isn't working today. Then, depending on how much of a rush I'm in, I invest another few hours into fixing it or I just add a print statement and get on with my work and fix the environment later.
PS: I'm writing this while waiting for my IDE to recompile the world in my 4th attempt to get my debugger working again because my environment broke for no known reason.