How do you keep debug code out of production?

Question

It happens to the best of us.

Particularly when dealing with languages without built in debugging capabilities such as breakpoints and watched variables, these bugs bite developers. Debugging code, alerts and Response.Writes, show up in production code.

How do you separate debugging concerns from functional code in javascript, php, or vbscript? How do you ensure those debugging changes never enter production environments?

Answer 1

It may not be perfect but I have a macro in my editor that allows me to add debug and wraps it in appropriate flagging comments. I also have a script that I run later that rips that stuff back out. Granted, it took me a while to really trust this mechanism but over time I've become comfortable with it.

My preference is avoid ever checking in debug code. Obviously as with any other 'rule' there are exceptions to this, but because it's easy to miss things later, I don't like checking it in.