information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

, the observer effect is the impact on the behaviour of a computer process caused by the act of observing the process while it is running. For example: if a process uses a log file to record its progress, the process could slow down. Furthermore, the act of viewing the file while the process is running could cause an I/O error in the process, which could, in turn, cause it to stop. Another example would be observing the performance of a CPU by running both the observed and observing programs on the same CPU, which will lead to inaccurate results because the observer program itself affects the CPU performance (modern, heavily cached and pipelined CPUs are particularly affected by this kind of observation). The observer effect could either have a positive or negative impact on the computer process behaviour. A positive impact can be

software bugs A software bug is an error, flaw or fault (technology), fault in the design, development, or operation of computer software that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways. The process of finding an ...

, also known as Heisenbugs, which diminish or change their negative behavior when observation mechanisms, such as

debugging In computer programming and software development, debugging is the process of finding and resolving '' bugs'' (defects or problems that prevent correct operation) within computer programs, software, or systems. Debugging tactics can involve in ...

, are enabled. Such bugs usually create extra difficulties in being isolated.

References

{{Reflist Computer programming