# The "Bug-O" Notation

DevFeed: [The "Bug-O" Notation](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-bug-o-notation-36197.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://overreacted.io/the-bug-o-notation/>)

Published: 2019-01-25T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Dan Abramov](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/dan-abramov.md>)

Topics: [API](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/api.md>), [debugging](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/debugging.md>), [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>), [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>)

Tags: [api](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/api.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [complexity](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/complexity.md>), [debugging](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/debugging.md>), [error](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/error.md>), [structure](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/structure.md>)

## AI overview

The article introduces "Bug-O notation," a way to think about how an API can slow developers down as a codebase grows. It argues that API and language design influence debugging difficulty, using imperative DOM updates and many possible operation orderings as an example.

## Source excerpt

What is the 🐞(n) of your API?