Document The Code Please !

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Document The Code Please !

homebrew01

SSC Guru

Points: 55548
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December 26, 2013 at 8:57 am

#287643

Just a General Request.
When giving a helpful reply, throw in a few comments to explain some of the less obvious SQL statements. It can make a world of difference to have even a few words explaining some of the logic & syntax, and only takes a few seconds to type it.
It can save the reader, especially a newbie, lots of head scratching.

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Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004362 More actions · Answer 1

Yeah! Especially THIS guy! 😉

http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/FindPost1512914.aspx

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

homebrew01 SSC Guru Points: 55548 More actions · Answer 2

Jeff Moden (12/26/2013)
Yeah! Especially THIS guy! 😉
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/FindPost1512914.aspx

Yes, great example of what not to do !

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 3

Yeah that Forfiles syntax is throwing me for a complete loop 😉

Seriously, notes in the code is extremely helpful. Especially if we are going to start tossing PoSH scripts up here as answers to questions.

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004362 More actions · Answer 4

SQLRNNR (12/26/2013)
Yeah that Forfiles syntax is throwing me for a complete loop 😉
Seriously, notes in the code is extremely helpful. Especially if we are going to start tossing PoSH scripts up here as answers to questions.

Heh... I agree. Otherwise the PoSH scripts are just PoS. 😉

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 5

Jeff Moden (12/26/2013)
SQLRNNR (12/26/2013)
Yeah that Forfiles syntax is throwing me for a complete loop 😉
Seriously, notes in the code is extremely helpful. Especially if we are going to start tossing PoSH scripts up here as answers to questions.
Heh... I agree. Otherwise the PoSH scripts are just PoS. 😉

Heh..fwiw - pun was not intended.

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events

homebrew01 SSC Guru Points: 55548 More actions · Answer 6

What do wedding invitations have to do with SQL ?

http://www.poshscript.com/

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 7

homebrew01 (12/26/2013)
What do wedding invitations have to do with SQL ?
http://www.poshscript.com/

ROFL - that was good

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events

Dwain Camps SSC Guru Points: 86948 More actions · Answer 8

homebrew01 (12/26/2013)
Just a General Request.
When giving a helpful reply, throw in a few comments to explain some of the less obvious SQL statements. It can make a world of difference to have even a few words explaining some of the logic & syntax, and only takes a few seconds to type it.
It can save the reader, especially a newbie, lots of head scratching.

I suspect Jeff (and probably others) may disagree with me here but there's another school of thought.

While good comments explaining what is going on is great in Prod code, helpful answers to a forum question are those that help the OP learn.

That may mean a little bit of head scratching. Seriously, are you willing to dump some code into Prod just because you found it on the Internet? Better to dissect it and thoroughly understand it first. Comments may possibly distract you from doing that, by beguiling you into thinking that you know what is going on when in reality you may not.

I'm always available to answer questions if you don't understand some code I've posted.

My mantra: No loops! No CURSORs! No RBAR! Hoo-uh![/I]
My thought question: Have you ever been told that your query runs too fast?

My advice:
INDEXing a poor-performing query is like putting sugar on cat food. Yeah, it probably tastes better but are you sure you want to eat it?
The path of least resistance can be a slippery slope. Take care that fixing your fixes of fixes doesn't snowball and end up costing you more than fixing the root cause would have in the first place.

Need to UNPIVOT? Why not CROSS APPLY VALUES instead?[/url]
Since random numbers are too important to be left to chance, let's generate some![/url]
Learn to understand recursive CTEs by example.[/url]
[url url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/St

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004362 More actions · Answer 9

dwain.c (1/1/2014)
homebrew01 (12/26/2013)
Just a General Request.
When giving a helpful reply, throw in a few comments to explain some of the less obvious SQL statements. It can make a world of difference to have even a few words explaining some of the logic & syntax, and only takes a few seconds to type it.
It can save the reader, especially a newbie, lots of head scratching.
I suspect Jeff (and probably others) may disagree with me here but there's another school of thought.
While good comments explaining what is going on is great in Prod code, helpful answers to a forum question are those that help the OP learn.
That may mean a little bit of head scratching. Seriously, are you willing to dump some code into Prod just because you found it on the Internet? Better to dissect it and thoroughly understand it first. Comments may possibly distract you from doing that, by beguiling you into thinking that you know what is going on when in reality you may not.
I'm always available to answer questions if you don't understand some code I've posted.

Nope. I don't disagree at all. That's why I document the hell out of most of the code I post and do the "Alices Restaurant" thing with what I write up.

There are times, however (like the post I just answered about telephone number formats) where I believe the answer is simple enough that if the OP doesn't know what LIKE is, they should take it upon themselves to look up what LIKE does. Ostensibly, the OPs are "programmers" and they should know to lookup things they see in code that they don't know about.

As with all else, "It Depends".

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)