Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • GilaMonster (2/26/2009)


    While following links from that, I ran across this: http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=searchByTag&tag=Wheel%20of%20Time%20re-read

    A re-read and summary of the entire Wheel of Time, reducing each chapter to what looks like 500-700 words. At that rate, all 11 books should come to no more than the size of the Lord of the Rings trilogy 😀

    Should be a little more readable than the full thing (which occupies an entire shelf on my larger bookshelves)

    That's a good link. At least the first post hits the high points and keeps you up to speed.

  • Jack Corbett (2/26/2009)


    At least the first post hits the high points and keeps you up to speed.

    Yup. Half way through and I was reaching for my books. I really enjoyed that series at the beginning, it just didn't live up to expectations.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • [font="Verdana"]OMG! Away for two days, and this place is insane! You even killed Philip Jose Farmer![/font]

  • [font="Verdana"]Okay, some of my own thoughts on the "best/recommended/prescribed practices"...

    I'm with Jeff. 😀

    One thing that annoys me is the continued use of BLOCK UPPER CASE. Are we secretely yearning for COBOL or FORTRAN or our old 2K BASIC days? Why do we upper case stuff?

    I mean, we have colour coded editors these days. So why the upper case?

    Why?

    Why?

    [/font]

  • Gotta agree with you on the uppercase thing.

    I'm having to use it at work these days, because of company standards, but I find it makes the code harder to read.

    - Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
    Property of The Thread

    "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon

  • I can't say I'm crazy about it, but all the cool kids are doing it, so I do to.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • [font="Verdana"]We have a system here that generates T-SQL code. We try and never have to change the code it generates (now that it generates set based code), but whenever we do I have to wince over the use of upper case.

    I remember reading (er, two decades ago!) a study showing that block upper case was less readable than lower case. This was when I was learning some basic typography for "desktop publishing". Wish I could remember where it was.

    [/font]

  • Personally, I think the people who insist on upper-case code should be forced to read all-caps books. Ten minutes of that should cure them!

    - Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
    Property of The Thread

    "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon

  • Since I'm using SQLPrompt Pro, I can force the formatting however I want. I just saw that Apress has a formatting tool that's free. It might be worth a look-see.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • I follow the following casing standard...

    All SQL Keywords in UPPER CASE.

    All database names, table names, procedure names, column names, column aliases, variable names (basically, my stuff) etc, in MixedCase with no underscores. The exception to the rule of no underscores is for triggers, indexes, constraints, and references (FK's).

    Table aliases and owner/schema in all lower case. Normaly kept to 5 characters or less, there's no need for underscores. Here's an example (Tally table)...

    String literals as required.

    Looks pretty good even in a monochromatic environment like below...

    CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.TallyTableRebuild AS

    /**********************************************************************************************************************

    Purpose:

    This stored procedure conditionally drops and rebuilds the dbo.Tally table.

    Revision History:

    Rev 0 - 10 Feb 2009 - Jeff Moden - Initial Creation and unit test.

    - FogBugz Case xxxx - Create/manage working environment for projectnamehere.

    **********************************************************************************************************************/

    --===== Conditionally drop the table so we can rebuild it if it exists

    IF OBJECT_ID('dbo.Tally','U') IS NOT NULL

    DROP TABLE dbo.Tally

    --===== Create and populate the Tally table on the fly

    SELECT TOP 100000

    ISNULL(CAST(ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY sc1.ID) AS INT),0) AS N

    INTO dbo.Tally

    FROM Master.dbo.SysColumns sc1,

    Master.dbo.SysColumns sc2

    --===== Add a Clustered Primary Key to maximize performance

    ALTER TABLE dbo.Tally

    ADD CONSTRAINT PK_Tally_N

    PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (N) WITH FILLFACTOR = 100

    --===== Allow the general public to use it

    GRANT SELECT ON dbo.Tally TO PUBLIC

    --===== Document the table and its column(s)

    -- Column "N"

    EXEC sys.sp_AddExtendedProperty

    @Name = N'MS_Description',

    @Value = N'This column contains whole numbers from 1 to a predetermined number and contains the clustered index.' ,

    @Level0Type = N'SCHEMA',

    @Level0Name = N'dbo',

    @Level1Type = N'TABLE',

    @Level1Name = N'Tally',

    @Level2Type = N'COLUMN',

    @Level2Name = N'N'

    -- Table

    EXEC sys.sp_AddExtendedProperty

    @Name = N'MS_Description',

    @Value = N'This table is a "Numbers" table that is used to replace many While Loops using cross joins to this table.' ,

    @Level0Type = N'SCHEMA',

    @Level0Name = N'dbo',

    @Level1Type = N'TABLE',

    @Level1Name = N'Tally'

    GO

    You just don't wanna know the other readability requirements, naming conventions, and best practices requirements 😛 ... most Developers need to change their "depends" when they see them but they all love to work on my code if it's needed.

    --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)

  • Jeff Moden (2/26/2009)


    All SQL Keywords in UPPER CASE.

    All database names, table names, procedure names, column names, column aliases, variable names (basically, my stuff) etc, in MixedCase with no underscores. The exception to the rule of no underscores is for triggers, indexes, constraints, and references (FK's).

    Table aliases and owner/schema in all lower case. Normaly kept to 5 characters or less, there's no need for underscores. Here's an example (Tally table)...

    String literals as required.

    Snap. Almost exactly the casing standards I use. I do sometimes get lazy when writing something quick to post.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • This works in an environment using a case-insensitive collation:

    FROM Master.dbo.SysColumns sc1,

    Master.dbo.SysColumns sc2

    But it will fail in an environment using a case-sensitive collation. Our PeopleSoft software runs in a case-sensitive environment, Latin1_General_BIN.

  • [font="Verdana"]I made up my own coding style. So far as I know, I'm about the only person in the world who uses it. And if I find someone else using it, I will change mine. :w00t:

    But seriously, I wanted something that was easy to use (i.e. I don't have to "line up keywords" other than easy tabbing), that was easy to read, that encouraged appropriate indentation, and that I could pretty much use across multiple languages (T-SQL, VB and C#). And I see no value in capitalising keywords, even in a monochromatic environment.

    Let's face it, it doesn't matter whether you write it as "select", "SELECT" or "Select", I'm still going to know what it means. So what's the value of upper case?

    This is very much personal preference stuff though.

    [/font]

  • Lynn Pettis (2/26/2009)


    Our PeopleSoft software runs in a case-sensitive environment, Latin1_General_BIN.

    :blink:

  • [crawling out from under soapbox]

    Your party is gathered around a door at the end of the hallway.

    Level 4 half-elven dba opens the door.

    You encounter a COBOLD.

    He attacks with UPPER CASE ONLY.

    Roll 1xd4 for saving throw against being blinded.

    Drop 4" ring binder on COBOLD roll 2xd6 for damage.

    COBOLD vanquished.

    [crawling back under soapbox]

    __________________________________________________

    Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain. -- Friedrich Schiller
    Stop, children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down. -- Stephen Stills

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