Are the posted questions getting worse?

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Are the posted questions getting worse?

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Andrew Kernodle SSCertifiable Points: 5314 More actions · Answer 1

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! It's great to be able to finally chat in The Thread with some context, not that it was needed. I just tend to have the quirk of wanting to know what I'm getting into. After the first dozen pages, though, I realized I might be in way over my head :-D.

Lynn, it took me... Hm. Probably almost a year to read the whole thread, though I was only reading it during downtime at work. Most of that downtime was at my last job, so my reading pace slowed a lot recently. This thread's been to some amusing places, though, and reading the solutions to some problems, while painful, was definitely enlightening.

- 😀

Lynn Pettis SSC Guru Points: 442467 More actions · Answer 2

Well, by reading The Thread from start to now you also got to learn some interesting things about many of the regulars here on SSC. Hopefully you also learned why we refer to this as The Water Cooler.

It is a good place to socialize, blow off a little steam, and get others to help (on other threads) when you are stumped with your own problem or on others.

You may also come to call some of us friends at some point, I know I do. I know more about some people here than I do about some of the people I work with on a daily basis.

Again, welcome.

Jan Van der Eecken SSCrazy Eights Points: 9029 More actions · Answer 3

Jeff Moden (9/20/2013)
wolfkillj (9/20/2013)
The filibustering member stops speaking during debate on the point of order but has to follow all the other rules, including remaining standing.
Sounds like some of the scrums I've had to attend.

😛

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing (Alexander Pope)
In order for us to help you as efficiently as possible, please read this before posting (courtesy of Jeff Moden)[/url]

Andrew Kernodle SSCertifiable Points: 5314 More actions · Answer 4

Lynn Pettis (9/21/2013)
Well, by reading The Thread from start to now you also got to learn some interesting things about many of the regulars here on SSC. Hopefully you also learned why we refer to this as The Water Cooler.
It is a good place to socialize, blow off a little steam, and get others to help (on other threads) when you are stumped with your own problem or on others.
You may also come to call some of us friends at some point, I know I do. I know more about some people here than I do about some of the people I work with on a daily basis.
Again, welcome.

Thanks, Lynn :-D. I'll probably lurk around and toss in some commentary here and there while I browse the site when work's slow. And if I end up becoming friends with some of the regulars here, I'd be quite honored! Seeing the work you all do is great, and I've learned a ton just by observing. Maybe at some point I'll be able to attend a conference and pick up some in-person learning. And then I'll need to sleep for awhile so my brain doesn't turn into pudding from over-saturation 🙂

- 😀

Lynn Pettis SSC Guru Points: 442467 More actions · Answer 5

hisakimatama (9/21/2013)
Lynn Pettis (9/21/2013)
Well, by reading The Thread from start to now you also got to learn some interesting things about many of the regulars here on SSC. Hopefully you also learned why we refer to this as The Water Cooler.
It is a good place to socialize, blow off a little steam, and get others to help (on other threads) when you are stumped with your own problem or on others.
You may also come to call some of us friends at some point, I know I do. I know more about some people here than I do about some of the people I work with on a daily basis.
Again, welcome.
Thanks, Lynn :-D. I'll probably lurk around and toss in some commentary here and there while I browse the site when work's slow. And if I end up becoming friends with some of the regulars here, I'd be quite honored! Seeing the work you all do is great, and I've learned a ton just by observing. Maybe at some point I'll be able to attend a conference and pick up some in-person learning. And then I'll need to sleep for awhile so my brain doesn't turn into pudding from over-saturation 🙂

I learned more when I became more involved on SSC and started trying to help others. Several key people showed me better ways and I learned from them. My suggestion, don't just lurk. Try to solve some of the problems posted even if you don't post a solution. You can still compare whet you develop to what others may post.

Koen Verbeeck SSC Guru Points: 259105 More actions · Answer 6

Jan Van der Eecken (9/20/2013)
wolfkillj (9/20/2013)
... The filibuster ...
I don't think I'm the lone non-US citizen who doesn't quite understand what the Filibuster is all about. The way I understand it is that some Representative keeps on talking (without sitting down) about one or other topic that's up for a vote in the House in order to make sure that the bill in question isn't put up for a vote within a certain allotted time. Am I right?

We have it in Belgium as well. If I remember it correctly, one of the politicians was reading from a telephone book for hours.

Our tax money well spent...

Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

Dwain Camps SSC Guru Points: 86948 More actions · Answer 7

Lynn Pettis (9/21/2013)
hisakimatama (9/21/2013)
Lynn Pettis (9/21/2013)
Well, by reading The Thread from start to now you also got to learn some interesting things about many of the regulars here on SSC. Hopefully you also learned why we refer to this as The Water Cooler.
It is a good place to socialize, blow off a little steam, and get others to help (on other threads) when you are stumped with your own problem or on others.
You may also come to call some of us friends at some point, I know I do. I know more about some people here than I do about some of the people I work with on a daily basis.
Again, welcome.
Thanks, Lynn :-D. I'll probably lurk around and toss in some commentary here and there while I browse the site when work's slow. And if I end up becoming friends with some of the regulars here, I'd be quite honored! Seeing the work you all do is great, and I've learned a ton just by observing. Maybe at some point I'll be able to attend a conference and pick up some in-person learning. And then I'll need to sleep for awhile so my brain doesn't turn into pudding from over-saturation 🙂
I learned more when I became more involved on SSC and started trying to help others. Several key people showed me better ways and I learned from them. My suggestion, don't just lurk. Try to solve some of the problems posted even if you don't post a solution. You can still compare whet you develop to what others may post.

+1 for the excellent advice. That's exactly how I got started.

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

andrew gothard SSChampion Points: 12314 More actions · Answer 8

Jeff Moden (9/20/2013)
Are you good folks saying that any form of SELECT/INTO is bad? If so, why?

Certainly not. However, in the form highlighted in the original post, it's inexcusable in production code

I'm a DBA.
I'm not paid to solve problems. I'm paid to prevent them.

venoym SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4161 More actions · Answer 9

Koen Verbeeck (9/22/2013)
Jan Van der Eecken (9/20/2013)
wolfkillj (9/20/2013)
... The filibuster ...
I don't think I'm the lone non-US citizen who doesn't quite understand what the Filibuster is all about. The way I understand it is that some Representative keeps on talking (without sitting down) about one or other topic that's up for a vote in the House in order to make sure that the bill in question isn't put up for a vote within a certain allotted time. Am I right?
We have it in Belgium as well. If I remember it correctly, one of the politicians was reading from a telephone book for hours.
Our tax money well spent...

I actually would say that politicians who do nothing but stand and talk actually is tax money well spent... it's when they agree and pass a law that it's not well spent. I prefer to think of it as 2 (or more) tribes of cannibals who are trying to decide whether to have legs or arms for dinner... the longer they argue the better for me.

WayneS SSC Guru Points: 95460 More actions · Answer 10

hisakimatama (9/21/2013)
This thread's been to some amusing places, though, ...

I'm nominating this as the "Understatement of the Year"

Wayne
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes

If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!

Links:
For better assistance in answering your questions
Performance Problems
Common date/time routines
Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

Andrew Kernodle SSCertifiable Points: 5314 More actions · Answer 11

Lynn Pettis (9/21/2013)
hisakimatama (9/21/2013)
Lynn Pettis (9/21/2013)
Well, by reading The Thread from start to now you also got to learn some interesting things about many of the regulars here on SSC. Hopefully you also learned why we refer to this as The Water Cooler.
It is a good place to socialize, blow off a little steam, and get others to help (on other threads) when you are stumped with your own problem or on others.
You may also come to call some of us friends at some point, I know I do. I know more about some people here than I do about some of the people I work with on a daily basis.
Again, welcome.
Thanks, Lynn :-D. I'll probably lurk around and toss in some commentary here and there while I browse the site when work's slow. And if I end up becoming friends with some of the regulars here, I'd be quite honored! Seeing the work you all do is great, and I've learned a ton just by observing. Maybe at some point I'll be able to attend a conference and pick up some in-person learning. And then I'll need to sleep for awhile so my brain doesn't turn into pudding from over-saturation 🙂
I learned more when I became more involved on SSC and started trying to help others. Several key people showed me better ways and I learned from them. My suggestion, don't just lurk. Try to solve some of the problems posted even if you don't post a solution. You can still compare whet you develop to what others may post.

Oh, definitely! I'll be trying to answer a few of the questions that are floating around on the forums. Took a crack at two on Friday, and I seem to have been helpful enough. At least, I'm fairly sure I was helpful... My legs haven't been taken out by porcine missiles yet, so I'll assume I haven't done anything too horrible just yet 😀

- 😀

Grant Fritchey SSC Guru Points: 398882 More actions · Answer 12

Rolled out an explosive. It could be a lady finger or a nuclear bomb. Curious how it's going to go off. Stand by for a fizzle or a big bang.

"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

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004340 More actions · Answer 13

Grant Fritchey (9/23/2013)
Rolled out an explosive. It could be a lady finger or a nuclear bomb. Curious how it's going to go off. Stand by for a fizzle or a big bang.

Real or code metaphor?

--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)

Grant Fritchey SSC Guru Points: 398882 More actions · Answer 14

Jeff Moden (9/23/2013)
Grant Fritchey (9/23/2013)
Rolled out an explosive. It could be a lady finger or a nuclear bomb. Curious how it's going to go off. Stand by for a fizzle or a big bang.
Real or code metaphor?

Metaphor.

Trust me, when I build real explosives (not that I would ever do that) I usually have a pretty good idea how big the bang will be (mostly, occasional surprises are part of the fun).

"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

jasona.work SSC Guru Points: 50117 More actions · Answer 15

So, this weekend I learned a valuable lesson (that I should've already known:) ALWAYS verify everything is working before calling it done...

I was loading OS updates on a SQL server that I had also set the -T1222 flag for the next time I rebooted (which would be when loading said updates.) Yeah, well, didn't realize that I actually needed to put in ;-T1222

So, SQL couldn't start and spent all weekend down. Thankfully no one needed to use it until today, and it only took a couple minutes to straighten things out (saw in the event logs the error, rather than take the time to research, took out the -T1222 and started SQL)

eye am smart, really i are...

:hehe: