Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Looking forward to sqlserverdays at the end of september.

    Barn, report builder 3 (web-SSRS) doesn't allow selfjoins or joining a table twice because it can't alias tables properly (common dimensions?)

    Kindly vote to fix this shortcoming

  • Okay, I may have gotten out of line in this thread, http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1611473-150-1.aspx, but I'm not sure. Been trying to help the OP all day and the response where the OP said:

    Seems like you're an application developer and not SSRS person, and you haven't helped me the most, but you keep replying.

    Really set me off a bit.

    Go ahead and slap me down if I crossed a line, even though I did provide another solution.

  • You're fine Jack. He doesn't understand that without knowing the data and structure you can't simply answer thiscolumn-thatcolumn as the expression. He's also frustrated and he's chewing on you for it.

    I had to reread his last response 3 times before I decided I wouldn't drop an anvil on him. It's just incredible frustration and attempting to be polite about it that he feels like he's running around in circles for what, from his side of the information, is a simple question.

    Let him simmer. He'll either return with hat in hand or he'll do his research and realize the depth of the question and find his own answer.


    - Craig Farrell

    Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.

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  • Jack Corbett (9/9/2014)


    Okay, I may have gotten out of line in this thread, http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1611473-150-1.aspx, but I'm not sure. Been trying to help the OP all day and the response where the OP said:

    Seems like you're an application developer and not SSRS person, and you haven't helped me the most, but you keep replying.

    Really set me off a bit.

    Go ahead and slap me down if I crossed a line, even though I did provide another solution.

    Been there and done that with that poster. You are starting to get the same treatment I got. He even finally told me to NOT reply to any of his posts. I was trying to do the same thing you are, get all the information you need to provide the best possibile answer.

  • Thanks guys. That one got to me because I put a lot of time into providing solutions that did exactly what he needed for results based on the information provided and nothing met his standard. I only stuck with it because it was an interesting problem to try to solve in SSRS without writing custom code. It was pretty trivial to solve using T-SQL which is why everyone who posted gave a T-SQL solution.

  • FWIW, sometimes people just don't know what an answerable question looks like (complete with sample data etc). I was sorely tempted to post a link to Jeff's article when the poster didn't give enough information, and then was catty when I answered. Manners are good!

  • Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

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    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

    Only working 3/4 of a year?

    Can I sign up?

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (9/10/2014)


    Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

    Only working 3/4 of a year?

    Can I sign up?

    Would be nice!

    I thought maybe the months are in Hex? Someone else suggested dates with a 3 digit year. I thought maybe it was an old format that someone is still coding for.

    I'm really looking forward to finding out the answer.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

    Well, months have no more than 31 days, we have 10 numeric digits and 26 letters, so more than enough space.

    So today is A092014

    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
  • GilaMonster (9/10/2014)


    Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

    Well, months have no more than 31 days, we have 10 numeric digits and 26 letters, so more than enough space.

    So today is A092014

    But then shouldn't it be char(7)?

    I suppose today could be A92014. (should still be char(7) in that case)

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

    Ordinal Date? 😀

    Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
    Anon.

  • David Burrows (9/10/2014)


    Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

    Ordinal Date? 😀

    Call me old-fashioned, but I actually like the SQL datetime data type. Or maybe that means I'm demented instead...not sure. 😉

  • Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    GilaMonster (9/10/2014)


    Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

    Well, months have no more than 31 days, we have 10 numeric digits and 26 letters, so more than enough space.

    So today is A092014

    But then shouldn't it be char(7)?

    What is this 'char' that you speak of? *evil grin*

    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
  • Ed Wagner (9/10/2014)


    David Burrows (9/10/2014)


    Stefan Krzywicki (9/10/2014)


    Date columns as a varchar(7). What are you even putting in there? Still better than the date columns as Timestamp I guess.

    Ordinal Date? 😀

    Call me old-fashioned, but I actually like the SQL datetime data type. Or maybe that means I'm demented instead...not sure. 😉

    I'm used to trying to decide what kind of date type to use, when I saw this it brought me up short.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

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