Are the posted questions getting worse?

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Are the posted questions getting worse?

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Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004409 More actions · Answer 1

If you own a Kindle (I don't yet) and read technical books on the subjects of SQL Server and T-SQL, I sure would like to hear from you because I'm considering buying one. The two things I'd really like know is what the most popular Kindle seems to be in your opinion (Amazon isn't real good about posting those types of numbers) and a bit about the display of T-SQL code, tables, and graphs.

For example, does a kindle allow you to scroll left and right across an oversize page? Does long code "wrap" on the screen or do most books stay within some limited number of characters? What about tables and graphs? Are you able to "zoom in" on those?

And the specs on Kindles seem to indicate that the "active reading area" of the screens vary in width by very little and are generally in the range of 4.5 to 5.5 inches. Is that true?

--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)

Brandie Tarvin SSC Guru Points: 173080 More actions · Answer 2

Silly question for you. Why do you need a Kindle device when you could install the Kindle or Nook app on any tablet of your choice?

Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736494 More actions · Answer 3

I've had a few Kindle devices and I read almost exclusively with the Kindle app on my phone/iPad. I bought one of the first Kindle devices, and have likely read close to 1,000 books across a decade+. A few thoughts:

App - The app is nice in that it's always with me. I can steal 5 minutes waiting for food, an appt, etc. It works at night/am, and I can read in bed easily for a few minutes. I usually use a black background, white-ish text, and I can grow/shrink text easily, depending on whether I have classes or not. Downside is the brightness at times. Especially at night. I turn it way down, but it still is bright and fatiguing at times.
Kindle device - it's like paper most of the time, and you can easily see text. Grow/shrink, etc. you can carry lots of books on there, and battery lasts a long time. turning pages is with the buttons, and you can "select" images and grow/shrink or scroll around. The newer devices have some backlighting if you need it, but less fatiguing on eyes. I've seen people drop them in a ziploc for beach/bath/etc environments. Way easier to read outside than the app/phone.

Honestly, for tech stuff, they both such a bit. I read some business/nonfiction and getting a chart/image and trying to zoom in is hard. Often I can gloss over those, and then pick up some details on the computer, where you can use the "Cloud Reader" in a browser and get a better view. This happens when I send PDFs over, and so for code/image/tables, I will go back on a big screen to really see what the info is. The plus side, too, is that I can copy/paste stuff over from the cloud reader to SSMS/VS/etc.

To me, they are really if you want to consume text. I get a lot of books from the library as well as AMZN. I can email PDFs in and read them, but it's about convenience and seeing text. I find images/code/etc are less useful on the e-reader. Of course, they are a PIA in paper as well. Trying to keep a book held open and type in code stinks.

The Kindle devices are nice. I might suggest you try the app first, and see how your eyes adjust. My wife thought it was stupid in 2010, but tried it for a couple months and she uses it constantly now. The kids liked the devices more, because they were closer to paper. They are small and easy to carry around, and fairly cheap, but try e-reading first, then decide if you want to get a specific device.

I do like e-ink, but I don't want to carry another device and my phone works well with the 5" screen.

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004409 More actions · Answer 4

Brandie Tarvin wrote:

Silly question for you. Why do you need a Kindle device when you could install the Kindle or Nook app on any tablet of your choice?

Nope... not a silly question at all.

I've been asked to work on a project (which could become one of many) and have been specifically told that anything I write for the project must be nicely visible on a Kindle. Since I have code, graphs, and tables to go along with some writing, I thought I'd buy a "paper white" Kindle to make sure my stuff fits the bill.

Personally, I don't like the idea but that's the way things are going nowadays.

You mention "tablet". Does that mean that such apps will also work on a traditional laptop?

And pardon my ignorance about all of this. Before yesterday, I wasn't even sure how to spell "Kindle". 😀

--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)

Michael L John One Orange Chip Points: 27060 More actions · Answer 5

Jeff Moden wrote:

Brandie Tarvin wrote:
Silly question for you. Why do you need a Kindle device when you could install the Kindle or Nook app on any tablet of your choice?
Nope... not a silly question at all.
I've been asked to work on a project (which could become one of many) and have been specifically told that anything I write for the project must be nicely visible on a Kindle. Since I have code, graphs, and tables to go along with some writing, I thought I'd buy a "paper white" Kindle to make sure my stuff fits the bill.
Personally, I don't like the idea but that's the way things are going nowadays.
You mention "tablet". Does that mean that such apps will also work on a traditional laptop?
And pardon my ignorance about all of this. Before yesterday, I wasn't even sure how to spell "Kindle". 😀

Yes, you can install the apps on your PC.

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Digital-Services-LLC-Download/dp/B00UB76290

There are also add-ons for the various browsers.

Michael L John
If you assassinate a DBA, would you pull a trigger?
To properly post on a forum:
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/61537/

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004409 More actions · Answer 6

Steve Jones - SSC Editor wrote:

I've had a few Kindle devices and I read almost exclusively with the Kindle app on my phone/iPad. I bought one of the first Kindle devices, and have likely read close to 1,000 books across a decade+. A few thoughts:
App - The app is nice in that it's always with me. I can steal 5 minutes waiting for food, an appt, etc. It works at night/am, and I can read in bed easily for a few minutes. I usually use a black background, white-ish text, and I can grow/shrink text easily, depending on whether I have classes or not. Downside is the brightness at times. Especially at night. I turn it way down, but it still is bright and fatiguing at times.
Kindle device - it's like paper most of the time, and you can easily see text. Grow/shrink, etc. you can carry lots of books on there, and battery lasts a long time. turning pages is with the buttons, and you can "select" images and grow/shrink or scroll around. The newer devices have some backlighting if you need it, but less fatiguing on eyes. I've seen people drop them in a ziploc for beach/bath/etc environments. Way easier to read outside than the app/phone.
Honestly, for tech stuff, they both such a bit. I read some business/nonfiction and getting a chart/image and trying to zoom in is hard. Often I can gloss over those, and then pick up some details on the computer, where you can use the "Cloud Reader" in a browser and get a better view. This happens when I send PDFs over, and so for code/image/tables, I will go back on a big screen to really see what the info is. The plus side, too, is that I can copy/paste stuff over from the cloud reader to SSMS/VS/etc.
To me, they are really if you want to consume text. I get a lot of books from the library as well as AMZN. I can email PDFs in and read them, but it's about convenience and seeing text. I find images/code/etc are less useful on the e-reader. Of course, they are a PIA in paper as well. Trying to keep a book held open and type in code stinks.
The Kindle devices are nice. I might suggest you try the app first, and see how your eyes adjust. My wife thought it was stupid in 2010, but tried it for a couple months and she uses it constantly now. The kids liked the devices more, because they were closer to paper. They are small and easy to carry around, and fairly cheap, but try e-reading first, then decide if you want to get a specific device.
I do like e-ink, but I don't want to carry another device and my phone works well with the 5" screen.

Awesome feedback from a technical user, Steve. Thank you a ton for your response. The really cool part of it is that I now understand how a technical user might use it for technical writings/books. I'm especially happy to know that there is a zoom feature for graphics even if it is a PITA. That's going to save me a whole lot of time.

I really appreciate it!

--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 SSC Guru Points: 1004409 More actions · Answer 7

Michael L John wrote:

Jeff Moden wrote:
Brandie Tarvin wrote:
Silly question for you. Why do you need a Kindle device when you could install the Kindle or Nook app on any tablet of your choice?
Nope... not a silly question at all.
I've been asked to work on a project (which could become one of many) and have been specifically told that anything I write for the project must be nicely visible on a Kindle. Since I have code, graphs, and tables to go along with some writing, I thought I'd buy a "paper white" Kindle to make sure my stuff fits the bill.
Personally, I don't like the idea but that's the way things are going nowadays.
You mention "tablet". Does that mean that such apps will also work on a traditional laptop?
And pardon my ignorance about all of this. Before yesterday, I wasn't even sure how to spell "Kindle". 😀
Yes, you can install the apps on your PC.
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Digital-Services-LLC-Download/dp/B00UB76290
There are also add-ons for the various browsers.

Awesome. Thanks Mike!

--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)

Brandie Tarvin SSC Guru Points: 173080 More actions · Answer 8

Ah, okay. You've asked a question that happens to fit my editorial and writing expertise. Yes, the apps work on laptops, but yes, you still need a Kindle.

The reason being is that the format will not always scale the same between devices (Kindle vs App on Surface vs App on iPad vs app on laptop). And font will be the primary reason. There has always been one type of font that worked well for us (not breaking words in the middle or leaving huge white space gaps. And it works equally well on Nook as well as Kindle. Cambria. It's beautiful for digital work.

Hope this information helps.

Edit: Also, Cambria doesn't leave those funny ansi characters all over ebooks like other fonts do during the conversion process. Not sure why, but it doesn't and I love it for that alone.

This reply was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by Brandie Tarvin.

Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004409 More actions · Answer 9

Great info. Thanks, Brandie.

--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)

ChrisM@Work SSC Guru Points: 186127 More actions · Answer 10

Steve Jones - SSC Editor wrote:

Michael L John wrote:
ChrisM@Work wrote:
Hi folks
I can't find anywhere else to ask this, so here it is. SQL Server 2017 Standard Edition is restricted to 24 cores. Does this mean that the licencing cost is capped at 12 2-core packs, or would you require 16 2-core packs for a server furnished with 2 x 16 core CPU's?
Many thanks.
I’m almost positive you have to license all the cores even if you don’t use them. I had to deal with that false assumption by my predecessors 7 years ago.
I think license all cores is generally the way things work, but if you have a 24 core restriction, I'm not sure you need 32 licenses. At the same time, I bet you would get different answers from different licensing people.

Thanks Steve, and everybody else who contributed too. I've been unable to find any good support for the idea that you should only require 24 licenses max for Standard edition because it's restricted to 24 cores - seems illogical to me but it is what it is.

^{“Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw}

For fast, accurate and documented assistance in answering your questions, please read this article.
Understanding and using APPLY, (I) and (II) Paul White
Hidden RBAR: Triangular Joins / The "Numbers" or "Tally" Table: What it is and how it replaces a loop Jeff Moden

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004409 More actions · Answer 11

Good lord... the things MS spends money on. This seems a bit ridiculous to me especially when there's still so much in the product that needs to be fixed.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/28/22407297/microsoft-office-new-default-font-2022

--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)

ZZartin SSC-Dedicated Points: 30921 More actions · Answer 12

Jeff Moden wrote:

Good lord... the things MS spends money on. This seems a bit ridiculous to me especially when there's still so much in the product that needs to be fixed.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/28/22407297/microsoft-office-new-default-font-2022

Now they need to make sure they're using the right shade of black.

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004409 More actions · Answer 13

It's really stupid... they all look like good ol' fashioned Arial with slightly different spacing. Heh... you can change the package but it's still the same ol' Ritz. No wonder stuff nowadays is so bloody expensive.

--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)

Sergiy SSC Guru Points: 110208 More actions · Answer 14

LibreOffice is not expensive at all

_____________
Code for TallyGenerator

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004409 More actions · Answer 15

Sergiy wrote:

LibreOffice is not expensive at all

I just took a look at the website for that. It seems they have a huge amount of documentation, as well. I'm going to have a look! Thanks, Sergiy.

--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)