Forum Etiquette: How to post Reporting Services problems

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Forum Etiquette: How to post Reporting Services problems

mister.magoo

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January 28, 2014 at 12:06 am

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Comments posted to this topic are about the item Forum Etiquette: How to post Reporting Services problems
MM

select geometry::STGeomFromWKB(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
Forum Etiquette: How to post Reporting Services problems

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Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help - by Jeff Moden
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How to Post Performance Problems - by Gail Shaw
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andrew.edgar SSC Veteran Points: 225 More actions · Answer 1

Good article, however...

Most organisations I have worked for would take disciplinary action against any employee who was found to be posting source code from within the organisation, so best check your companies policy before doing this type of thing.

mister.magoo SSC-Forever Points: 47174 More actions · Answer 2

andrew.edgar (1/28/2014)
Good article, however...
Most organisations I have worked for would take disciplinary action against any employee who was found to be posting source code from within the organisation, so best check your companies policy before doing this type of thing.

Thanks Andrew, and yes you should always be careful not to breach company policy.

Hopefully, most of the time, you should be able to recreate the problem with generic data and a simplified design just to demonstrate the issue, but even then some companies just do not allow you to post code/data no matter what.

In the case where you cannot post, you just need to be as precise as possible with your description and hope people understand.

Thanks for the feedback.

MM

select geometry::STGeomFromWKB(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

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004419 More actions · Answer 3

andrew.edgar (1/28/2014)
Good article, however...
Most organisations I have worked for would take disciplinary action against any employee who was found to be posting source code from within the organisation, so best check your companies policy before doing this type of thing.

Agreed. That should absolutely always be a given. Even if the company has no such policy, no one should ever post any information that is proprietary to a company or private to an individual whether they're posting sample data for a T-SQL problem, posting for performance problems (sometimes need to be careful with what shows up in execution plans and the like), or (now) SSRS samples. That's also part of the reason why I wrote two articles on how to generate test data.

--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: 1004419 More actions · Answer 4

This is a really cool and helpful article, Leigh. It's been something that has been needed for a very long tme so that people can get the help they need. Very well done.

--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)

mister.magoo SSC-Forever Points: 47174 More actions · Answer 5

Jeff Moden (1/28/2014)
This is a really cool and helpful article, Leigh. It's been something that has been needed for a very long tme so that people can get the help they need. Very well done.

Thanks Jeff, as you already know, this was inspired by your own article on how to post, so thank you too!

MM

select geometry::STGeomFromWKB(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

Lisa Slater Nicholls Hall of Fame Points: 3455 More actions · Answer 6

In the case where you cannot post, you just need to be as precise as possible with your description and hope people understand.

MM I would agree with this and, from 20 years of answering people's reporting questions, 8 or so of them RDL-specific, I would like to add the two following points:

1. A lot of the problems that people ask about RDLs are solved *in the act* of recreating the problem with generic data and a simplified design. Either the problem disappears and they can figure it out by adding in one layer of complexity at a time, or they just see their own problem more clearly when they do this. So it is always a good idea to insist on it; I used to have a list of requirements pointing this out on my blog somewhere.

This point isn't really limited to RDLs and I'm sure people have made it all over technical forums. But there is something about RDL design and also DTSX design -- the layers of design using different technologies and the different places you can implement any particular type of functionality -- that seems to especially require this reminder:

* You must provide simplified steps to repro

* when you do it, you aren't just making it easy for somebody else to resolve your problem. You are making it easy for *you* to find, articulate, and even resolve, your own problem.

2. it is extremely easy to provide generic data in an RDL without going to the effort of creating an embedded XML data set, as follows:

*- change the data source to look at localhost rather than your server info, and request that the recipient make the very simple required change to this source info, if this most-like-case doesn't work in his/her development environment for some reason

*- if the SELECT statement was previously embedded in the RDL:

*-- change the expressions in the existing columns list to be quoted or constants - I like to quote the existing expressions rather than just putting in any constant is that this retains a flavor of what was intended in the original.

*-- change the source table information to look at master.dbo.spt_values or something equally innocuous

*- if the SQL pointed at a view or a stored procedure, or if you don't like the idea of quoted expressions as your actual data result, just switch out the SQL for a couple of UNION'd SELECT statements. I don't even think you have to put in a FROM clause.

>L<

Miles Neale SSChampion Points: 13147 More actions · Answer 7

Oh Magoo, you've done it again! - Excellent piece of work!

M.

Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004419 More actions · Answer 8

Miles Neale (1/28/2014)
Oh Magoo, you've done it again! - Excellent piece of work!
M.

BWWAAAA-HAAAAAA-HAAAAA!!!!! ROFLMAO!!!! SEE? I'm not the only one that says that! :-D:-P:hehe:

--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)

mister.magoo SSC-Forever Points: 47174 More actions · Answer 9

Miles Neale (1/28/2014)
Oh Magoo, you've done it again! - Excellent piece of work!
M.

Thank you so much for your kind words.

MM

select geometry::STGeomFromWKB(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

mister.magoo SSC-Forever Points: 47174 More actions · Answer 10

Lisa Slater Nicholls (1/28/2014)
In the case where you cannot post, you just need to be as precise as possible with your description and hope people understand.
MM I would agree with this and, from 20 years of answering people's reporting questions, 8 or so of them RDL-specific, I would like to add the two following points:
>L<

Lisa, thank you so much for adding your excellent insight to the discussion - good points!

MM

select geometry::STGeomFromWKB(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

Lisa Slater Nicholls Hall of Fame Points: 3455 More actions · Answer 11

You are very welcome and I wish I'd thought to say "Oh, Magoo, you've done it again!" <g>.

>L< <chagrined>

Evil Kraig F SSC Guru Points: 100851 More actions · Answer 12

Excellent article, thanks Magoo.

- 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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