August 3, 2015 at 3:06 am
paul.knibbs (8/3/2015)
Ah, the old "try to figure out the author's intent via mindreading" question--got to love them! I got the right answer simply by guessing correctly which typo had actually been made. e.g. had the author mistyped NAME as OLDNAME in query 3, or MODIFY as ADD in 2? The latter seemed more likely, and lo, it turned out to be the case.
I know this is not important. I know that it's a free service, and you get what you pay for. I know that people make mistakes in code, and that code reviews/testing are an important part of development. But still. This is a tiddly little set of statements, not a 400-line SPROC. If I were invited to submit something for review by the Internet, I'd make damn sure I got it right before it went live. But hey ho.
August 3, 2015 at 5:01 am
I agree with everyone else -- There is only one answer with MODIFY FILE and that one doesn't appear right either.
This QOTD needs a bit of work ...
Toni
August 3, 2015 at 5:03 am
Yeah, the only one with MODIFY FILE is query 3. I got it wrong because I picked that one and didn't remember the named parameters. We all make mistakes from time to time.
August 3, 2015 at 5:53 am
Toss up between 2 & 3 for the closest wrong answer... went the wrong way 🙂
August 3, 2015 at 6:14 am
When I first saw this (it was published a day or two early, as Monday questions often are) I looked for NAME and OLDNAME and picked the only one with those two parameter names. Didn't notice whether it said ADD FILE or MODIFY FILE or even something else. I guess I was lucky I didn't look for MODIFY FILE and not notice the parameter names.
Tom
August 3, 2015 at 6:26 am
Anyone who says "this is the most badly put together question I've seen for a long time" has clearly not looked at many Questions of the Day, and the same goes for those who agree with him or enhance the comment with nonsense like "abject failure".
Mistakes in questions are quite common. Most people who submit questions are human, as do most people who write code - after all to err is human and that's why we have desk checking and unit tests and syntax checking tools (which are quite useful with some grammars, rather less so with others).
So I'm inclined to agree with Toreador's and Richard Warr's remarks above.
Tom
August 3, 2015 at 6:40 am
TomThomson (8/3/2015)
When I first saw this (it was published a day or two early, as Monday questions often are) I looked for NAME and OLDNAME and picked the only one with those two parameter names. Didn't notice whether it said ADD FILE or MODIFY FILE or even something else. I guess I was lucky I didn't look for MODIFY FILE and not notice the parameter names.
Yup. I looked for the MODIFY FILE and not the parameter names. Oh well, one QOTD isn't really a big deal.
August 3, 2015 at 6:46 am
TomThomson (8/3/2015)
Anyone who says "this is the most badly put together question I've seen for a long time" has clearly not looked at many Questions of the Day, and the same goes for those who agree with him or enhance the comment with nonsense like "abject failure".Mistakes in questions are quite common. Most people who submit questions are human, as do most people who write code - after all to err is human and that's why we have desk checking and unit tests and syntax checking tools (which are quite useful with some grammars, rather less so with others).
So I'm inclined to agree with Toreadors remarks above.
Tom, I've looked at every Question of the Day for the last few years and my general opinion (note that word) remains the same. Perhaps 'badly put together' is the wrong choice of words though. The subject of the question was good and I learned something but there was not only no correct option given but the explanation didn't match the options that were provided. In this respect perhaps it's more accurate to say that it was the worst checked\tested\proofread rather than badly put together. I do fully accept that everybody makes mistakes and typos are a fact of life. I've learned a lot from the QOTD and I'm sure I'm going to continue to do so. However, it's frustrating for a newbie like myself to research and dig to find what I think is the correct answer, only to be told that it's wrong because of an error in the question. Thus I find myself second-guessing and over-thinking answers because I lack the experience to 'just know' whether something I read is correct or otherwise.
How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537
August 3, 2015 at 7:03 am
The correct answer for today is incorrect. Steve must be hung over from the weekend. 😉
August 3, 2015 at 7:17 am
BWFC (8/3/2015)
TomThomson (8/3/2015)
Anyone who says "this is the most badly put together question I've seen for a long time" has clearly not looked at many Questions of the Day, and the same goes for those who agree with him or enhance the comment with nonsense like "abject failure".Mistakes in questions are quite common. Most people who submit questions are human, as do most people who write code - after all to err is human and that's why we have desk checking and unit tests and syntax checking tools (which are quite useful with some grammars, rather less so with others).
So I'm inclined to agree with Toreadors remarks above.
Tom, I've looked at every Question of the Day for the last few years and my general opinion (note that word) remains the same. Perhaps 'badly put together' is the wrong choice of words though. The subject of the question was good and I learned something but there was not only no correct option given but the explanation didn't match the options that were provided. In this respect perhaps it's more accurate to say that it was the worst checked\tested\proofread rather than badly put together. I do fully accept that everybody makes mistakes and typos are a fact of life. I've learned a lot from the QOTD and I'm sure I'm going to continue to do so. However, it's frustrating for a newbie like myself to research and dig to find what I think is the correct answer, only to be told that it's wrong because of an error in the question. Thus I find myself second-guessing and over-thinking answers because I lack the experience to 'just know' whether something I read is correct or otherwise.
Yeah, I saw MODIFY and stopped reading....that'll teach me.
August 3, 2015 at 7:34 am
Again lots of complaining. Come on people get over it. The question of the day is intended to provoke some learning. Guess what, as humans we learn more from our mistakes. Same goes for the QOTD. When you get it wrong you tend to remember it.
Yes this had a couple of options that might have been correct and we kind of had to guess. I got it wrong. Big deal.
For all of the complainers out there stating just how awful this question is please let us know when you are going post a QOTD so that we may nit pick your question to death.
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Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/
August 3, 2015 at 7:58 am
Sean Lange (8/3/2015)
Again lots of complaining. Come on people get over it. The question of the day is intended to provoke some learning. Guess what, as humans we learn more from our mistakes. Same goes for the QOTD. When you get it wrong you tend to remember it.Yes this had a couple of options that might have been correct and we kind of had to guess. I got it wrong. Big deal.
For all of the complainers out there stating just how awful this question is please let us know when you are going post a QOTD so that we may nit pick your question to death.
I agree with you, but I can't resist, Sean. Here's my question:
2 + 2 = 4
Joe has 8 apples and his train is running 17 minutes late.
Bob wants to travel south for the weekend, but can't because his pet monkey is sick.
Calculate the mass of the sun. Show your work.
😛
August 3, 2015 at 8:00 am
Ed Wagner (8/3/2015)
Sean Lange (8/3/2015)
Again lots of complaining. Come on people get over it. The question of the day is intended to provoke some learning. Guess what, as humans we learn more from our mistakes. Same goes for the QOTD. When you get it wrong you tend to remember it.Yes this had a couple of options that might have been correct and we kind of had to guess. I got it wrong. Big deal.
For all of the complainers out there stating just how awful this question is please let us know when you are going post a QOTD so that we may nit pick your question to death.
I agree with you, but I can't resist, Sean. Here's my question:
2 + 2 = 4
Joe has 8 apples and his train is running 17 minutes late.
Bob wants to travel south for the weekend, but can't because his pet monkey is sick.
Calculate the mass of the sun. Show your work.
😛
Answer is 42
Edit: Corrected typo. Originally said 43 but correct answer is 42
For best practices on asking questions, please read the following article: Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help[/url]
August 3, 2015 at 8:05 am
Ed Wagner (8/3/2015)
Sean Lange (8/3/2015)
Again lots of complaining. Come on people get over it. The question of the day is intended to provoke some learning. Guess what, as humans we learn more from our mistakes. Same goes for the QOTD. When you get it wrong you tend to remember it.Yes this had a couple of options that might have been correct and we kind of had to guess. I got it wrong. Big deal.
For all of the complainers out there stating just how awful this question is please let us know when you are going post a QOTD so that we may nit pick your question to death.
I agree with you, but I can't resist, Sean. Here's my question:
2 + 2 = 4
Joe has 8 apples and his train is running 17 minutes late.
Bob wants to travel south for the weekend, but can't because his pet monkey is sick.
Calculate the mass of the sun. Show your work.
😛
LOL That reminds me of one that Eugene posted here a few years ago.
There were two crocodiles flying. One to the south but another one was blue.
Question: How many seats in our local cinema?
The Right Answer: I don't need a fridge as I do not smoke
_______________________________________________________________
Need help? Help us help you.
Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.
Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/
August 3, 2015 at 8:06 am
Sean Lange (8/3/2015)
Again lots of complaining. Come on people get over it. The question of the day is intended to provoke some learning. Guess what, as humans we learn more from our mistakes. Same goes for the QOTD. When you get it wrong you tend to remember it.Yes this had a couple of options that might have been correct and we kind of had to guess. I got it wrong. Big deal.
For all of the complainers out there stating just how awful this question is please let us know when you are going post a QOTD so that we may nit pick your question to death.
Don't get me wrong I learned something, apart from proof-read my work. It just would be nice to be able to get the question right 🙂
Anyway, for what it's worth: given an aircraft hangar of size y, calculate the weight of Tuesday.
How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537
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