Simple Interview Question

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Simple Interview Question

sarwaanmca

Right there with Babe

Points: 796
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July 24, 2013 at 7:29 am

#296003

select 5 & 17
What is the Output?
Ans is :1
1)how it will return 1 ?
2)what is the use of this query?
any one explain it pls..
Thank & Regards
Saravanan.D

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Lowell SSC Guru Points: 323518 More actions · Answer 1

its a binary AND operation.

5 = 00000101

17 = 00010001

the only column in BOTH values binary representation above is the first column, representing 2^0, so the value is 1.

16 = 00010000

17 = 00010001

when AND-ing 16, and 16, the only shared column si the 2^4 column, which is 16.

Lowell

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Voide Mr or Mrs. 500 Points: 548 More actions · Answer 2

Lowell (7/24/2013)
its a binary AND operation.
5 = 00000101
17 = 00010001
the only column in BOTH values binary representation above is the first column, representing 2^0, so the value is 1.
16 = 00010000
17 = 00010001
when AND-ing 16, and 16, the only shared column si the 2^4 column, which is 16.

I just had PTSD flashbacks to assembly.

Sean Lange SSC Guru Points: 286590 More actions · Answer 3

I would have to say that is an absolutely horrid interview question. It is not testing your skills with sql server. I have seen the binary AND around the forums but I have never come across it in the real world (at least not in sql server).

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Eugene Elutin SSC Guru Points: 59322 More actions · Answer 4

Sean Lange (7/24/2013)
I would have to say that is an absolutely horrid interview question. It is not testing your skills with sql server. I have seen the binary AND around the forums but I have never come across it in the real world (at least not in sql server).

It's called "Bitwise AND" :

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms174965.aspx

I have used it few times...

I'll try to find one thread on this forum where I've used it to help to achieve quite interesting requirements.

_____________________________________________
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing"
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(So many miracle inventions provided by MS to us...)

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Sean Lange SSC Guru Points: 286590 More actions · Answer 5

Eugene Elutin (7/24/2013)
Sean Lange (7/24/2013)
I would have to say that is an absolutely horrid interview question. It is not testing your skills with sql server. I have seen the binary AND around the forums but I have never come across it in the real world (at least not in sql server).
It's called "Bitwise AND" :
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms174965.aspx
I have used it few times...
I'll try to find one thread on this forum where I've used it to help to achieve quite interesting requirements.

I knew it wasn't binary AND but couldn't think of the proper name for the life of me. 😛

If you can find that thread it would be interesting.

I still say it is a poor interview question because it so rarely used.

_______________________________________________________________

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/

Mark Cowne One Orange Chip Points: 26968 More actions · Answer 6

You can use '&' for decoding @@OPTIONS

PRINT @@OPTIONS

IF ( (8 & @@OPTIONS) = 8 ) PRINT 'ANSI_WARNINGS'

IF ( (16 & @@OPTIONS) = 16 ) PRINT 'ANSI_PADDING'

IF ( (32 & @@OPTIONS) = 32 ) PRINT 'ANSI_NULLS'

IF ( (64 & @@OPTIONS) = 64 ) PRINT 'ARITHABORT'

IF ( (256 & @@OPTIONS) = 256 ) PRINT 'QUOTED_IDENTIFIER'

IF ( (512 & @@OPTIONS) = 512 ) PRINT 'NOCOUNT'

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Mark Cowne One Orange Chip Points: 26968 More actions · Answer 7

Here's a query using '&'

http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/FindPost1422007.aspx

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Deja View - The strange feeling that somewhere, sometime you've optimised this query before

How to get the best help on a forum

http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537

Sean Lange SSC Guru Points: 286590 More actions · Answer 8

Mark-101232 (7/24/2013)
Here's a query using '&'
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/FindPost1422007.aspx

I remember that thread. And I would say that yes it can be done but the end result is a static set of values. I would say that doing this in sql is rather pointless.

Your example of parsing OPTIONS though is pretty cool.

_______________________________________________________________

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/

Koen Verbeeck SSC Guru Points: 259115 More actions · Answer 9

sarwaanmca (7/24/2013)
select 5 & 17
What is the Output?
Ans is :1
1)how it will return 1 ?
2)what is the use of this query?
any one explain it pls..
Thank & Regards
Saravanan.D

My answer to a question like this (if I wouldn't know the answer):

"Can you show me a useful query for this?"

Probably will knock their socks off 😀

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

John Mitchell-245523 SSC Guru Points: 148809 More actions · Answer 10

Sean Lange (7/24/2013)
Your example of parsing OPTIONS though is pretty cool.

Yes, it's useful for querying any information stored as a bitmask, such as affinity masks or the freq_interval column in sysschedules.

John