October 31, 2016 at 10:30 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Forever Technology War
November 1, 2016 at 4:04 am
It seems very easy to assume others will obviously understand x, y and z technology due to their experience and general intelligence. Sadly I often do this and feel somewhat gauche as I am put in the position of potentially making them feel stupid or embarrassed for not doing so. I guess I've got used to smoothing over these foolish assumptions I make and just getting on with it.
November 1, 2016 at 4:10 am
I encountered the problem of users, even programmers, only being familiar with the GUI about 8 years ago. Someone I was working on a project with wanted to do something with the file system in SQL Server. My response was "Just write a batch file, and call it from xp_cmdShell." Only to be met with the response "What's a batch file?" As someone who remembers spending an afternoon editing autoexec.bat and command.com just to get a new CD drive to play music through the speakers, and manually adjusting the IRQs so that the sound card didn't collide with the other system processes I had just assumed that everyone knew how to write a basic DOS program, it was in our "Introduction to IT" course in the first semester of University.
Now, with the rise of PowerShell, and good Desktop Linux version, I seem to be going back to using the command line even if it is in a terminal window. As a wise man once said "plus ca change..."
November 1, 2016 at 4:14 am
It seems a little worrying how many will not use the command line. I am not referring to your average citizen but your average IT professional. I have seen IT professionals ignore search engine hits whose resolution required some console interaction.
In my experience, those who are most likely to be console shy are those who have found a career in IT after completing a non-IT degree or those who have changed careers e.g. being plucked out of a company's customer service team. This isn't always the case, of course.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
November 1, 2016 at 6:39 am
That was a good article that transcends IT into life knowledge itself. My children's generation don't know what it is like without a cell phone and my grandkids don't know what a flip phone is.
November 1, 2016 at 6:56 am
Having been a "computer expert" since building my first Altair 8800 back in 1974 I have seen several generations of this technology shift. The dependence that so many have on current technology and Internet access greatly worries me. I recall storage balancing acts I had to use when an entire business was run via a server containing 300MB of disc storage. Today I have business units with multi-terabyte storage both locally and in the cloud. My whole career has been one of continually schooling myself to keep up. Now I am one of the last ones left with experience in Fortran, Cobol, and PL-1 as well as many other "outdated" languages (need RCA 1802 or Signetics 2650 machine programming anyone?) and applications that still run legacy programs in one of my fields. It reminds me of the scene in Star Trek III where Scotty holds the mouse up and speaks to it..."Computer?" At least he had some experience with "Keyboards" and was still able to get the job done (transparent aluminum anyone?). Aurthur C. Clark said it best: "Any sufficiently advanced civilization is indistinguishable from magic." The same is often true in reverse. Take away the current technology and it is still "magic" to many that any work can be done.
November 1, 2016 at 7:04 am
call.copse (11/1/2016)
It seems very easy to assume others will obviously understand x, y and z technology due to their experience and general intelligence. Sadly I often do this and feel somewhat gauche as I am put in the position of potentially making them feel stupid or embarrassed for not doing so. I guess I've got used to smoothing over these foolish assumptions I make and just getting on with it.
I seem to have problems both ways, either assuming someone would know a technology and they don't, or not being sure and asking them if they know a technology and they respond "of course I know that". In general though the more frequent problems I encounter are people who have knowledge silos (very knowledgeable in a small technology set and not much else)
November 1, 2016 at 7:40 am
I have use command line a little but not much so my knowledge of that is dangerous. I would, however, like to learn some more of it but so busy learning other programming languages that it always fall by the side.
Manie Verster
Developer
Johannesburg
South Africa
I am happy because I choose to be happy.
I just love my job!!!
November 1, 2016 at 7:54 am
Now that we have SQL Server running on Windows Core and Linux, some of you old-school DBAs will have to get acquainted with command line tools. 🙂
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
November 1, 2016 at 8:10 am
manie (11/1/2016)
I have use command line a little but not much so my knowledge of that is dangerous...
I am not advocating careless use. I, as another, am less acquainted with the command line than I should be. But I know I can do it and I am not scared of it. Just cautious.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
November 1, 2016 at 8:18 am
I used to know the command line. Guess I'll need to refresh my knowledge, hopefully it is like riding a bike.
November 1, 2016 at 8:23 am
Lynn Pettis (11/1/2016)
I used to know the command line. Guess I'll need to refresh my knowledge, hopefully it is like riding a bike.
I think so. You know you can do it. You know it will hurt when you fall over.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
November 1, 2016 at 8:24 am
I always find it humorous handing a senior developer a screwdriver and new hard drive. 😛 As a systems engineer, hardware is second nature. But someone who spends all day behind a computer doesn't know what inside it.
November 1, 2016 at 8:35 am
Gary Varga (11/1/2016)
It seems a little worrying how many will not use the command line. I am not referring to your average citizen but your average IT professional. I have seen IT professionals ignore search engine hits whose resolution required some console interaction.In my experience, those who are most likely to be console shy are those who have found a career in IT after completing a non-IT degree or those who have changed careers e.g. being plucked out of a company's customer service team. This isn't always the case, of course.
I'm one of those that was 'plucked out of a company's customer service team' and I know what you mean. It's not something I ever used in my previous life so any solutions that involve using it go to the bottom of the list of things to try. It's more unfamiliarity than any outright aversion or fear. I can usually work out what a T-SQL or SSIS solution is doing but the command line is a whole different thing.
That's not to say I won't consider using it the future though. Learning more about something is rarely a bad thing.
How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537
November 1, 2016 at 8:38 am
Great article and good points to consider, Thanks
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