• Understanding the Metadata Function DATABASEPROPERTYEX()
• Performance Testing Databases with Flyway and PowerShell
• The ultimate guide to web accessibility
• From the SQL Server Central Blogs - Setting up SQL Server 2022 s3 Object Storage Integration using MinIO with Docker Compose
• From the SQL Server Central Blogs - Power BI guidance documentation

• EXCEPT Details

Daily Coping Tip

Give people the gift of your full attention

I also have a thread at SQLServerCentral dealing with coping mechanisms and resources. Feel free to participate.

For many of you out there working in a new way, I'm including a thought of the day on how to cope in this challenging time from The Action for Happiness Coping Calendar. My items will be on my blog, feel free to share yours.

Learning through Puzzles

This editorial was originally published on 4 Aug 2017. It is being republished as Steve is on holiday.

A few years ago I ran across the Advent of Code challenge. It's an interesting set of puzzles that you are asked to solve. Most are at a scale that wouldn't be practical to solve manually. Once you solve a puzzle, there is usually a second part that's unlocked (you must put in the solution) and then your progress is tracked on the site. A new puzzle is released every day leading up to Christmas, but you can skip around and solve puzzles as you like after that. I had fun in 2016 working through puzzles in T-SQL, PoSh, and Python. I need to go back and work the 2017 items.

Recently I was trying to brush up on some Python skills and ran across the PythonHow challenge. Before going on to rework some exercises and coursework, I decided to see what I remembered. The  puzzles are easy, but one leads you to the next. In other words, you start with pythonhow.com/start, when you solve the puzzle, you get a letter, say "r" (that's not right). You change the URL to pythonhow.com/r/ and you get the next challenge.

That's a neat way to get build a flow. I could imagine that as a way of teaching someone new skills. Maybe you want to help someone learn R (currently our Wednesday Questions of the Day) or window functions. Give them a problem, and once they solve it, the answer leads them to the next puzzle. A puzzle game, but one that paces you according to your understanding of a topic.

I wonder how many people might like learning like this, or perhaps might be frustrated when they can't solve something. Maybe this is a nice addition to something like a Stairway Series, giving readers a chance to practice skills. Do you think this is a good idea? Not a super hard, challenge the experts, but maybe a way to help those that are beginners or intermediate SQL people learn to code better.

Maybe some of you would like to build some small puzzles in T-SQL that we could link together? This might be a fun way to set up a T-SQL Advent calendar one year.

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Join the debate, and respond to today's editorial on the forums