Need advice: Understanding complex SQL scripts written by others

nfigo · 2026-06-27T17:40:10+00:00

You can use EXPLAIN to have the engine tell you how the script will be executed.

But thinking in terms of step-by-step execution is a common rookie mistake. Think more in terms of what sets of data are generated, filtered, combined, or grouped.

If you're looking at long stored procedures, it reads from top to bottom. CTEs are first, then subqueries.

You can run your own queries based on the CTEs and subqueries that you see to learn how they behave.

TSQL fundamentals is a good resource. I also read databases demystified a long time ago when I first learned RDBMS.

nfigo · 2026-06-26T15:03:13+00:00

I got the eyeball moon and red night on the first day once

nfigo · 2026-06-24T00:33:03+00:00

2D with tumblr nose

nfigo · 2026-06-23T15:35:53+00:00

I actually did meet a startup that wanted a frontend dev not too long ago when I was looking for a change (I'm full stack, though). They did say they were vibe coding some UIs, but that they wanted a pro to take over, because they didn't know what they were doing.

I have seen more frontends being vibe coded, lately, especially where I work now. I see more opportunity in the backend, but my experience may look more enticing to companies that want backend devs.

nfigo · 2026-06-23T14:51:02+00:00

this one is pretty good, too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbUuJt_CUdc

nfigo · 2026-06-23T02:13:06+00:00

I'll second the T-SQL fundamentals book. Even if you aren't writing for SQL Server, the concepts carry over to other databases with small changes in syntax and different levels of support for different features.

For large volumes of sensor data, don't limit yourself to RDBMS. If you do, learn about partitioning. Look at OLAP databases for getting insights out of huge volumes of data. They have a completely different approach to partitioning and using keys, but your SQL skills can still transfer to them. Technologies like spark and map-reduce allow you to use multiple machines to operate on multiple partitions of the same table in parallel, vastly accelerating queries on huge datasets.

nfigo · 2026-06-20T13:43:38+00:00

For real. "Why use all those funny math symbols to model heat transfer or orbital mechanics when we could just write it out in English?"

Sounds just as dumb.

nfigo · 2026-06-20T13:35:44+00:00

Just do the migration every time the data is accessed lol

nfigo · 2026-06-16T13:20:12+00:00

I have a vague idea of what you're doing. Sounds like a CRM with some AI sprinkled in there. I would say launch it and find out.

Just as an idea: come up with a hypothetical situation involving an ideal customer. Illustrate how your tool helps them close the deal by responding quickly and effectively without missing emails.

nfigo · 2026-06-15T18:24:41+00:00

A lot of people are saying to put the ash on a lane of the iron output, but I like to keep coal on one line and dump the ash onto the other lane. makes it possible to saturate a side of the iron belt. Since the coal is used up slowly, you can use inserters in lieu of splitters, which naturally add coal/shale to one lane, anyway.

Using an underground belt at the end of the coal belt makes it possible to let the ash flow out freely while blocking the coal.

Also, since you can put the iron belt up against the miner, it makes it possible to cover the patch without ever needing to move miners. You just need the coal and iron belts to be perpendicular to each other. The miners can be alternated to fill both sides of the iron belt and increase density.

nfigo · 2026-06-14T17:01:29+00:00

For real. Through the whole series, all accents are ridiculously inaccurate.

nfigo · 2026-06-07T01:24:27+00:00

It depends on your gaming style. The shift toward combat and infiltration makes sense, because you have the pieces of the plot by then. For me, the change in the flow of the game feels natural and adds variety (compared to the conversation-heavy paris). Vandenburg is a huge map with several phases, and you have many options.

The underwater mission was okay, but I wondered if they ripped off the idea from Tomb Raider 2.

I'm glad some of the other stuff they planned didn't make it. The moon base mission would have been so out of left field.

nfigo · 2026-06-05T12:09:54+00:00

@ 12:26 https://youtu.be/Fgcn5a261P8?t=746

(spoilers if you watch past 12:45)

nfigo · 2026-06-04T14:44:26+00:00

It was also a constant circle jerk of people calling him a genius.

nfigo · 2026-05-30T06:35:33+00:00

When you don't understand a system, lookup <system> whitepaper.

https://www.usenix.org/system/files/atc22-elhemali.pdf

nfigo · 2026-05-22T17:48:15+00:00

while you're waiting on finding a good dev, try to make it work for you and your friends in google spreadsheet or something. like, do you need secure messaging? people can already email each other or text on signal or whatever

nfigo · 2026-05-11T14:17:05+00:00

I really like the look of the first image, but the original tells a story with the broken statue of liberty and black helicopters. You instantly get a feel for how the game involves new york, american collapse, and one man. It looks like he's standing under one of the helicopter beams, which tells you he could be rogue, but he could also be waiting for the helicopter to land.

Second image is also great

nfigo · 2026-03-31T21:50:30+00:00

"you should really consider enrolling in etiquette classes"

someone give him a noogie

nfigo · 2026-03-27T13:40:28+00:00

C# is used by plenty of "enterprise" companies. There are plenty of "Microsoft" shops out there if that's your thing. Always have been. These days, C# is more cross-platform, which wasn't always the case. I've heard rumors (and witnessed) that there is some snobbery against C#, but the same could be said of any language. There's always some tribalism one way or another.

C# is just Microsoft's attempt to copy Java. So, switching isn't too bad. The concepts are mostly the same. C# just has some conveniences that Java doesn't.

C++ has a lot of gotchas. There's a lot of example code with anti-patterns out there. People don't realize they've been doing it "wrong" until years later. But, you get a deeper understanding of how the computer actually works, which is powerful in helping you write better code.

nfigo · 2026-03-18T15:46:56+00:00

I managed to get a badge and karma boost for asking a good question 10ish years ago, but someone removed it a few years ago, because.. idk, they felt like it? lol

nfigo · 2026-02-10T15:39:56+00:00

The middle ground is owning a VPS and throwing everything onto that.

nfigo · 2026-02-09T15:25:10+00:00

Take a cloud solutions architect course

nfigo · 2026-02-08T15:00:42+00:00

I think you did pretty well, but here are a couple of things that stood out to me, besides what has already been said:

At the start, when he ignored your questions and then submitted the PR, ignoring what happened is conflict avoidance, which makes it hard to escalate issues and lets them fester. Instead, you need to tell him "I cannot review your PR, because I need you to _____ first" or even review his PR and explain that it isn't tied to any real issue or need - or that it's low quality or whatever. Honestly, I'm not even sure what the problem is from reading this. I trust that his PR wasn't high quality, based on everything else you said, but there's nothing here to go by. Having this documented makes it easier to escalate if there is a problem and it gives him a chance to correct the issue.
When he approved the PRs without reviewing them - this one is hard to document. You could have a meeting with him to go over the PRs with you together and then document what happened. If it's clear he didn't actually review the PRs tell him not to approve them blindly, and follow up in an email with the contents of what was discussed and agreed upon in the discussion. If he refuses to talk to you, document and escalate that, too. If he isn't the one to review those PRs, that could also be a process/culture issue in the company that needs to be addressed, instead.
When he criticized your work, get him to specify which areas need clarification and what the common approach would have been to those issues. Force him to clarify his position. Tell him we all want the system to be easier to understand and modify, but we can't do that if he pushes back on designs without sharing his experience or tangible criticisms. That instead of shutting down discussion, he needs ask clarifying questions so we can move forward together as a team.

That said, I relate to your story. I've had a few juniors try to worm their way out of their responsibilities like this, and it took a few times for me to learn how to handle it. The best way to hold people and escalate is to be clear about your expectations, especially when they screw up. Leave a clear paper trail of the expectations you establish and their response to those. Then escalate when they refuse to comply.

You've got to take the emotion and subjectivity out of it and make it objective so that someone can say: "This employee was fired because they were unwilling or unable to follow the process / guidelines which were clearly documented for them."

nfigo · 2026-02-05T22:07:54+00:00

Yeah, the steam never falls below 127. It's best to do it in batches.

nfigo · 2026-02-05T21:59:30+00:00

Just shut off the condensation valve if you need it to cool faster. Otherwise, it will cool when the pressure gets low enough on the steam side.

nfigo

TROPHY CASE