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User: daveclearyinmd

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  1. Re:Bring a database down? on Diagramming Tool For SQL Select Statements · · Score: 1

    I work with customers doing Business Intelligence against Data Warehouses, and I can assure you that it is quite easy to develop runaway SQL Queries. Most of the queries we see are generated by some tool, and are not humanly readable or understandable. It is the nature of Business Intelligence that these queries are adhoc, untested. In my own data warehousing system, I frequently run into poor optimizer choices. Usually it involves nested queries, where common sense tells you the optimizer should run the innermost query first, store the temp results, then join in the outer query; but for some reason, the DB chooses to do the outer query first, and re-executes the 'static' inner query at every loop. I've had queries run for hours; then I extracted the inner query to an explicit temp table first, and the total query runs in seconds. Oracle also has a bad habit of choosing to do a hash join (instead of nested loops), only to find out that the hash join exceeds available RAM, and the temp results have to page to disk. Again, queries that should run in seconds thrash the machine for hours...

  2. Re:Cryptic? on Minimal Perl for Unix and Linux People · · Score: 1

    Perl is just one of the languages that I use in my job. 10 years ago I wrote several large Perl/CGI database systems that I would be scared to try to maintain now; but at the time, I was able to develop and maintain hundreds of CGI's.

    These days, 90% of my perl scripts are less than a screenful, for either one-time use, or embedded in some batch/shell script. I have hundreds of .pl files in my tools directory, and its pretty easy to make them and keep them readable, if you want to.

    If you were developing a large system, or developing in a large team, or developing something that might live forever, then maybe Perl isn't the right tool for the job. YMMV.

  3. Re:Oh, no, that's not the problem. on Techies Must Educate Governments · · Score: 1
    The solution is to enforce existing laws, particularly the constitution. The 10th ammendment was quietly abandonded many years ago, so that federal law now trumps local law in all areas. Congress has abandon is constitutional power to declare war, and ceded that to the executive branch. The judicial branch is supposed to have the power to declare laws unconstitional, but has never done so in my lifetime. Many of the 'checks and balances' that were so carefully designed and worded by Jefferson, Madison, etc, have been incrementally destroyed by the people in power who swore to uphold them. Power corrupts.

    I've more or less given up on the libertarian PARTY, not because I don't believe in libertarian philosophy, but that our 2-party political system is firmly entrenched (with complete complacency by the FEC and the mass-media), so that running 3rd party candidates (other than celebrities) is a waste of time and money. I hate to say that, and I hope that all 3rd party candidates continue the fight for all our sake, but this tactic is simply not getting us anywhere.