T-SQL Tuesday #195 Summary

What a great collection of stories all about aging!  I really appreciated everyone take time to reply to the question.  

I’m going to do this a little differently for my summary. I will list the blogs below and provide key summary points for each.  I also created a video summary. I intend to do more of this in the future. 

You choose how you would like to consume the content, and share with me how you would prefer to see it in the future!  I intend to do a lot more video/audio work in the future. 

You will have to find my perspective on this topic in the video link. 

Rob Farley

Ageing code

Key summary: Rob talks less about specific code and how it has aged, he reminds us how important it is to understand that databases live, breath and change over time.  The queries will need to be updated and reviewed in the future.  It doesn’t mean the original query was bad; it’s just not as new as it once was, and it’s important that we review these older queries to determine whether they are still performing well.  

Hugo Kornelis 

T-SQL Tuesday 195 – Code that aged well

Key Summary: Hugo talked about code he started way back in 2013(not too long ago for some of us). He took what he could from the code, improved it, documented it, and sent it on its way.  Over the years, he had to continue providing support, but there were no real changes to the system beyond that.  That speaks to the dedication and hard work of putting time into a project to leave it better than you found it.  Investing time up front in your code and in the logic can pay off in the long run.  I’m happy I could take him for a trip down memory lane! 

Steve Jones 

Aging Code for T-SQL Tuesday #195

Key Summary: Steve shows us some old string-manipulation code he wrote a long time ago. He makes it clear that some of the functions or code we have used in the past can still do the work today. Sometimes minor changes are needed, or perhaps a more efficient approach is possible, but for the most part, it still works well!  This reminds me of a Date script I keep around and will discuss in the video version of this summary. 

Chad Callihan 

T-SQL Tuesday #195 – How Has Your Code Aged

Key Summary: Chad told a story about how a simple idea and solution he presented for an open opportunity are still useful.  It shows that even if it’s not your specific area, it’s a good idea to provide solutions, and they may last a very long time.  

Andy Brownsword

T-SQL Tuesday #195 – How Has My Code Aged?

Key Summary: I really like what Andy said at the end of his post, “It’s not enough to make it work correctly. It needs to fail correctly too”.  I think this does a really good job of summarizing aging code.  If we plan and prepare for failures better, then we will handle aging that much better. 

Deb the DBA

T-SQL Tuesday #195 – How Has Your Code Aged?

Key Summary: Deb focused on how to keep your code from becoming legacy.  I enjoyed this take on the question, which provides guidelines on how to ensure that, as it ages, it does so well and remains useful moving forward. 

Todd Kleinhans

T-SQL Tuesday #195 – You Can’t Go Home Again

Key Summary: I’m pretty sure I’ve run into Todd at some event in the past. If not, I need to!  He shares many of the same philosophies as I do: “Keep Moving forward”! Focus on what you can do right now, use documentation, best practices, and good guidelines, and push forward with what you are doing.  Focusing on the past just enough to learn from it and then move on.  Love this perspective.