Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Luis Cazares (12/1/2014)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (12/1/2014)


    Ed Wagner (11/30/2014)


    Koen Verbeeck (11/27/2014)


    It's time to allow for moderators (privileged forum users) to be able to delete spam.

    Most of the succesful forums/boards/whatever have this. Just not SQLServerCentral.

    I think as long as the SQLServerCentral team can reverse actions done by the volunteer mods, what can be the issue?

    As long as the SSC administrators can see and undo what the external moderators do, I'm all in favor of it. I'm sure we all remember when The Thread was lost and then only mostly recovered. If there's a way to fully recover deleted threads, I think it's a great idea. I wouldn't mind having that ability myself, especially if I try to read the forum on the weekends.

    There also has to be a good mechanism for blocking posts that doesn't drag down the site's performance. I think that poor performance is worse than lots of spam, but realize I may be in the minority there.

    The issue is that the forum privileges don't make this easy. I can't give "hide" to someone, I can only give edit and delete. I dislike Edit, as I almost never edit anything. I'd hate to pass that judgement on to others. If delete goes, then we don't have a record. I could build a trigger, but then I'd have to build tooling to recover things as well. Don't have that time right now.

    How about granting a "move" permission to send the thread to a forum that doesn't get listed in the recent posts/active threads lists? I'm not sure what that implies.

    Luis, that's a decent-sounding workaround. Without knowing the structure, it might be easier to have a delete/undelete instead of having to re-tool multiple locations to have hidden forums and to allow moving a thread. However, since I don't know the structure, it could be simpler.

    Steve, I agree that Edit sounds like a poor idea for this site and it probably wouldn't be t very useful for this situation anyway. If you want a hand with writing procedures to delete and undelete a thread, you probably already know what I'm going to ask for:

    1. DDL for the forum and thread tables, plus any children

    2. DDL for the tables that go into calculating a user's points

    3. The procedure to recalculate a user's points

    4. The existing procedure to delete a thread/post

    5. If a deleted thread is being saved off somewhere, the DDL for those tables

    6. Of course, sample data certainly couldn't hurt

  • Is it just me or is LinkedIn quickly becoming the most useless website in existence? It seems that all that is there is recruiters always trying to get me to look at some job that is way outside my expertise with a much longer commute for less money.

    I just had a lengthy message from one who said she is impressed with my work history and wants to learn more about PHP. She would like to talk with me about my previous projects so she can understand PHP.

    There is not a single reference anywhere on my profile to PHP. I have never worked with it nor have any interest in doing so.

    I get close to a dozen unsolicited network invites weekly from recruiters I have never met or have anything in common with. Ugh!!!

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • Ed Wagner (12/1/2014)


    ...

    Steve, I agree that Edit sounds like a poor idea for this site and it probably wouldn't be t very useful for this situation anyway. If you want a hand with writing procedures to delete and undelete a thread, you probably already know what I'm going to ask for:

    It's not really much in the way of DDL. Most of the forum functionality is implemented in .NET, so there's a lot of work there to fix things or alter permissions.

    We are talking about how we might expose more of this and make changes, but we have some issues since we licensed the code. Not sure we can allow others to work on it.

  • Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Is it just me or is LinkedIn quickly becoming the most useless website in existence? It seems that all that is there is recruiters always trying to get me to look at some job that is way outside my expertise with a much longer commute for less money.

    I just had a lengthy message from one who said she is impressed with my work history and wants to learn more about PHP. She would like to talk with me about my previous projects so she can understand PHP.

    There is not a single reference anywhere on my profile to PHP. I have never worked with it nor have any interest in doing so.

    I get close to a dozen unsolicited network invites weekly from recruiters I have never met or have anything in common with. Ugh!!!

    Yeah it is getting a bit over the top.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • SQLRNNR (12/1/2014)


    Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Is it just me or is LinkedIn quickly becoming the most useless website in existence? It seems that all that is there is recruiters always trying to get me to look at some job that is way outside my expertise with a much longer commute for less money.

    I just had a lengthy message from one who said she is impressed with my work history and wants to learn more about PHP. She would like to talk with me about my previous projects so she can understand PHP.

    There is not a single reference anywhere on my profile to PHP. I have never worked with it nor have any interest in doing so.

    I get close to a dozen unsolicited network invites weekly from recruiters I have never met or have anything in common with. Ugh!!!

    Yeah it is getting a bit over the top.

    And apparently some people think the network status update is the same thing as a Facebook wall...

    Need an answer? No, you need a question
    My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
    MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

  • Ed Wagner (11/25/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/25/2014)


    Ed Wagner (11/25/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/24/2014)


    Jeff Moden (11/24/2014)


    Evil Kraig F (11/24/2014)


    Jeff Moden (11/24/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/24/2014)


    Just a quick question to "the thread", am I missing something or is XML getting more popular? Just noticed that this topic on the XML forum has proportionally many times the viewings of any other current topic.

    😎

    I'd like to look at it as it just being forced down more people's throats but I can't because people at work are enamored with it. I've seen them use it in place of things like a decent and fairly simple lookup table and then tell me that I was being too critical of "normalization" to the point of calling me a Luddite when I demonstrated how simple the correct alternative would be.

    I still laugh at XML. Don't get me wrong, it's intensely useful in certain circumstances, but in general, it's "new and shiny!".... no, it's not. It's the old mainframe row order dependent structures with standardized formats for everyone. XML is just cleaning up what we'd been fighting with for 40+ years since the Eniac first coughed related results.

    *shrugs* To answer your question, Eirikur, it's getting more popular. I believe people have finally started to give up on JSON (anecdotal, I have no evidence) and are coming back to XML as a tamer alternative to actually coding data structures Cobb style.

    I no longer laugh at XML. I cry when see it in a database table. The only thing that makes me cry more is EDI. Actually, that's a lie... some of the folks here have converted some of the EDI we recieve and have changed it to XML and then store both in the database. :sick:

    Many of the EDI standards have in fact moved to XML and of course when imported unconverted into a database, result in a Double Trouble (not the SRV kind though)

    😎

    Oh my - such fond memories. I got the honor of working on an EDI project once about 10 or so years ago. {insert head tick and nervous twitch here} It was a very arcane and difficult data set to work with. Once you get done with the structure (envelopes, documents, etc.) and get to the actual structure, some things *may* be included or not and *may* be included once or many times. :w00t:

    It was dictated to me that I used a commercial EDI package for the string parsing, but it was so old that it only supported XMODEN, YMODEM, etc. as communication protocols. I used the $20K-string parser, but had to write all the communication and transfer stuff myself. The "programming" of the string parser was clicking dropdowns in an interface that was buggy to produce a series of text files containing instructions. Even simple business rules had to be coded in a separate environment and then run against the output files. It was good to get it done and it worked. However, when everyone is completely afraid to touch any part of it because they don't understand it, I would not call it a good solution. This is a case when the political gamesmanship of management defined an unmaintainable solution. I was the only one who understood it and I didn't like it.

    The memories of EDI work in the past are similar to the ones of the visits to the dentist, lot of pain, lot of money and forgotten as quickly as possible.

    😎

    +1000. I still have unpleasant memories of working on it. I'm hoping they continue to fade with time. 😉

    If you ever need to permanently banish phantom pains from EDI XML, just try this little beauty on for size....

    http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/product_brief.cfm?product_id=163

    That's right - your entire medical record codes in XML... :hehe:

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?

  • Matt Miller (#4) (12/1/2014)


    Ed Wagner (11/25/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/25/2014)


    Ed Wagner (11/25/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/24/2014)


    Jeff Moden (11/24/2014)


    Evil Kraig F (11/24/2014)


    Jeff Moden (11/24/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/24/2014)


    Just a quick question to "the thread", am I missing something or is XML getting more popular? Just noticed that this topic on the XML forum has proportionally many times the viewings of any other current topic.

    😎

    I'd like to look at it as it just being forced down more people's throats but I can't because people at work are enamored with it. I've seen them use it in place of things like a decent and fairly simple lookup table and then tell me that I was being too critical of "normalization" to the point of calling me a Luddite when I demonstrated how simple the correct alternative would be.

    I still laugh at XML. Don't get me wrong, it's intensely useful in certain circumstances, but in general, it's "new and shiny!".... no, it's not. It's the old mainframe row order dependent structures with standardized formats for everyone. XML is just cleaning up what we'd been fighting with for 40+ years since the Eniac first coughed related results.

    *shrugs* To answer your question, Eirikur, it's getting more popular. I believe people have finally started to give up on JSON (anecdotal, I have no evidence) and are coming back to XML as a tamer alternative to actually coding data structures Cobb style.

    I no longer laugh at XML. I cry when see it in a database table. The only thing that makes me cry more is EDI. Actually, that's a lie... some of the folks here have converted some of the EDI we recieve and have changed it to XML and then store both in the database. :sick:

    Many of the EDI standards have in fact moved to XML and of course when imported unconverted into a database, result in a Double Trouble (not the SRV kind though)

    😎

    Oh my - such fond memories. I got the honor of working on an EDI project once about 10 or so years ago. {insert head tick and nervous twitch here} It was a very arcane and difficult data set to work with. Once you get done with the structure (envelopes, documents, etc.) and get to the actual structure, some things *may* be included or not and *may* be included once or many times. :w00t:

    It was dictated to me that I used a commercial EDI package for the string parsing, but it was so old that it only supported XMODEN, YMODEM, etc. as communication protocols. I used the $20K-string parser, but had to write all the communication and transfer stuff myself. The "programming" of the string parser was clicking dropdowns in an interface that was buggy to produce a series of text files containing instructions. Even simple business rules had to be coded in a separate environment and then run against the output files. It was good to get it done and it worked. However, when everyone is completely afraid to touch any part of it because they don't understand it, I would not call it a good solution. This is a case when the political gamesmanship of management defined an unmaintainable solution. I was the only one who understood it and I didn't like it.

    The memories of EDI work in the past are similar to the ones of the visits to the dentist, lot of pain, lot of money and forgotten as quickly as possible.

    😎

    +1000. I still have unpleasant memories of working on it. I'm hoping they continue to fade with time. 😉

    If you ever need to permanently banish phantom pains from EDI XML, just try this little beauty on for size....

    http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/product_brief.cfm?product_id=163

    That's right - your entire medical record codes in XML... :hehe:

    I have done some extensive work in the past with HL7. It is a total PITA to deal with. We had to encrypt the entire message AND each element prior to sending. It had to process thousands of messages per second too. The upside is that every piece of medical software anywhere could process the same messages which greatly reduces the workload when all software can communicate in the same format.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Matt Miller (#4) (12/1/2014)


    Ed Wagner (11/25/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/25/2014)


    Ed Wagner (11/25/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/24/2014)


    Jeff Moden (11/24/2014)


    Evil Kraig F (11/24/2014)


    Jeff Moden (11/24/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/24/2014)


    Just a quick question to "the thread", am I missing something or is XML getting more popular? Just noticed that this topic on the XML forum has proportionally many times the viewings of any other current topic.

    😎

    I'd like to look at it as it just being forced down more people's throats but I can't because people at work are enamored with it. I've seen them use it in place of things like a decent and fairly simple lookup table and then tell me that I was being too critical of "normalization" to the point of calling me a Luddite when I demonstrated how simple the correct alternative would be.

    I still laugh at XML. Don't get me wrong, it's intensely useful in certain circumstances, but in general, it's "new and shiny!".... no, it's not. It's the old mainframe row order dependent structures with standardized formats for everyone. XML is just cleaning up what we'd been fighting with for 40+ years since the Eniac first coughed related results.

    *shrugs* To answer your question, Eirikur, it's getting more popular. I believe people have finally started to give up on JSON (anecdotal, I have no evidence) and are coming back to XML as a tamer alternative to actually coding data structures Cobb style.

    I no longer laugh at XML. I cry when see it in a database table. The only thing that makes me cry more is EDI. Actually, that's a lie... some of the folks here have converted some of the EDI we recieve and have changed it to XML and then store both in the database. :sick:

    Many of the EDI standards have in fact moved to XML and of course when imported unconverted into a database, result in a Double Trouble (not the SRV kind though)

    😎

    Oh my - such fond memories. I got the honor of working on an EDI project once about 10 or so years ago. {insert head tick and nervous twitch here} It was a very arcane and difficult data set to work with. Once you get done with the structure (envelopes, documents, etc.) and get to the actual structure, some things *may* be included or not and *may* be included once or many times. :w00t:

    It was dictated to me that I used a commercial EDI package for the string parsing, but it was so old that it only supported XMODEN, YMODEM, etc. as communication protocols. I used the $20K-string parser, but had to write all the communication and transfer stuff myself. The "programming" of the string parser was clicking dropdowns in an interface that was buggy to produce a series of text files containing instructions. Even simple business rules had to be coded in a separate environment and then run against the output files. It was good to get it done and it worked. However, when everyone is completely afraid to touch any part of it because they don't understand it, I would not call it a good solution. This is a case when the political gamesmanship of management defined an unmaintainable solution. I was the only one who understood it and I didn't like it.

    The memories of EDI work in the past are similar to the ones of the visits to the dentist, lot of pain, lot of money and forgotten as quickly as possible.

    😎

    +1000. I still have unpleasant memories of working on it. I'm hoping they continue to fade with time. 😉

    If you ever need to permanently banish phantom pains from EDI XML, just try this little beauty on for size....

    http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/product_brief.cfm?product_id=163

    That's right - your entire medical record codes in XML... :hehe:

    I have done some extensive work in the past with HL7. It is a total PITA to deal with. We had to encrypt the entire message AND each element prior to sending. It had to process thousands of messages per second too. The upside is that every piece of medical software anywhere could process the same messages which greatly reduces the workload when all software can communicate in the same format.

    Either you are all extremely lucky or someone isn't telling the whole truth as there has been no mentioning of my !favourite, ASN.1, give me any EDI any day....:pinch:

    😎

  • Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Is it just me or is LinkedIn quickly becoming the most useless website in existence? It seems that all that is there is recruiters always trying to get me to look at some job that is way outside my expertise with a much longer commute for less money.

    I just had a lengthy message from one who said she is impressed with my work history and wants to learn more about PHP. She would like to talk with me about my previous projects so she can understand PHP.

    There is not a single reference anywhere on my profile to PHP. I have never worked with it nor have any interest in doing so.

    I get close to a dozen unsolicited network invites weekly from recruiters I have never met or have anything in common with. Ugh!!!

    Guess this is a mix-up / mistaken identity, few of your 20+ namesakes do come up when one searches for PHP + name. Also it could be the "intelligent" fuzzy search 😀

    Find it more annoying when they offer less than a 1/4 of the standard rate:crazy:

    😎

  • Koen Verbeeck (12/1/2014)


    SQLRNNR (12/1/2014)


    Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Is it just me or is LinkedIn quickly becoming the most useless website in existence? It seems that all that is there is recruiters always trying to get me to look at some job that is way outside my expertise with a much longer commute for less money.

    I just had a lengthy message from one who said she is impressed with my work history and wants to learn more about PHP. She would like to talk with me about my previous projects so she can understand PHP.

    There is not a single reference anywhere on my profile to PHP. I have never worked with it nor have any interest in doing so.

    I get close to a dozen unsolicited network invites weekly from recruiters I have never met or have anything in common with. Ugh!!!

    Yeah it is getting a bit over the top.

    And apparently some people think the network status update is the same thing as a Facebook wall...

    Yeah that is annoying too. All of those facebook junkies treating what should be a professional networking site like the daily run of the mill social network site. gah

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • SQLRNNR (12/1/2014)


    Koen Verbeeck (12/1/2014)


    SQLRNNR (12/1/2014)


    Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Is it just me or is LinkedIn quickly becoming the most useless website in existence? It seems that all that is there is recruiters always trying to get me to look at some job that is way outside my expertise with a much longer commute for less money.

    I just had a lengthy message from one who said she is impressed with my work history and wants to learn more about PHP. She would like to talk with me about my previous projects so she can understand PHP.

    There is not a single reference anywhere on my profile to PHP. I have never worked with it nor have any interest in doing so.

    I get close to a dozen unsolicited network invites weekly from recruiters I have never met or have anything in common with. Ugh!!!

    Yeah it is getting a bit over the top.

    And apparently some people think the network status update is the same thing as a Facebook wall...

    Yeah that is annoying too. All of those facebook junkies treating what should be a professional networking site like the daily run of the mill social network site. gah

    Ever since they started letting folks comment on other people's skills, it became useless. Folks that know nothing about a database giving me plugs for my database work... worthless.

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes


    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

  • WayneS (12/1/2014)


    SQLRNNR (12/1/2014)


    Koen Verbeeck (12/1/2014)


    SQLRNNR (12/1/2014)


    Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Is it just me or is LinkedIn quickly becoming the most useless website in existence? It seems that all that is there is recruiters always trying to get me to look at some job that is way outside my expertise with a much longer commute for less money.

    I just had a lengthy message from one who said she is impressed with my work history and wants to learn more about PHP. She would like to talk with me about my previous projects so she can understand PHP.

    There is not a single reference anywhere on my profile to PHP. I have never worked with it nor have any interest in doing so.

    I get close to a dozen unsolicited network invites weekly from recruiters I have never met or have anything in common with. Ugh!!!

    Yeah it is getting a bit over the top.

    And apparently some people think the network status update is the same thing as a Facebook wall...

    Yeah that is annoying too. All of those facebook junkies treating what should be a professional networking site like the daily run of the mill social network site. gah

    Ever since they started letting folks comment on other people's skills, it became useless. Folks that know nothing about a database giving me plugs for my database work... worthless.

    Or people that do know something about databases promoting me for BI/datawarehouse skills. 🙁

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • GilaMonster (12/2/2014)


    WayneS (12/1/2014)


    SQLRNNR (12/1/2014)


    Koen Verbeeck (12/1/2014)


    SQLRNNR (12/1/2014)


    Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Is it just me or is LinkedIn quickly becoming the most useless website in existence? It seems that all that is there is recruiters always trying to get me to look at some job that is way outside my expertise with a much longer commute for less money.

    I just had a lengthy message from one who said she is impressed with my work history and wants to learn more about PHP. She would like to talk with me about my previous projects so she can understand PHP.

    There is not a single reference anywhere on my profile to PHP. I have never worked with it nor have any interest in doing so.

    I get close to a dozen unsolicited network invites weekly from recruiters I have never met or have anything in common with. Ugh!!!

    Yeah it is getting a bit over the top.

    And apparently some people think the network status update is the same thing as a Facebook wall...

    Yeah that is annoying too. All of those facebook junkies treating what should be a professional networking site like the daily run of the mill social network site. gah

    Ever since they started letting folks comment on other people's skills, it became useless. Folks that know nothing about a database giving me plugs for my database work... worthless.

    Or people that do know something about databases promoting me for BI/datawarehouse skills. 🙁

    I've had 2 or 3 recruiters link up and then almost straight away endorse me for the skills that the role they are going to talk to me about needs. Very odd.

    I was talking to an recruiter at SQL Relay, think SQL Sat but during the week, and 8 cities in 8 days for those who don't know (so there was a SQLbus this year)... Anyway he asked me about LinkedIn and I said I find it odd that recruiters use it as its really for peer to peer. He agreed. Although maybe he did that because it was "right" thing to say 🙂

    I don't know how many of you know Jon Allen (FatherJack on twitter) but he started to endorse people for their endorsement skills, just to highlight how silly the whole thing is.

    Rodders...

  • For @#$^%&%$

    "The server's got 8 cores and 28GB of memory. It doesn't matter if it's scanning a 200 000 row table. It's not going to be a problem."

    From the CTO.

    Why don't you just tell me outright that you think I don't know what I'm talking about?

    </rant>

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • Sean Lange (12/1/2014)


    Matt Miller (#4) (12/1/2014)


    Ed Wagner (11/25/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/25/2014)


    Ed Wagner (11/25/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/24/2014)


    Jeff Moden (11/24/2014)


    Evil Kraig F (11/24/2014)


    Jeff Moden (11/24/2014)


    Eirikur Eiriksson (11/24/2014)


    Just a quick question to "the thread", am I missing something or is XML getting more popular? Just noticed that this topic on the XML forum has proportionally many times the viewings of any other current topic.

    😎

    I'd like to look at it as it just being forced down more people's throats but I can't because people at work are enamored with it. I've seen them use it in place of things like a decent and fairly simple lookup table and then tell me that I was being too critical of "normalization" to the point of calling me a Luddite when I demonstrated how simple the correct alternative would be.

    I still laugh at XML. Don't get me wrong, it's intensely useful in certain circumstances, but in general, it's "new and shiny!".... no, it's not. It's the old mainframe row order dependent structures with standardized formats for everyone. XML is just cleaning up what we'd been fighting with for 40+ years since the Eniac first coughed related results.

    *shrugs* To answer your question, Eirikur, it's getting more popular. I believe people have finally started to give up on JSON (anecdotal, I have no evidence) and are coming back to XML as a tamer alternative to actually coding data structures Cobb style.

    I no longer laugh at XML. I cry when see it in a database table. The only thing that makes me cry more is EDI. Actually, that's a lie... some of the folks here have converted some of the EDI we recieve and have changed it to XML and then store both in the database. :sick:

    Many of the EDI standards have in fact moved to XML and of course when imported unconverted into a database, result in a Double Trouble (not the SRV kind though)

    😎

    Oh my - such fond memories. I got the honor of working on an EDI project once about 10 or so years ago. {insert head tick and nervous twitch here} It was a very arcane and difficult data set to work with. Once you get done with the structure (envelopes, documents, etc.) and get to the actual structure, some things *may* be included or not and *may* be included once or many times. :w00t:

    It was dictated to me that I used a commercial EDI package for the string parsing, but it was so old that it only supported XMODEN, YMODEM, etc. as communication protocols. I used the $20K-string parser, but had to write all the communication and transfer stuff myself. The "programming" of the string parser was clicking dropdowns in an interface that was buggy to produce a series of text files containing instructions. Even simple business rules had to be coded in a separate environment and then run against the output files. It was good to get it done and it worked. However, when everyone is completely afraid to touch any part of it because they don't understand it, I would not call it a good solution. This is a case when the political gamesmanship of management defined an unmaintainable solution. I was the only one who understood it and I didn't like it.

    The memories of EDI work in the past are similar to the ones of the visits to the dentist, lot of pain, lot of money and forgotten as quickly as possible.

    😎

    +1000. I still have unpleasant memories of working on it. I'm hoping they continue to fade with time. 😉

    If you ever need to permanently banish phantom pains from EDI XML, just try this little beauty on for size....

    http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/product_brief.cfm?product_id=163

    That's right - your entire medical record codes in XML... :hehe:

    I have done some extensive work in the past with HL7. It is a total PITA to deal with. We had to encrypt the entire message AND each element prior to sending. It had to process thousands of messages per second too. The upside is that every piece of medical software anywhere could process the same messages which greatly reduces the workload when all software can communicate in the same format.

    After experience in HL7, 4010 EDI, and 5010 EDI I can safely say that no one makes it "easy". None of them give the information in a readable manner and all of it is highly subjective based on who is sending the file and what the receiver expects. Each interface is custom coded. The only difference is who you are. If you can dictate to the other party the format, you win. If you are not an Insurance Company or a large hospital, you lose. I know of at least 1 doctor's office that is on Forbes (approaching $1 billion valuation) list that takes it on the chin for file formats to each Insurance and hospital it deals with.

    I will say that 4010 and 5010 are worse than HL7, but not by much.

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