Rate your SQL skillz:

1: beginner
1a between 1 and 2
2: intermediate
2a between 2 and 3
3: advanced
3a between 3 and 4
4: expert
4a between 4 and 5
5: legendary

I'll start: 1a

Maybe 3 but I fucking hate it and I will avoid having to deal with it at all costs.

@Lensflare And so, you could perhaps quickly understand a huge SQL query that doesn't even fit on a 4K res? I've seen such a query from a client. It was.. maddening to me. Multiple-table joins with tens of columns and dialect-specific syntax... and no formatting (but yeah, you can fix that one), or if they are a 'fun' client, they will ask you not to use any other client than their proprietary (crappy) one. lmao

As a level 1a, it would take me at least half a day to understand such a query. I admire those who can just glance at it and get it.

And yeah, I may understand your dislike for it.

@Lensflare This is what such a query would look like, by the way (I generated it with GenAI):

https://pastebin.com/SuzG7A7C

These would be the daily struggle us devs would have to deal with. I'd see colleagues of mine struggle three entire days on 1/10th of a query like that. I struggled as well. lol. That's what you get with the consulting scam, putting devs in positions they're not prepared for at all.

@CaptainRant imo, to be able to understand quickly what you described, you need to be legendary.
It‘s actually more like a wholly different skill altogether.
Proficiency in a language doesn’t mean ability to insta grasp convoluted crap that others wrote.

@Lensflare Yeah.. and then you have to go ask them, which isn't fun when they're densely conceited assholes...

rust looks like SQL

*contributed*

@jestdotty Rule-breakerrrrrr. lol. Hm, what can we extrapolate from this. ;p

whoops sorry. so fast now I can't edit without it being a faux pas

uhh I don't know. sql looks simple to me. because it has simple concepts. I never understood it as "something elite/a skill" because it's just too simple

I think of SQL proficiency as meddling with the configurations to make the database software faster. that is black magic to me

in terms of big queries they're just a matter of time... as with all things made up of simple concepts. I don't think taking a whole day for one is weird. sometimes it's appropriate

I also can't design data to be fair. or I never really got into it so my brain doesn't work like that. probably a glaring blind spot for me

I tend to start from the principle that if anything remotely complicated needs to be done, then it shouldn't be done in SQL unless there's a damn good reason.

So in terms of how flashy and advanced my DB stuff is, I probably score about 2.

But in terms of how rarely my databases shit the bed, I'm closer to 4.

@donkulator that’s also my gold standard when it comes to DBs

Note to reader: this post and my comments were infused by coffee. lmao

@jestdotty @jestdotty lol. You're blazing fast.

It becomes difficult when you have to incrementally keep all that logic in your head. It becomes a bit easier when you treat it in chunks, but still.. If some senior dev decided to write it in their own way, you will spit out a lot of wtfs.

Ah yeah, configs - interesting to think about. Perhaps changing to utf8_collate or something? lol. The way I did it was setting indexes for my queries.

Yes, big queries are a matter of time, and it becomes frustrating when your manager is breathing down your neck they want a result by end of day because their responsible ass sold that to the client.

Designing data is indeed quite a skill on its own and I think it requires deep fundamentals and awareness, which is something I want to further develop.

sql, boring shit.

Legendaaaa... Wait for it

Oops. Ignore that

It is just 1