A day of decoding SQL scripts
Today served as the perfect embodiment of the a common saying and a trusty algorithm. For months, we’ve been toiling away on a project of considerable complexity. Not only is the technical side intricate, but the sheer number of steps involved to ingest, transform, and persist data amplifies the complexity.
While examining my upcoming task, I realized it didn’t involve any coding. Instead, it was a purely research-oriented undertaking 🧐. It demanded a profound understanding of SQL syntax and specific domain knowledge. The task was to review dozens of SQL scripts, decipher their operations, and comprehend their purpose. Some were straightforward, while others were tangled messes of elongated and confusing code – SQL flavored spaghetti code, if you will. Ugh. 😣
So, how do I tackle this task? Merely scanning an Excel file brimming with scripts was enough to feel overwhelmed. After a futile attempt of copying scripts into my code editor for a better view, I understood that this strategy was not going to work.
How does one eat an elephant?
As Desmond Tutu insightfully said, “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” He implied that tasks that seem daunting, overwhelming, and even impossible can be gradually accomplished by tackling one small piece at a time.
Therein lay my solution – a time-tested algorithm known to work flawlessly when applied correctly, and with ample patience. The name of this algorithm? Divide and conquer. This approach breaks down a problem into two or more sub-problems of the same or related type until they become simple enough to be solved directly. The solutions to these sub-problems are then reassembled to form the solution to the original problem.
For each SQL script in the Excel file, I meticulously analyzed the SQL syntax until I grasped its function. I then added a comment describing in plain English what it accomplished and how we could enhance or replace it. Although time-consuming, it wasn’t until about halfway through that I started noticing patterns, repetitions, and potential improvements in many of these scripts. I found satisfaction in the progress.
The task had been sitting in my to-do list for a few days, and I was reluctant to start because it appeared dull and hard to digest. But after dividing it into manageable steps and focusing on each script independently, it wasn’t half as bad or boring as I’d anticipated. Understanding each script’s role in the broader process, where all the scripts were merely one component, was enlightening.
Feeling accomplished, I left my desk, but not without a tinge of worry about my next task – likely executing the improvements I’d suggested for these scripts. Ah, another endeavor to procrastinate over.
