5 ms·
I would say you need _to know about the existence of_ window functions. Knowing they exist and generally what they are used for means some time in the future I
by syntheticcdo 7y ago
I would say you need _to know about the existence of_ window functions. Knowing they exist and generally what they are used for means some time in the future I can identify a problem I am trying to solve, and then go read up on the documentation for window functions and use them in that place, and then probably forget about the specifics.
- whateveracct 7y agoYep. When you need a window function, you _need_ a window function. The alternative isn't pretty.
- EdwardDiego 7y agoI guess it depends on the nature of your work. If you're doing any kind of analytics, window functions are indispensable for their ability to have a set act like a list.
- tomlockwood 7y agoIn my opinion this is great advice for pretty much any programming concept - and one of the reasons I regret not getting a formal computer science education.
- punnerud 7y agoI have no formal CS education other than basic programming and computer security (was an HVAC-engineer), and find that I outsmart the “fast hamsters in their wheel with a CS-degree” because I check with them regularly and try to find all my ‘unknown unknowns’. Reading up on (overview of) all the SQL functions is a good start.
- theshrike79 7y ago"...there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know." - Donald Rumsfeld Basically if you know that something exists, but don't know about it you can still go learn it and apply it to solve a problem. But if you don't know about it, most likely you'll try to reinvent the wheel and spend way too much time doing it.
- Ma8ee 7y agoIt always annoys me when that phrase is attributed to Donald Rumsfeld. The concept is much older than him, and the attribution to him gives him an air of wisdom that he doesn't deserve.