asked
Registration for Phil Factor SQL Speed Phreak Challenges
I have heard about **Phil Factor SQL Speed Phreak Challenges.** And I am very much interested to play in that. But the problem is I do not know how to register to the challenge and how will I come to know when the latest challenge will come or which one is the ongoing one. A link [Phil Factor Speed Phreak Challenge Rules][1] has been provided though but it is not clear as how to enter and when the new challenge will be notified. Also it is saying that I need to subscribe to the SPEED-PHREAK tag. I click on that, but how to do the subscription [1]:
http://ask.sqlservercentral.com/questions/3863/phil-factor-speed-phreak-challenge-rules Any help will be appreciated. Thanks
Phil posts his challenges as a question on this forum and we simply provide an answer if we want to join in. All the answers are taken off the forum and executed as per the rules and the fastest performing gets to be called the winner. Sometimes there have been other (sub) challenges such as the fastest pure T-SQL solution, the fastest CLR solution, the fastest T-SL with a cursor etc etc Keep watching the questions here and good luck if you answer
So is there any time like after every 1 week or so he posts the new challenge.... I think the current one is 4. When can we expect for the 5th?
no there isnt a specific interval, he's a busy man so they are not close together. As you say, we have had 4 so far and I think the site is almost a year old but, having said that I don't think you should expect one every 3 months.
We tend to wait until there seems to be enough interest in doing another one. We don't want to overdo these competitions. Actually, another factor is that they take some time to do properly, and we all have day-jobs. Kathi has the hardest work to do, doing the write-ups!
We're really just an informal group of people who are interested in optimizing TSQL to make it perform as fast as possible. We take an example that is taken from a real problem that people have faced with a database, and start off with some SQL that will produce the correct result (usually as done by a member of the Barr family, Reggie, Ronald, Rudolph or whatever). You are welcome to join in the next challenge. All you have to do is to download the test data, and try our R. Barr's code. Then you change the algorithm, add indexes, modify the code etc, until you finally have a steaming query that runs dead fast. You can even rewrite it ias a CLR or in SSIS! The competitions often get written up and posted as an article on Simple-Talk. See [Set-based Speed Phreakery: T[he FIFO Stock Inventory SQL Problem][1] and [Writing Efficient SQL: Set-Based Speed Phreakery][2] As I write this, I believe that Peso is readying a new challenge, based on a real practical requirement for relational division. Both he and I will announce it on our twitter feeds and it will appear on ASK. [1]:
http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/performance/set-based-speed-phreakery-the-fifo-stock-inventory-sql-problem/ [2]:
http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/performance/writing-efficient-sql-set-based-speed-phreakery/
OED:- Spead Phreak: member of "informal group of people who are interested in optimizing TSQL" !! +1
Hi Phil, I really enjoyed the last challenge, but how do I claim my prize?
Just contact Alice Smith at Red Gate, who will sort this out for you. If you send me a direct message on twitter or contact me via SQL Server Central, I can give you her email contact details.
@Phil Factor - I've got a couple to claim I think :) Let me know when Peter's finished the relational division challenge (and, based on the bits I've seen it's going to be an interesting one) is up, and I'll twitter it too...
Oh yes. The Relational Division Challenge is interesting because it is a real-life example of the requirement. So often, we see very contrived examples, but this is for real. it also shows the huge difference between a good, an RBar, and Ho-hum solution.
