HowToAskQuestions

This page contains a very short version of How To Ask Questions The Smart Way with special consideration for SAP DB specific problems.

1. Use meaningful, specific subject headers
   1. Change the subject header when the subject changes
   2. Mark reposts with REPOST
2. Be precise and informative about your problem
   1. Dos
      1. General SQL
      2. JDBC
      3. ODBC
   2. Don'ts
3. Summarize the results
4. Courtesy never hurts, and sometimes helps

Use meaningful, specific subject headers

Because not everyone reads every message, using a precise subject line will help you find the right person to answer your question.

Worth mentioning in the subject line are

• any error codes

• your guess on where the problem is after you tried to reduce the problem to it's simplest form. FLOAT truncation when inserting LONGs is useful only if there is no FLOAT truncation without the LONGs.

• the tool or programming interface you are using. Because there are sometimes subtle differences between the various SQL modes (internal, oracle) and submodes(ODBC, ...), you might want to try the same SQL using a different tool. sapdbmodes.py is a script that checks a SQL command using all the modes.

• any other software involved if it is likely to be of significance

  • the operating system is likely to be of significance when installing the software, but much less so when there is an SQL problem

  • any additional layer between your code and the database. But try to reduce the problem to something that can be reproduced without requiring the additional software.

Not worth mentioning:

• SAP DB. If you have chosen to direct your question to the SAP DB mailing list, it's a pretty sure bet that you're not asking a question about how to fix your stereo system.

Change the subject header when the subject changes

If the discussion about handling of feature requests changes to a discussion about a specific feature, then the subject line should be changed to reflect this.

Mark reposts with REPOST

Because there is always the occasional post that doesn't get an answer, it is OK to repost the same question after about a week. Adding REPOST to the subject shows that it isn't a flaw in the mailing list software.

Be precise and informative about your problem

Dos

General SQL

• The SQL statement

• error code, error message, error position

• parameter values, but add the programming language you're using

• table definitions

JDBC

• the exception backtrace of JDBC driver.

• if you're using the JDBC driver inside an application server like Tomcat, then the innermost backtrace might not be available. Try to reproduce the problem outside of the server or use the JdbcTrace to get at the exception.

ODBC

• method of accessing ODBC: Windows driver manager, UnixODBC, iodbc, linked directly, PHP, Perl DBD::ODBC

Don'ts

• large traces or example programs unless requested. If you have access to some web space, then it is a good idea to upload the data to that server and to post the link.

• This discussion list is about SAP DB, not SAP R/3. If you are having problems specifically relating to running R/3 with SAP DB, that may be relevant to the list. If you are having a problem with configuring wage types in the Payroll module, that is almost certain to be totally irrelevant to discussion here.

Summarize the results

If you think that others might run into the same snag, entering both the symptoms and the solution in this wiki is a good idea. The starting point would be TroubleShooting.

• a short and precise description is probably more helpful to others than the patchwork required to get the same information from the mailing list archives

• someone might take the information and write an automatic diagnostic tool

• future versions of SAP DB might contain checks to prevent this problem

Courtesy never hurts, and sometimes helps

Oh well, if your parents didn't teach you manners, then we're not going to even try.