A Simple Solution

Voice of the DBA

In general, I like simple solutions to problems (and simple songs). They can take work, but a simple solution means it’s easy to explain to others, easy for others to refactor/modify, and we limit the amount of effort required to ensure others can use the solution. Sometimes I see very clever engineering solutions, but they become cumbersome to implement and maintain, or worse, no one other than the author understands how they work.

In any size organization, that’s a piece of technical debt that can cause problems over time.

When I see a simple solution, I feel a bit of joy. I got that recently with a blog post from Microsoft on how to transfer your CLR code to Azure SQL Managed Instance. While moving CLR code can be a pain, as you are moving a binary object, this post suggested using MI Link. This is a feature designed to replicate between a local SQL Server and MI, which isn’t something I think a lot of people want, but some do. I don’t know if I’d want this permanently set up, but as a way to move code around, this is very simple and easy way to move this code in a one-time shot. Perhaps as a way to set up a test from a local instance to the cloud.

This isn’t my ideal way to move code around, as I prefer to have a specific pipeline dedicated to deploying code. However, I also think that this is a nice simple solution that might be easier in some situations. I like ease, and I like effectiveness, as long as I’m not sacrificing something more important, like performance.

I see lots of creative solutions built by customers, often built by some smart people. However, they become quickly complex, and they are hard to explain to others in the organization. It can be difficult to trust anyone other than the author(s) to maintain the solution across time. It can be even more challenging when new staff onboard and never get an explanation of how or why something works.

I aim for simple solutions, and those that I can easily explain, and others can easily pick up and understand. I’m curious today if you’ve seen complex solutions that were overkill, or ingeniously simple ones you admired.

Steve Jones

Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

Note, podcasts are only available for a limited time online.