Yes! Code regions in SQL :)

Currently I'm working on a long long long SQL script that automatically writes CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) procedures based on a table's definition. If you are like me, you will find that you group certain code together.

In Visual Studio, you can conveniently wrap #region tags around the code, so you can just collapse the region when you know certain stuff works, and doesn't need to be edited anymore. Not so in SQL Query Analyzer (or SQL Server Management Studio for that matter).

SQL Visualizer does offer that option though. You start a region with a -- REGION comment, and end with -- END REGION.
Because it works with comment blocks, your code will work anywhere. Except within this tool, you will be able to now use regions:



I've used other SQL tools before, and quickly found myself abandoning them due to being, well frankly, crap. I'll have to work with this one a bit more before I can actually judge it properly, but regions in SQL code are definitely something I miss in the Microsoft environment.

Update 08/27/2007: I've decided to not use SQL Analyzer a lot, unless it's for developing large scripts like the CRUD script I mentioned before. Reason is that it's not possible to copy/paste output messages (which, if you're building dynamic SQL scripts, is kind of neccessary to test).

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Moan: Commenting while programming

Att: Microsoft, Oracle, Sun
CC: WWC, Google (they're in on anything, so why not CC them? At the very least they'll get a chuckle out of it)

Subject: Programming comments

Dear Sirs/Madams,

If you can find some time in your undoubtedly busy schedules, would it be possible for you to discuss a universal combination of characters to note a line or block of text within code as comment, please?


As a programmer, I love commenting my code. It makes it easy for me to identify what bits of code do, to indicate why I used a certain approach, and my peers will get the same benefits. All in all, comments are our friends.

However, I have never understood the reason for having numerous ways to define comments. For instance, see the following snippets:

Visual Basic:
' This is a comment. Start the line with an apostrophe.

C# / Java:
// This is a comment.

SQL / C# / Java / Oracle:
/* This is a comment block */

SQ: / Oracle:
-- This is a comment

HTML:
<% -- This is a comment -- %>

Etc.

Could it be arranged so that there is one standard approach that works in every language? It would make things so much easier for those of us who regularly switch between languages/flavours.

Kthanks.

My next moan will demand we get the exact same syntax, too ;)

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