In the world of software engineering, effective communication is important, not only for collaborations but also for seeking help from places like Stack Overflow. One of the most important aspects of this is the ability to ask questions “the smart way,” described by Eric S. Raymond in his essay “How to Ask Questions the Smart Way.” He emphasizes clarity, prior research, and respect for the responders time, which collectively lead to more productive interactions. Smart questions promote efficient problem-solving, build professional reputation, and contribute to collective thinking. On the other hand, poorly asked questions can waste time, frustrate responders, and stunt personal growth.
A great example of a smart question is “Why is processing a sorted array faster than processing an unsorted array?” which was posted on Stack Overflow. In this question, the asker presents a counterintuitive performance observation in C++ and Java code. They provide complete, runnable code snippets that initialize an array of random integers , sort it , and then iterate to sum values greater than or equal to 128.
This question closely follows Raymond’s guidelines, making it an almost perfectly “smart” question. First, it demonstrates significant prior effort. The asker has written and tested code in two languages, measured timings precisely, and ruled out obvious causes. Second, the question is specific and focused, rather than broad.
Here is the example of the code the asker used for C++:
#include <algorithm>
#include <ctime>
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
// Generate data
const unsigned arraySize = 32768;
int data[arraySize];
for (unsigned c = 0; c < arraySize; ++c)
data[c] = std::rand() % 256;
// !!! With this, the next loop runs faster.
std::sort(data, data + arraySize);
// Test
clock_t start = clock();
long long sum = 0;
for (unsigned i = 0; i < 100000; ++i)
{
for (unsigned c = 0; c < arraySize; ++c)
{ // Primary loop.
if (data[c] >= 128)
sum += data[c];
}
}
double elapsedTime = static_cast<double>(clock()-start) / CLOCKS_PER_SEC;
std::cout << elapsedTime << '\n';
std::cout << "sum = " << sum << '\n';
}link to smart question here
In contrast, consider this question from Stack Overflow that violates Raymond’s principles: “Program not working for some reason, could someone pls help me fix it”. The asker also reports, “my program doesn’t even start. When I run it, Windows just says that the program is not responding and is trying to diagnose the problem.” They add that they’re a “complete beginner” and request simplified explanations, but provide no error logs, compiler output or debugging attempts. No mention of what they’ve tried, no print statements, no debugger use, no basic checks for obvious issues.
This exemplifies the “not smart way” by ignoring several of Raymond’s core principles. Primarily, it lacks any demonstrated research or effort. Raymond advises searching for answers first, trying things yourself, and showing your work, but here there’s zero indication of prior attempts. The question is vague and unfocused, breaching the rule to “be precise and informative about your problem”
Here is the code in question:
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <cmath>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int n=5;
int k=100;
vector<vector<double>> a(n, vector<double> (2));
srand(132);
//a[0][1]=k*((float(rand()))/RAND_MAX);
//a[0][0]=k*((float(rand()))/RAND_MAX);
for(int i=0; i<n;){
a[i][0]=k*((float(rand()))/RAND_MAX);
a[i][1]=k*((float(rand()))/RAND_MAX);
for (int j=0; j<n; j+=1){
if (sqrt(pow((a[i][1]-a[j][1]),2)+pow((a[i][0]-a[j][0]),2))<=1){
i=i;
break;}
else if(j==n-1){
cout << a[i][0] << " " << a[i][1] << endl;
i+=1;}
}}
return 0;
}link to not so smart question here
Use of AI: Grammarly was used to fix grammar mistakes and make ideas more clear.