YeshuaAgapao.com Blog

I’m re-posting a post I put at SQLServerCentral.com

********************************************************************************

This 2D stuff is excellent for normalizing 1NF (first normal form) violations like ‘123^12|456^45′|789^12|945^34′

2D array parsing without table variables or temp tables! It is using Itzik Ben-Gan’s parsing algorithm that relies on a table of numbers (counter / tally / nums). My version of the 2D enhancement uses CROSS APPLY so it doesn’t work in SQL Server 2000.

2D ‘Table’ version - outputs vertical-ized data only; faster but not very useful on 2D data:

--Normal VarChar version
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_DelimitToTable_2D
        (
                @String VarChar(8000),
                @Delimiter1 VarChar(1),
                @Delimiter2 VarChar(1)
        ) RETURNS TABLE
AS

RETURN
        (
                SELECT Counter2nd.Value AS Value
                FROM
                        (
                                SELECT
                                        SUBSTRING(@String+@Delimiter1, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter1, @String+@Delimiter1, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS Value
                                FROM dbo.counter

                                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(@String)+LEN(@Delimiter1) AND SubString(@Delimiter1 + @String + @Delimiter1, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter1
                        ) AS Counter1st
                        CROSS APPLY (
                                SELECT
                                        SUBSTRING(Counter1st.Value+@Delimiter2, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter2, Counter1st.Value+@Delimiter2, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS Value
                                FROM dbo.counter
                                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(Counter1st.Value)+LEN(@Delimiter2) AND SubString(@Delimiter2 + Counter1st.Value + @Delimiter2, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter2
                        ) AS Counter2nd
        )
GO

–Integer casting version when output is used to join to integer PK/FK columns.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_DelimitToIntTable_2D
        (
                @String VarChar(8000),
                @Delimiter1 VarChar(1),
                @Delimiter2 VarChar(1)

        ) RETURNS TABLE
AS

RETURN
        (
                SELECT CONVERT(int, Counter2nd.Value) AS PK_IntID
                FROM
                        (
                                SELECT
                                        SUBSTRING(@String+@Delimiter1, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter1, @String+@Delimiter1, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS Value
                                FROM dbo.counter
                                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(@String)+LEN(@Delimiter1) AND SubString(@Delimiter1 + @String + @Delimiter1, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter1
                        ) AS Counter1st
                        CROSS APPLY (
                                SELECT
                                        SUBSTRING(Counter1st.Value+@Delimiter2, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter2, Counter1st.Value+@Delimiter2, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS Value
                                FROM dbo.counter
                                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(Counter1st.Value)+LEN(@Delimiter2) AND SubString(@Delimiter2 + Counter1st.Value + @Delimiter2, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter2

                        ) AS Counter2nd
        )
GO

--Normal VarChar version
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_DelimitToArray_2D
        (
                @String VarChar(8000),
                @Delimiter1 VarChar(1),
                @Delimiter2 VarChar(1)
        ) RETURNS TABLE
AS

RETURN
        (
                SELECT Counter1st.Pos AS RowPos, Counter2nd.Pos AS ColPos, Counter2nd.Value AS Value
                FROM
                        (
                                SELECT
                                        PK_CountID - LEN(REPLACE(LEFT(@String, PK_CountID-1), @Delimiter1, ‘’)) AS Pos,
                                        SUBSTRING(@String+@Delimiter1, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter1, @String+@Delimiter1, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS Value
                                FROM dbo.counter

                                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(@String)+LEN(@Delimiter1) AND SubString(@Delimiter1 + @String + @Delimiter1, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter1
                        ) AS Counter1st
                        CROSS APPLY (
                                SELECT
                                        PK_CountID - LEN(REPLACE(LEFT(Counter1st.Value, PK_CountID-1), @Delimiter2, ‘’)) AS Pos,
                                        SUBSTRING(Counter1st.Value+@Delimiter2, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter2, Counter1st.Value+@Delimiter2, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS Value
                                FROM dbo.counter
                                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(Counter1st.Value)+LEN(@Delimiter2) AND SubString(@Delimiter2 + Counter1st.Value + @Delimiter2, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter2
                        ) AS Counter2nd
                )
GO

–Integer casting version when output is used to join to integer PK/FK columns.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_DelimitToIntArray_2D
        (
                @String VarChar(8000),
                @Delimiter1 VarChar(1),

                @Delimiter2 VarChar(1)
        ) RETURNS TABLE
AS

RETURN
        (
                SELECT Counter1st.Pos AS RowPos, Counter2nd.Pos AS ColPos, CONVERT(int, Counter2nd.value) AS PK_IntID
                FROM
                        (
                                SELECT
                                        PK_CountID - LEN(REPLACE(LEFT(@String, PK_CountID-1), @Delimiter1, ‘’)) AS Pos,
                                        SUBSTRING(@String+@Delimiter1, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter1, @String+@Delimiter1, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS value
                                FROM dbo.counter
                                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(@String)+LEN(@Delimiter1) AND SubString(@Delimiter1 + @String + @Delimiter1, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter1
                        ) AS Counter1st
                        CROSS APPLY (
                                SELECT
                                        PK_CountID - LEN(REPLACE(LEFT(Counter1st.value, PK_CountID-1), @Delimiter2, ‘’)) AS Pos,

                                        SUBSTRING(Counter1st.value+@Delimiter2, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter2, Counter1st.Value+@Delimiter2, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS value
                                FROM dbo.counter
                                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(Counter1st.value)+LEN(@Delimiter2) AND SubString(@Delimiter2 + Counter1st.value + @Delimiter2, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter2
                        ) AS Counter2nd
                )
GO

‘Table’ version - ordinal postion stripped out for speed; Great for stored-procedure-izing IN() clauses - WHERE id IN (1,2,3,4):

--Normal VarChar version
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_DelimitToTable
        (
                @String VarChar(8000),
                @Delimiter VarChar(1)
        ) RETURNS TABLE
AS

RETURN
        (
                SELECT SUBSTRING(@String+@Delimiter, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter, @String+@Delimiter, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS Value
                FROM dbo.counter

                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(@String)+LEN(@Delimiter) AND SubString(@Delimiter + @String + @Delimiter, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter
        )
GO

–Integer casting version when output is used to join to integer PK/FK columns.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_DelimitToIntTable
        (
                @String VarChar(8000),
                @Delimiter VarChar(1)
        ) RETURNS TABLE
AS

RETURN
        (
                SELECT CONVERT(int, SUBSTRING(@String+@Delimiter, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter, @String+@Delimiter, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID)) AS PK_IntID
                FROM dbo.counter
                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(@String)+LEN(@Delimiter) AND SubString(@Delimiter + @String + @Delimiter, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter
        )
GO

--Normal VarChar version
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_DelimitToArray

        (
                @String VarChar(8000),
                @Delimiter VarChar(1)
        ) RETURNS TABLE
AS

RETURN
        (
                SELECT
                        PK_CountID - LEN(REPLACE(LEFT(@String, PK_CountID-1), @Delimiter, ‘’)) AS Pos,
                        SUBSTRING(@String+@Delimiter, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter, @String+@Delimiter, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID) AS Value
                FROM dbo.counter
                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(@String)+LEN(@Delimiter) AND SubString(@Delimiter + @String + @Delimiter, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter
        )
GO

–Integer casting version when output is used to join to integer PK/FK columns.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_DelimitToIntArray
        (
                @String VarChar(8000),
                @Delimiter VarChar(1)
        ) RETURNS TABLE
AS

RETURN

        (
                SELECT
                        PK_CountID - LEN(REPLACE(LEFT(@String, PK_CountID-1), @Delimiter, ‘’)) AS Pos,
                        CONVERT(int, SUBSTRING(@String+@Delimiter, PK_CountID, CHARINDEX(@Delimiter, @String+@Delimiter, PK_CountID)-PK_CountID)) AS PK_IntID
                FROM dbo.counter
                WHERE PK_CountID >0 AND PK_CountID<LEN(@String)+LEN(@Delimiter) AND SubString(@Delimiter + @String + @Delimiter, PK_CountID, 1)=@Delimiter
        )

SQL server 2005 can fit 622 numbers per page if it is clustered. That drops to 299 if it is a heap.  SQL Server 2000 can fit 620 numbers per page clustered.

1 I/O per hit guaranteed: 299-number heap (seek or scan; only tested in 2005)
2 I/Os per hit guaranteed (seek or scan): 622 number clustered (620 for 2000)
Fully packed 2-level clustered index for a 2 I/O minimum per seek: 386,884 numbers (384,400 for 2000)

Make sure you use a 100% fill facter (the data shouldn’t ever change), and after populating the tables with data, you do a rebuild:
ALTER INDEX ALL ON Counter REBUILD WITH (FillFactor=100) for SQL Server 2005
DBCC DBREINDEX (Counter,’PK_C_IX__Counter__CountID’,100) for SQL Server 2000

I usually use both a ’small’ version and a ’standard’ version of the table of numbers (counter / nums / tally).  Never needed the ‘big’ version yet - a fully packed 3-level clustered index with 240,641,848 numbers (238,328,000 for SQL2000).
Here is my counter table building script for SQL Server 2005 and 2000; it runs in 4 seconds and allows or having a portion of your numbers being negative.  @MaxPositive and @ClusteredRowsPerPage are the hard-coded controlling parameters.

1-Level, 2-Level, and 3-Level (commented) Counter / Tally / Nums table builder SQL Server 2005:

--*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
--DDL
--*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

SET NOCOUNT ON

--*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.tables WHERE name='CounterSmall' AND schema_id=1) DROP TABLE dbo.CounterSmall
IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.tables WHERE name='Counter' AND schema_id=1) DROP TABLE dbo.Counter
--IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.tables WHERE name='CounterBig' AND schema_id=1) DROP TABLE dbo.CounterBig
GO

--*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

CREATE TABLE dbo.CounterSmall
(

        PK_CountID int NOT NULL,
        CONSTRAINT PK_C_IX__CounterSmall__CountID PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (PK_CountID) WITH FILLFACTOR=100
)

CREATE TABLE dbo.Counter
(
        PK_CountID int NOT NULL,
        CONSTRAINT PK_C_IX__Counter__CountID PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (PK_CountID) WITH FILLFACTOR=100
)

/*
CREATE TABLE dbo.CounterBig
(
        PK_CountID int NOT NULL,
        CONSTRAINT PK_C_IX__CounterBig__CountID PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (PK_CountID) WITH FILLFACTOR=100
)
*/
GO

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
–Counter SQL 2005
–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

DECLARE @Power int
DECLARE @HeapRowsPerPage int
DECLARE @ClusteredRowsPerPage int
DECLARE @MaxRows int
DECLARE @MaxPositive int
DECLARE @MaxNegative int
DECLARE @OldMaxNegative int

SET @ClusteredRowsPerPage=622
SET @HeapRowsPerPage=299
SET @MaxPositive=621

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

SET @MaxRows=@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxPositive=@MaxPositive-1
SET @OldMaxNegative=0
SET @MaxNegative=@MaxRows-@MaxPositive-@OldMaxNegative
SET @Power=1

PRINT ‘CounterSmall: ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxNegative*-1+1) + ‘ to ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxPositive) + ‘ - ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxRows) + ‘ Rows - 1-Level Clustered Index’

–SELECT @MaxNegative AS MaxNegative, @MaxPositive AS MaxPositive, @OldMaxNegative AS OldMaxNegative, @Power AS Power, @MaxRows AS MaxRows

TRUNCATE TABLE CounterSmall

BEGIN TRANSACTION

/*
INSERT INTO CounterSmall WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
SELECT PK_CountID-@MaxNegative
FROM dbo.fn_Numbers(@MaxRows)
*/

INSERT INTO CounterSmall WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID) VALUES (1-@MaxNegative)

WHILE @Power<=@MaxRows
BEGIN
        INSERT INTO CounterSmall WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
        SELECT @Power+PK_CountID FROM CounterSmall
        WHERE @Power+PK_CountID<=@MaxPositive

        SET @Power=@Power*2
END

COMMIT

ALTER INDEX ALL ON CounterSmall REBUILD WITH (FillFactor=100)
UPDATE STATISTICS CounterSmall WITH FULLSCAN
–SELECT * FROM CounterSmall

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

SET @Power=@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxRows=@Power*@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @OldMaxNegative=@MaxNegative+@OldMaxNegative
SET @MaxPositive=(@MaxPositive+1)*@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxNegative=@MaxRows-@MaxPositive-@OldMaxNegative

PRINT ‘Counter: ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxNegative*-1-@OldMaxNegative+1) + ‘ to ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxPositive) + ‘ - ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxRows) + ‘ Rows - 2-Level Clustered Index’

–SELECT @MaxNegative AS MaxNegative, @MaxPositive AS MaxPositive, @OldMaxNegative AS OldMaxNegative, @Power AS Power, @MaxRows AS MaxRows

TRUNCATE TABLE Counter

BEGIN TRANSACTION

INSERT INTO Counter WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
SELECT PK_CountID-@MaxNegative FROM CounterSmall

WHILE @Power<=@MaxRows
BEGIN
        INSERT INTO Counter WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
        SELECT @Power+PK_CountID FROM Counter
        WHERE @Power+PK_CountID<=@MaxPositive

        SET @Power=@Power*2
END
COMMIT

ALTER INDEX ALL ON Counter REBUILD WITH (FillFactor=100)
UPDATE STATISTICS Counter WITH FULLSCAN
–SELECT * FROM Counter ORDER BY PK_CountID

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
/*
SET @Power=@ClusteredRowsPerPage*@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxRows=@Power*(@ClusteredRowsPerPage-2)
SET @OldMaxNegative=@MaxNegative+@OldMaxNegative
SET @MaxPositive=(@MaxPositive+1)*@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxNegative=@MaxRows-@MaxPositive-@OldMaxNegative

PRINT ‘CounterBig: ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxNegative*-1-@OldMaxNegative+1) + ‘ to ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxPositive) + ‘ - ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxRows) + ‘ Rows - 3-Level Clustered Index’

–SELECT @MaxNegative AS MaxNegative, @MaxPositive AS MaxPositive, @OldMaxNegative AS OldMaxNegative, @Power AS Power, @MaxRows AS MaxRows

TRUNCATE TABLE CounterBig
UPDATE STATISTICS CounterBig WITH FULLSCAN, NORECOMPUTE

BEGIN TRANSACTION

INSERT INTO CounterBig WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
SELECT PK_CountID-@MaxNegative FROM Counter

WHILE @Power<=@MaxRows
BEGIN
        INSERT INTO CounterBig WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
        SELECT @Power+PK_CountID FROM CounterBig
        WHERE @Power+PK_CountID<=@MaxPositive

        SET @Power=@Power*2
END
COMMIT

ALTER INDEX ALL ON CounterBig REBUILD WITH (FillFactor=100)
UPDATE STATISTICS CounterBig WITH FULLSCAN
–SELECT * FROM CounterBig ORDER BY PK_CountID
*/

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

SELECT * FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats (DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID(’CounterSmall’), NULL, NULL, ‘DETAILED’)
SELECT * FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats (DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID(’Counter’), NULL, NULL, ‘DETAILED’)
–SELECT * FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats (DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID(’CounterBig’), NULL, NULL, ‘DETAILED’)

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
GO

--*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
--DDL
--*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

SET NOCOUNT ON

--*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sysobjects WHERE name='CounterSmall' AND uid=1 AND xtype='u') DROP TABLE dbo.CounterSmall
IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sysobjects WHERE name='Counter' AND uid=1 AND xtype='u') DROP TABLE dbo.Counter
--IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sysobjects WHERE name='CounterBig' AND uid=1 AND xtype='u') DROP TABLE dbo.CounterBig

--*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

CREATE TABLE dbo.CounterSmall
(
        PK_CountID int NOT NULL,
        CONSTRAINT PK_C_IX__CounterSmall__CountID PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (PK_CountID) WITH FILLFACTOR=100
)

CREATE TABLE dbo.Counter
(
        PK_CountID int NOT NULL,
        CONSTRAINT PK_C_IX__Counter__CountID PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (PK_CountID) WITH FILLFACTOR=100
)

/*
CREATE TABLE dbo.CounterBig
(
        PK_CountID int NOT NULL,
        CONSTRAINT PK_C_IX__CounterBig__CountID PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (PK_CountID) WITH FILLFACTOR=100
)
*/

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
–Counter SQL 2000
–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

DECLARE @Power int
DECLARE @HeapRowsPerPage int
DECLARE @ClusteredRowsPerPage int
DECLARE @MaxRows int
DECLARE @MaxPositive int
DECLARE @MaxNegative int
DECLARE @OldMaxNegative int

SET @ClusteredRowsPerPage=620
SET @HeapRowsPerPage=299
SET @MaxPositive=619

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

SET @MaxRows=@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxPositive=@MaxPositive-1
SET @OldMaxNegative=0
SET @MaxNegative=@MaxRows-@MaxPositive-@OldMaxNegative
SET @Power=1

PRINT ‘CounterSmall: ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxNegative*-1+1) + ‘ to ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxPositive) + ‘ - ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxRows) + ‘ Rows - 1-Level Clustered Index’

–SELECT @MaxNegative AS MaxNegative, @MaxPositive AS MaxPositive, @OldMaxNegative AS OldMaxNegative, @Power AS Power, @MaxRows AS MaxRows

TRUNCATE TABLE CounterSmall

BEGIN TRANSACTION

INSERT INTO CounterSmall WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID) VALUES (1-@MaxNegative)

WHILE @Power<=@MaxRows
BEGIN
        INSERT INTO CounterSmall WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)

        SELECT @Power+PK_CountID FROM CounterSmall
        WHERE @Power+PK_CountID<=@MaxPositive

        SET @Power=@Power*2
END

COMMIT

DBCC DBREINDEX (CounterSmall,’PK_C_IX__CounterSmall__CountID’,100)
UPDATE STATISTICS CounterSmall WITH FULLSCAN
–SELECT * FROM CounterSmall

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

SET @Power=@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxRows=@Power*@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @OldMaxNegative=@MaxNegative+@OldMaxNegative
SET @MaxPositive=(@MaxPositive+1)*@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxNegative=@MaxRows-@MaxPositive-@OldMaxNegative

PRINT ‘Counter: ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxNegative*-1-@OldMaxNegative+1) + ‘ to ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxPositive) + ‘ - ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxRows) + ‘ Rows - 2-Level Clustered Index’

–SELECT @MaxNegative AS MaxNegative, @MaxPositive AS MaxPositive, @OldMaxNegative AS OldMaxNegative, @Power AS Power, @MaxRows AS MaxRows

TRUNCATE TABLE Counter

BEGIN TRANSACTION

INSERT INTO Counter WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
SELECT PK_CountID-@MaxNegative FROM CounterSmall

WHILE @Power<=@MaxRows
BEGIN
        INSERT INTO Counter WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
        SELECT @Power+PK_CountID FROM Counter
        WHERE @Power+PK_CountID<=@MaxPositive

        SET @Power=@Power*2
END
COMMIT

DBCC DBREINDEX (Counter,’PK_C_IX__Counter__CountID’,100)
UPDATE STATISTICS Counter WITH FULLSCAN
–SELECT * FROM Counter ORDER BY PK_CountID

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

/*
SET @Power=@ClusteredRowsPerPage*@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxRows=@Power*(@ClusteredRowsPerPage-2)
SET @OldMaxNegative=@MaxNegative+@OldMaxNegative
SET @MaxPositive=(@MaxPositive+1)*@ClusteredRowsPerPage
SET @MaxNegative=@MaxRows-@MaxPositive-@OldMaxNegative

PRINT ‘CounterBig: ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxNegative*-1-@OldMaxNegative+1) + ‘ to ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxPositive) + ‘ - ‘ + CONVERT(VarChar(10), @MaxRows) + ‘ Rows - 3-Level Clustered Index’

–SELECT @MaxNegative AS MaxNegative, @MaxPositive AS MaxPositive, @OldMaxNegative AS OldMaxNegative, @Power AS Power, @MaxRows AS MaxRows

TRUNCATE TABLE CounterBig
UPDATE STATISTICS CounterBig WITH FULLSCAN, NORECOMPUTE

BEGIN TRANSACTION

INSERT INTO CounterBig WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
SELECT PK_CountID-@MaxNegative FROM Counter

WHILE @Power<=@MaxRows
BEGIN
        INSERT INTO CounterBig WITH (TABLOCKX) (PK_CountID)
        SELECT @Power+PK_CountID FROM CounterBig
        WHERE @Power+PK_CountID<=@MaxPositive

        SET @Power=@Power*2
END
COMMIT

DBCC DBREINDEX (Counter,’PK_C_IX__CounterBig__CountID’,100)
UPDATE STATISTICS CounterBig WITH FULLSCAN
–SELECT * FROM CounterBig ORDER BY PK_CountID
*/

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

DBCC SHOWCONTIG (CounterSmall) WITH ALL_LEVELS, TABLERESULTS
DBCC SHOWCONTIG (Counter) WITH ALL_LEVELS, TABLERESULTS
–DBCC SHOWCONTIG (CounterBig) WITH ALL_LEVELS, TABLERESULTS

–*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

I have had other uses for a table of numbers, particularly reporting involving date-ranges and you want to show a date-range-block even if there is no data with a date within that date-range block.

Legit Link in Email (Promotion ID 18002804) — https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=9&cid=220&promotionid=18002804&code=

Now start screwing with the querystring. Some promotion ids redirect to other promotion ids. 128 and 18002792 are particularly good. 18002792 has $10 for 1 year subscription of the Zinio-DRM digital edition of SQL Server Magazine. 128 has $30 to all the print magazines, but the biggie is $30 to the Master CDs and $140 for the Windows IT Pro VIP CD - The Whole Enchilada (Legit link is $280)

Promotion ID 128 - https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=9&cid=220&promotionid=128&code=

Promotion ID 18002792 - https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=9&cid=220&promotionid=18002792&code=

Oh a bad ID is blank content with a order form. The Redirects to Promotion ID 128 is intentional. They must be smart to market to querystring munchkins

I think I will use both 18002804 for the print and Itzik Ben-Gan black-belt CD and then use 128 to get the SQL Master CD for 30 bucks. Itzik Ben-Gan is getting too much attention. I want Joe Celko to get some fame too. Hopefully with less need of corporate tyranny too. All of Ben-Gan’s books (Plus Inside SQL Server 2005 Storage Engine) are rampant on eMule, all unauthorized, leaked e-Books direct from microsoft employees.

I’ve been using WinRAR and 7-zip on stuff enough to give a guideline on which is better on which.

7-Zip
Ultra Compression, LZMA, 64MB dictionary, 273byte wordsize

WinRAR
Best Compression; 4096byte dictionary; Prediction Order 63 + 128MB memory for text files

Notes

Great DVD quality review site! You have to get the Media ID to use it.

****************************************

Final Fantasy V is NOT hard. It just requires patience and proficiency with the job system. Same for Final Fantasy Tactics-GBA, but more so (FFT-Adv is cooler in that it has 10-30min time chunking built in intrinsically). Final Fantasy V’s grinding requirement is a lot less than the orginal NES’s Final Fantasy I and Dragon Warrior 1 and 3 (Dragon Warrior 3-R for SNES and GBC improves alot for required grinding). I am so GLAD they did not make Final fantasy V GBA easier like they did Final Fantasy 1 & 2.Dawn of Souls GBA.

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Looks like 1 gigabit in a single ship with regular dram. It looks like that 2 gigabyte ramsticks for PCs and laptops (8 chips on each side of the DIMM) are on their way. Looks like phones can get 128-256 MB of RAM now (1 or 2 chips), but top-of-the-line density is very expensive. Mushkin currently only offers 512mbit-per-chip DIMMs (128Mx64bits — 2 sets of 8 64Mx8bits chips on 1 DIMM) right now. Gotta wait until late next year. I did see 2GB dimms available on Dell Inspiron XPS laptops though (to get 4GB on a 2-slot MoBo). VERY EXPENSIVE.

****************************************

Yeah! Cheaper, More compact non-volitile memory! Drop any hard-disc based device while it’s on, and its life either immediately ended or its lifespan is dramatically reduced.

****************************************

Well, more difficult to hack than e-passports though. Phishing and poorly secured website databases are still the best things to hack to get these.

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If you are a substantial uploader of any content (both legal and illegal), RIAA, MPAA and other corporate vigilante hackers will be always attacking you like the hackers in this article. I learned that being up to date on windows security patches is absolutely important as well as a up-to-date ip blocker, becasue they attack your machine directly as well as your eMule. My eMule is finally stable now (11 days so far) now that my patches are up to date after having to reinstall from a crashed hard disk the day after thanksgiving. Firewalls are relativitly irrelavent because both eMule and BitTorrent need to be able to accept incoming connections to function to their fullest. Widows firewall is very easy to hack. But at least it will protect your non-P2P ports from script-kiddy attacks.

****************************************

Games make all the difference. The Wii-for-PS3 trading isn’t *that* widespread though. If it was, then it would be a straight trade, with no price-difference in cash being exchanged

****************************************

I’ve had SATA external drives since 2004. You need a SATA-2-SATA enclosure (still a little bit expensive) and you need either a SATA PCMIA card (cheap) or to snake SATA cables into an open card-door in the back of your PC’s case. I hope eSATA turns out to be cool. SATA PCMIA cards’ SATA ports are hot-pluggable.

****************************************

Blah for Apple. Go Pirate Bay! YouTube is cool too, and cache-rippable. Still better off with eMule though. YouTube’s size limits hamper video quality. Hopefully Azureus’s Zudeo service can compete directly with YouTube, allowing substantially higher quality (b/c of BitTorrent protocol) video’s that I get to DOWNLOAD AND KEEP WITHOUT DRM.

****************************************

Funny. Kid figures out the parental code system and sets a code, so the kid’s less computer literate or just overworked (Adults don’t have the time that kids do regardless of computer literacy) parrent can’t go dabble with it and impulsively set a code (usually to default rating settings).

****************************************

Still bulky. Max ouput 20W. 12000 watt-hours / 20 watts is 600 hours though - 25 full 24/7 days. Good for hyperportables, but ruins the hyper-portability as they need a bulky docking station. Bulk is not bad for gaming laptops, but these guys need 70-180W of sustained power output. One has to consider that these things consume oxygen and pollute CO2, though 20-180W is nothing compared to a 700-watt human (a human pollutes CO2 like a 1hp lawnmower engine 24/7) or a 125hp car engine (93250 watts), but still more CO2. Then one has to consider how much vendors will abuse and mark-up the cost of the methanol fuel.

So I can’t track page views.? The author isn’t maintaining the program anymore and it is beta.? The search keywords and the referrers were always broken, but at least the search keywords were partially usable.? I may re-write this plugin myself as I am experienced in web traffic tracking and reporting.? But until then, unless come across a lucky quick fix, likely dropping all of the ba-stats tables (the sqlmyadmin for the site is broken too and reinstalling don’t fix it and the mySQL database is on a shared bulk-hosting server) and re-installing the plugin, I can’t publish the popular post/page/category/month stats anymore.? The BA-Stats plugin works half-way and was error-free until yesterday (intermittent errors yesterday, stats completly stopped working today), so I don’t know what happned to it.

Found static html dump archives for wikipedia! The december version of the english wikipedia isn’t out yet. I’m going to wait for that. I’m pretty sure it can be run locally in a web browser, but it may need an external laptop drive all to itself when unzipped! They are in .7z archives. .7z is for 7-zip. It is open source / GPL. I encourage those who want to contribute the bandwidth, to share a copy on Emule!! And rename the files so they are searchable. wikipedia-en-html-1.7z is only mediocre on searchability. Add ‘dump’, ‘offline’, ‘backup’, ’static html’ to the filename will help. Oh yeah china blocks the wikipedia, probably partially because of these dumps, so get them up on Emule! China does not block Emule (Plenty of HighID chinese users)!!! So chinese can get their tibet massacre or pro-democracy crap off of Emule or BitTorrent while the commy-party thinks their ’subjugated’ citizens are mostly pirating away at american movies (encouraged by import restrictions). Oh yeah, Iran doesn’t block Emule either.

I put a very exhaustive user-review on GameSpot for X-Plane 8.0 and I figured that I would echo it onto my blog.

****************************************

The scenery has received a major overhaul as of 8.30. Current version is 8.60 beta 4. Updates are very frequent + FREE.

The value is incredible — $50 for X-Plane and your local world region or $70 for the whole-world of scenery. The core Sim is only 1/2 Gigabyte. The 8.0x-8.2x scenery and probably also the x-plane + local-world-rgion only needs about 10gb of space. The 8.3x+ full-world scenery needs 60GB of space for the scenery, but for anything that is not landmark buildings, it is really awesome with topological accuracy that Microsoft can’t beat.

The updates just keep flying out. Got cars on the road now, tire traction modeling (code back-engineered from up and coming high-realism civilian/racing driving sim), simulation of multiple engine contra-rotating propfan aircraft (any transmission ration/setup you can think of actually), even multiplayer or AI air combat, though their is no gore or explosions — a hit means smoke puff and engine shutdown.

The air traffic now uses the same flight modeling as the player’s plane (as of 8.5x+) and if they are military, they are automatically hostile if they are in a different force/color than you, even if your plane is not military or armed! Get a comprehensive version history since 6.06 here

The UI is still geek-optimized, no missions (I personally don’t care for them but I’m sure others do), you’ll never get high-realism cityscapes with high-detail landmark buildings, and plane-maker is clunky for the fuselage design, so if you are looking for acceptable-realism casual-user eye-candy, you are better off with Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X.

X-Plane is the most realistic flightsim available, and the consumer version ($50 w/ new world scenery) is exactly identical to the FAA approved version ($500 from PFC or Fidelity except for the aircraft and extension code bundled into their panels (mostly for FAA regulations surrounding mandates for physical hardware control). So when your are flying Barry Leger’s F-22 or an by Morten Melhuus Ultra-Realistic 737-700 (Login required to view; terrorists like uber realism like this you know), you know you are getting the most realism you can get out of a consumer-priced flight simulator ever. Some of the low-cost payware 3rd-party aircraft have exceptional eye-candy at the aircraft level that rivals even Microsoft’s aircraft. Two great sites are c74.net (May be developer of FAA approved aircraft for the FAA approved version of X-Plane, regardless, these are very realistic and pretty looking) and Shade Tree Micro Aviation (Confirmed as source of FAA approved aircraft for the FAA approved x-plane at the X-Plane Features Yahoo Group)

I ripped off a thread from Yahoo Group X-Plane Features which I stimulated about X-Plane’s Ultimate Realsim and FAA-certification semantics. Lots of hardcore details

Links for X-Plane:

Tangent-Links for Orbiter. Orbiter is as good as X-Plane, but it is for orbital (planetary or solar) space flight.

************************************************************
************************************************************

Hello, guys. I think I need to jump in here and correct some of the
stuff that Matt wrote earlier, in the string that was terminated by
Mally.

There IS an FAA CERTIFIED version of X-Plane. This software has been
reviewed and approved and certified by the FAA, for the following
certifications:
PCATD
Basic ATD
Advanced ATD

The certifications are blanket certifications that require the use of
the Certified software (available through PFC or Fideliety, $500 per
copy) AND the certified aircraft models (come w/ the software) AND
the certified hardware. PFC’s hardware will run between about $4,500
and $60,000 or so. Fideliity’s hardware runs from about $125,000 to
about $300,000 or so. Also, PFC and Fidelity are now working on
obtaining FTD levels 1 though 6 certification. These are the final
steps before you move upto the full Level A - D certifications that
we’ve all heard about.

Randy Witt
X-Plane, Customer Service
913-269-0976

************************************************************

Are there any feature differences between the equivilant versions of
general X-Plane, Fidelity’s FAA approved X-Plane and PFC’s FAA
approved X-Plane version? I would think only additional
interconnectivity with proprietary external hardware and not much else
more more intellectual property red-tape and royalties (possibly on
X-Plane’s end, but definitly if any proprietary hardware needs
interfacing with), but i’m not sure. Wondering why it would be $500
instead of $50.

In all, is there any net difference in features and especially realism
on running generic X-Plane vs running PFC or fidelity’s FAA-aproved
X-Plane on a general PC or laptop (Other than not being actually FAA
approved for training-hours)?

************************************************************

Hello again. The price is because of all the red-tape that we have
to jump through w/ the FAA to get the certification and approvals.
The engineering and flight model is EXACTLY the same. The FAA
Certified version ships with the special aircraft that have been
built to the FAA standards and also have panels that have been
specifically built to be utilized w/ the hardware.

Randy Witt
X-Plane Customer Service
913-269-0976

************************************************************

Excuse me if I interject a little note into this conversation. But, I
think the point is, that if there is another version of X-Plane and that
it is certified due to its differences from the stock program however
minor those differences may be, is that, can it be run by an end-user?
and at what cost? and what availability? irregardless of any special
hardware that may be required to log flight hours. There are those
users out there for whom the expense of a program is far outweighed by
its potential benefits. However slight, those benefits may be. It
appears to me that X-Plane’s customer base is primarily those
individuals seeking the ultimate in realism. And if that ultimate is
not achieved, then they feel that they’ve been shorted somehow. Yes,
and I understand that the flight models are identical as well as the
physics models. But if panels and aircraft are different than those are
the things that should be offered to the end user. Especially the loyal
customers who have been with X-Plane for many many years and to whom
expense would not be as much of a deciding factor to purchase the
software as would be consistency in realism with real-world situations.
For myself personally, X-Plane has been a staple on my computer since
Austin wrote the first version and offered it many many years ago and
I’ve used it to design aircraft. Both radio controlled models [which
have been tested and flown] and experimental home built full scale
aircraft which have yet to take to the sky. The program has never
failed me in that respect.

One last note, sort of a wish list item- may be you could pass on to
Austin. With X-Plane 8.0 and now 8.5. The program has come to the
point where physics, flight model, terrain, road networks, and weather
are really at an ultimate in design and function. But the one thing
that has always been lacking in the software since the first version is
the landscapes and by that I mean. The infrastructure, the buildings,
the bridges, etc., especially in the larger cities. I live in the New
York area, and I cringe every time I fly over New York City in the
software, because nothing is where it’s supposed to be or looks as it
should except in the area of general terrain and the road network, which
in and of itself. I will admit is a huge improvement and something that
the “other flight Sim game” still hasn’t gotten right!. But what a
trump card that could be played. If all the realism of X-Plane to be
merged with the scenery of the other program, which I’m sure you heard
many times. As an aside, I’ll just add that from a performance
perspective having some basic canned scenery built into the Sim.
Especially in the largest cities would lessen the burden on the autogen
scenery engine which would make the Sim run even faster thereby
increasing frame rates.
Just my thoughts.

With regards and respect

Jim Zane
Chief Operating Officer
Typhoon Servers, LLC
typhoonservers.com

************************************************************

On Nov 18, 2006, at 3:21 PM, jim wrote:

> Excuse me if I interject a little note into this conversation. But, I
> think the point is, that if there is another version of X-Plane and
> that
> it is certified due to its differences from the stock program however
> minor those differences may be, is that, can it be run by an end-user?

Yes. Bet even flight schools are, “end users.”
> and at what cost?

500$.
> and what availability?

Simply order it. Laminar is in business to make money, not pilots.

> irregardless of any special
> hardware that may be required to log flight hours.

You mean regardless.
> There are those
> users out there for whom the expense of a program is far outweighed

> and if that ultimate is
> not achieved, then they feel that they’ve been shorted somehow.

It is achieved. You are able to buy the equipment. It is even
advertised on the equipment configuration menu.

I very much want the motion platform for 25,000.

> . But if panels and aircraft are different than those are
> the things that should be offered to the end user.

They are, if you pay the 500.

I paid the 500 for AvioApp and I am very happy. Of course I have to
use both of my computers when I fly.

Point is, -nothing-is preventing you from making as realistic a sim
as you wish.

But if you do, you are going to want hardware, and when you start
buying more than CH Yokes/pedals/Throttles, you are not going to care
much that you have to pay the 500 dollars -if you want to use the
thing to log official FAA training hours.

************************************************************

I believe that Laminar does not actually sell the certified version, you are
buying it off of a simulator manufacturer, and you are paying, in part, the
developement costs of those certified aircraft (much like other plane makers
are doing). I have seen one of the PFC simulators in action at the local
flight shop. Check out http://www.flightmotion.com/newfixed-r.htm I also
think if you were to obtain the software and planes for the certified
version, what you would get at your house using the home computer would be a
nice view out the windshield (ie. there would be no panel). In the certified
versions, the panel is actually a seperate piece of hardware, to mimic a
real panel, from the 1 I have seen.

Also, if I’m not mistaken, the FAA does not certify the software, but the
package, and all must go through the certification process together. Also,
I remember hearing the simulator (software/hardware) had to be recertified
every 4 months, and a full certification every year (could be wrong on this
one).

************************************************************

[Papa Mac taps out] This kinda-sorta correct. How do I know? Because
Shade Tree Micro Aviation (STMA) is one of 2 companies making Precision
Flight Control Inc.’s models. It’s true that the airplanes are built to FAA
standards but then we make all of our models to FAA standards. That’s one
of the reasons that they fly like the real deal. The big difference is in
the panels. They are specifically designed to meet PFC’s needs with
custom-made instruments that have been redrawn at the specific size that
guarantees the greatest clarity on PFC’s monitors and they don’t have any
knobs or handles because those functions are all handled in the hardware;
and multiple models are created with engine MFD panels and/or copilots
panels because the larger simulators run multiple copies of X-Plane so that
the entire cockpit as well as external visuals can be viewed simultaneously.

-Jim
Shade Tree Micro Aviation (http://shadetreemicro.com)
papamac@…

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his
tongue. -Anonymous

************************************************************

Re: X-Plane and FAA Certification

Do the aircraft in the FAA certified (Fidelity/PFC) X-Planes have
substantial extra quality for substantially enhance realism (over the
consumer-version stock aircraft or non-FAA premium-pay aircraft like
air.c74.net) or is it just FAA red-tape with no net realism
improvement and panel code-modules for interacting with proprietary
hardware (XPlaneFreeware’s 737 addon has code modules for enhanceing
realism further)?

************************************************************

Hi again, guys. The aircraft that have been developed for the FAA
have full screen instument panels that have been set up to meet the
FARs. Thus, there is more room to both enlarge the instruments and
also to add and improve the fidelity of supplemental gauges, like oil
pressure, oil temperature and things like that. Yes, the aircraft
have been specifically designed to be more realistic and to offer
better flight experiences than the aircraft that are available for
free or peanuts through the retail chains. Does that mean that ALL
of the FAA Cert. airplanes that are being distributed by PFC and
Fidelity are better than ALL of the retail aircraft that are
available. NO, not at all. There are certainly some very well built
retail aircraft that are commercially available that fly as good as,
or more accurately than the high dollar aircraft.

Additionally, keep in mind that the FAA certification does not allow
the pilot to interact w/ aircraft via the mouse. He / She must turn
actual knobs to tune radios and set his CDI and HSI and barometric
pressure, etc. Thus, the FAA Certified aircraft have been built with
this in mind.

Randy Witt
X-Plane, Customer Support.
913-269-0976

************************************************************

On of the things my brother is constantly saying to me is that, “one
doesn’t fly a plane with a keyboard and mouse. The positioning and
operation of the kobs and buttons is a strict science called
ergonomics, and modern day planes are designed for optimal pilot-
cockpit integration. That is why one must turn the heading knob in
the FAA certified versions instead of clicking the mous on the panel
region on a screen.

In order to get more realism out of x-plane, you have to add hardware
and extra cockpit/scenery screens.
ej

************************************************************

Re: X-Plane and FAA Certification

I realize this doesn’t apply to the FAA certification of x-plane, but
we are actually alot closer to mouse controlled displays then you
think.. This system is currently available in several general
aviation jets….

http://www.honeywell.com/sites/aero/PrimusEpic.htm

http://www.honeywell.com/sites/servlet/com.merx.npoint.servlets.DocumentServlet?docid=DCA007D1D-F0C1-87DB-0AFC-13A4871E622D

************************************************************

The is no false impression.
If you read the text you would have known what at took to be in an
FAA certified version of X-plane which is specially made to be used
in a mock-cockpit, something most customers have no interest in doing.

You can learn to fly just fine in x-plane even if you lock the view
to forward.

On Nov 21, 2006, at 5:46 PM, jimzane wrote:

>
>
> I know that, the greater point is it should come standard !! since
> Austin threw up that big ” hey were certified banner ” on the web
> site. Giving everyone a false impression. only to find out After
> installation that “um hey this ain’t it” Hence that hasty disclaimer
> but no correction made on laminars site.
Once again, most of the customers for x-plane have no interest in
building a mock cockpit, so having the planes with panels which don’t
have mouse click regions because there is supposed to be a real
switch/knob/button/lever would not help most customers to increase
realism.

You are different.

So am I.

We’ have to pay the extra for the bits that the vast majority of x-
plane customers could not use.

Are you complaining that you haven’t yet been allowed to spend the
500 bucks?

I’m sure that Laminar will send you the software if you buy it.

Eric

************************************************************

Sorry to clog up an already busy topic

>I know that, the greater point is it should come standard !! since
>Austin threw up that big ” hey were certified banner ” on the web
>site. Giving everyone a false impression. only to find out After
>installation that “um hey this ain’t it” Hence that hasty disclaimer
>but no correction made on laminars site.

What the banner says is that the “X-Plane flight simulator”, ie. the bit
that simulates aircraft, is FAA approved. The code for the simulator in the
FAA-approved version is the same as in the same retail version. What has
changed is the way it’s displayed, and the way it’s used, so the retail
version is AS REALISTIC as the FAA version. If you want to use X-Plane to
log hours, FAA demands that you use the PFC Motus system, and only then will
you need a change in the display.

The simulator itself does not change!

In fact if you wired up a PFC system to a retail system (using UDP or
otherwise) and changed the cockpit so that it showed the same as in the FAA
approved system (or used an FAA approved plane) you would get exactly the
same as in the FAA approved system.

Except your copy of X-Plane isn’t legally FAA-certified, so you wouldn’t be
able to log hours, even though they both do exactly the same thing!

(p.s. this might not work in reality-I’ve never actually done it myself, of
course)

Snake.

************************************************************

Hi all,

I couldn’t agree with Eric (and a few others) more. It seems like a
few X-Plane customers need to take a chill pill.

I emailed Austin personally about this a few months back. The fancy
version of X-Plane is (or was then) called X-Plane Pro and it was
basically X-Plane 8.3. At that time X-Plane received it’s
certification by the FAA - a lengthy process that makes it unlikely
to happen every time there’s an update to the software - ANY update.
The FAA certification only applies to the exact version, so you can
understand why the newer versions aren’t certified. This however
doesn’t mean X-Plane 8.5 isn’t as good as X-Plane Pro (aka X-Plane
8.3), and it’s possible X-Plane 8.5 will become FAA certified. It
just hasn’t been certified by the FAA yet. The customers using X-
Plane in professional simulators may not care about the improvements
in X-Plane 8.5 enough for them to want it, but I have absolutely no
doubt 8.5 could become FAA certified for use in a professional
training simulator. X-Plane 8.5 is in most respects a superior
product (graphics slowdowns on some hardware not withstanding).

Now, so that it is clear… the differences of the Pro version are
bad for most X-Plane customers. There are no changes in the flight
model. None. Have we got that? The accuracy of the aircraft has to be
of the highest standard (of course) so only two of the best X-Plane
acf designers have virtual aircraft certified for use within X-Plane
Pro. If you want aircraft of that caliber, buy them from the
designers. One of them is:
http://shadetreemicro.com/

I don’t know the other but it’s very possibly Jason Chandler. Even if
it’s not him, his aircraft are superlative. I can’t imagine it being
anyone else actually.
http://www.c74.net/xplane/

As Randy Witt said, the only difference is that Pro uses specific
aircraft with panels designed to work with specific hardware. If you
don’t have the hardware, the panels look weird - nothing like the
real thing for users of a single computer & monitor. So X-Plane Pro
is only for use with a handful of aircraft and they’re difficult to
fly unless you have the right hardware (which costs a great deal of
money). The moment you using a non-certified aircraft in X-Plane Pro,
it’s validity as a recognised training tool is nullified.

So that then leaves us with the logical situation where the std. X-
Plane is sold to most customers and the older (FAA certified) version
is sold for using with Fidelity’s simulator. If you want to blow ten
times as much for a product that will deliver a worse experience for
most users, I’m sure Laminar Research won’t mind. For my money, I’d
rather build a great cockpit and use the latest version of X-Plane
with it. It’s not certified, but why would that matter unless I have
a full motion simulator certified by the FAA, cockpit hardware also
certified by the FAA and aircraft, wait for it, certified by the FAA
(all regularly checked by, you know who)?

Since my name isn’t Rockefeller or Gates, I’m not going to waste
money like that (not to mention I don’t even live within the
jurisdiction of the FAA anyway). Another way to get the Pro
experience is to use X-Plane 8.3 with the aircraft built by the
designers listed above. If you want, learn to make your own custom
panels - it’s not that hard (teenagers are doing it). Then you’ll be
set. Kidding yourself that you’re “doin’ it better cause you’ve got X-
Plane Pro” is nuts. And unless you’re getting your system checked by
the FAA regularly, it’s meaningless anyway.

So there you go. Can we put this to rest? X-Plane rocks. Austin and
the team rock. The aircraft designers rock (esp. the great ones). You
can spend a LOT of money on this hobby if you want. If you want to
waste some, there will always be people happy to receive your money.
Now let’s get back to discussion X-Plane’s features, not its marketing.

************************************************************

Bravo! This last posting is RIGHT ON. Yes, you are more than
welcome to purchase the PFC or Fidelity equipment and just run a
standard everyday copy of X-Plane with them, if you’d like. You’d
have to do a bit of work to move the cockpit instruments around but
you could certainly duplicate the panel layout that ships w/ the FAA
Certified system. Than you’d have the exact same thing (although
with different aircraft files that MAY fly less accurately) for
1/10th the price. Of course you couldn’t log the time since neither
your software or aircraft files are certified but you’d have EXACTLY
THE SAME capabilities and flight model.

Randy Witt
X-Plane, Customer Service
913-269-0976

************************************************************

Actually i was trying to gut out enough information to brag out the
opposite.

If you don’t need the legal credential (being legal is often way too
expensive and labor intensive), The consumer X-Plane is exactly the
same as the FAA approved versions (even in versions used in low-end
full-motion simulators) except for the aircraft and the code
extensions that are imbedded in them. Most of the labor and
extension-code put into the aircraft is for meeting FAA regulations
but some of it is for enhancing realism (much of that overlaps with
meeting FAA regulations). However, the aircraft-level realism
enhancements (both voluntary and FAA-compliance motivated) can be
matched by a minority of the low-cost 3rd-party premium aircraft and a
small speckle of the free 3rd-party aircraft.

Is that right?

************************************************************

(Didn’t post yet)

Area any of these FAA-approved aircraft among the $5 payware aircraft
at Shade Tree Micro Aviation, possibly with the special panels
stripped and the hardware-integration add-on code stripped? If not,
how much are these and their FAA-stripped versions?

Also, which of the 3rd-party aircraft are good enough to be
FAA-approvable (or beyond) with only red-tape modifications (panel
setup optimized for external hardware, etc..)?

************************************************************

Added 11/27/2006 from a Private Email:

Hi, Jesse.

First, a little background. We???ve been building models for the last couple of years for the Medallion Foundation, which is out of Anchorage , Alaska . They use Precision Flight Controls (PFC) simulators to educate and increase pilot safety in that State. Our models were chosen because we take extra care in ensuring that they perform as closely to manufacturer specifications as X-Plane permits. Many the retail aircraft that you see on our website are adaptations of those models.

Our work for the Medallion Foundation brought us to the attention of PFC and we started modeling for them directly in April of this year.

One of our initial tasks for PFC was to start going through their existing fleet of aircraft and to ensure that they are in conformance with our joint standards. We also have been helping them with customer-identified aircraft related problems. We???ve built one entirely new airplane for them which will be premiering within the next month or two; and are currently working on a model which is an adaptation of one of our existing retail aircraft, the Pilatus PC-12.

To answer your specific question, it is doubtful that you???ll ever see the same models that we build for PFC retailed on our website. You will see some that are very similar but they will not be identical. PFC has specific requirements that have to be met in order for the aircraft to mate properly with their software and hardware and these changes may or may not work properly when used with the retail version of X-Plane and other joysticks, etc. Rest assured, however, that the retail models are built to the same high standards and with just as much attention to detail.

Please don???t hesitate to write if you have any further questions,

-Jim

Shade Tree Micro Aviation (http://shadetreemicro.com)

papamac@shadetreemicro.com

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I wonder if this was a performance contest for a database network protocol or a performance contest for actual SQL performance? They didn’t give out that many details on the actual objective requirements and judging parameters. I bet some company got some great free IP. I wonder if the programmers got to keep a copy of their contest-code and share between each other if they so desire? If not and I particpated in these days of elevated copyright awareness and sueing, I probably would at least get disqualified given my big braggety mouth (and file sharing). Given the short deadline I think it was an SQL contest and it probably would be difficult to copy-out the code, but if I came up with something original (I’m not very good at sneaking), I’d probably have enough conceptual memorization to recreate it from scratch later if I wasn’t too lazy.

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Go open source! Definitly a WIP, with base hub in the UK. Google is rippable if you have a laptop that supports desktop panning (most do) to very high resolutions (not many do, but Alienware Area51m-7700 does), like 5000×5000. Then use Paint Shop Pro’s (ver 5,6,7,8 has it; too lazy to get 10 and try out a bunch of cracks) screen capture feature to screengrab humungous maps and sattelite pics. You could do this at more normal resolutions too, but it sucks for printing (if you want 300dpi), but still better than what you can print directly from google.

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I heard the bad-game count is in the low-200s. Out of 8000, that seems pretty good for any emulator. I guess some fairly mainstream games are among the 200-250 glitchy or non-functional games.

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Go nanotubes! Wonder if the world’s oil refineries can produce enough carbon from the crude oil? Maybe we could use some artificial photosynthesis (solar powered CO2-O2 conversion units; keep the C) units that will use solar panels to breath in CO2 and exhale O2 and mine the carbo for use in carbon-nanotubes and carbon-composites? And then we can have 50 billion people in luxurious VR-kits powered by nanotube-CPUs.

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If it isn’t $40-60 I probably don’t need one. 16x’s are $30-50 (Internal 5.25″). Probably will tolerate a $100-ish price tag for a 24x. A defragmented 5400RPM laptop drive will handle only 10x anyway. I think a 7200RPM SATA drive will handle 16x but not sure about 24x. USB 2.0 drive to internal burner or internal drive to USB 2.0 burner usually only hand 4x (on a hub) to 6x (direct PC port). USB2.0 drives to USB 2.0 burners are 2.4x (hub) to 4x (direct).

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Microsoft released a joke program that could get them sued for millions in these sue-happy days! It is pretty cool though. People who don’t look for corresponding HDD activity (LED or sound) get fooled easily. Being a screen saver, pressing a key should test and spoil the prank too, if you are a victim.

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Looks really cool. I wonder if there will be a generic machine that can read pdf/txt/doc/rtf off of flash media with the same display technology, with no DRM?

Yippee for CopyBot! If you exclude the plagarism and commercial abuse - mostly virtual but real-world from selling the linden-dollars also. I only like the Emule-equivilent benefits of it. Having anything you want for free and having no artificial-scarcity barriers on you bragging and spreading your own creations.

Copybot seemed cool. The official version was crippled to prevent abuse. The headline making was obviously done by source-modded versions. The headlines are probably being created because people are using it to plagiarize and re-sell non-free virtual items at deep undercutting prices (Piracy-4-money). I’ll look on Emule. Hopefully I’ll remember. The mods are probably chaotic and I would probably need friends in the second life world to get a version that copies anything. I would prefer the original creator to be left intact (for attribution) and that I only get my free copy and to have the ability to give out free copies and people to be able to get free copies from me (Piracy-4-Free with no plagiarism). But I probably won’t even get to messing with CopyBot myself as Second Life needs slow-broadband and I only have semi-broadband (144kbps up/down cellphone modem) and I saturate that with Emule traffic.

Looks like LibSecondLife is going to keep open source, but make it a lot less convenient to get the source, probably CVS-only with login required. They might as well close the source if they are *that* paranoid. It is still legal (at least for GPL, CC-by-sa, DSL) to copy the source code as an intact archive to my heart’s content if I go through the hassle of downloading source files one by one. I haven’t actually tried to bulk-download a CVS with GetRight browser, possibly with a regex-in-TextPad manipulated intermediate local html file, which is how I bulk-rip pictures from MLS, wackywet, and swimmingfullyclothed. If I do get my hands on CopyBot (the uncrippled mutant versions) preferred) I’ll share it up on Emule, along with it’s source if I can get a complete archive.

I would like to see these in a Wal-Mart for $150. Americans are generally too spoiled though I think. They will buy a Wii before they will buy this. Only geegky people like me that have a low income will have consistant fun with this (OpenOffice.org, Coding, Emulators, Old Games) if they get one as a gift. I wonder what the crank-to-use ratio is anyway? 15 minutes of cranking will get a 1-hour charge? I wonder if somebody can replace the handle with a attatched simple gear system to get a turbo quick 3-4 hour charge witha short 5-15 minute workout? Humans can put out a good 50 watts with one arm probably, but would need to put out more torque than what this handle can demand to properly exploit strength. Moderate bicycling is about 200 watts. Hardcore is 400-500 watts. I hope the Libyans enjoy this. If their is anything propriety, hack it back to pure Linux!

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Google code search is cool. I like P2PNet’s cussword searches.

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Looks like wireless USB is about to hit the market.

Cool Service. $18/month for the service is too much. Identity thieves are getting more by scraping old phones from Ebay auctions. People litterally store credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and pin numbers as phone numbers in their phones. Then they sell them on ebay without nuking the data.

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The built-in flash RAM and the regular DRAM memory should be upgradable for those with the cash. This thing isn’t going to run modern software with the default specs (RAM and file-storage are more problemsom than CPU). A $500 machine with 4GB of internal flash memory and 1GB of internal main memory and a decent mobile video card would be nice. The auto-Bak will be a useless gimmick that will frequently be turned off. BIOS overwrite protection for a machine with a BIOS-embedded OS is very nice, as long as volunteering flashing isn’t nigh impossible. What medium is the BIOS on anyway? Can the BIOS be overwritten by a ‘real’ Linux OS-BIOS edition?? I would love to be able to run Amule or MLDonkey on this. Probably will need to upgrade to atleast 256MB of RAM. It is really good that there are 3 USB 2.0 ports. It would be unrealistic to provide more than 100ma (Enough for mice, card readers, flash-pen drives, but not external bus-power-only laptop hard drives) to each of the ports though. The things I would want to do on this is: Run OpenOffice.org, use filesharing (Amule, MLDonkey, uTorrent), Play NES/SNES/Genesis/GB/GBA ROMs (possibly needing WINE; poor video performance may hamper), Watch movies (366mhz may not be enough for software decoding), Listing to MP3s, read PDFs, run BOINC (Seti@Home, etc..), use command line compilers, and of course, run educational proggies. Hopefully the video chipset is decent. A Pentium 166 (Actualy 150mhz Cyrix PR-200+) with a ATI-Pro-Turbo PC2TV (1997) can outperform a 2000 Toshiba Sattelite laptop with a 400mhz AMD processor and cheesy motherboard-integrated video with VisualBoy Advance, ZSNES and StarCraft (The Toshiba does out-crunch the old P-166 with Seti@Home 2:1 though).

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I’d rather have Linux than Windows CE unless Windows CE will run programs meant for normal Windows. Especially shareware programs for Windows, ZSNES, VisualBoy Advance, FCE Ultra, Adobe Reader, OpenOffice.org, BOINC (Seti@Home, ClimiatePrediction…), FireFox, and Emule. Oh yea, no USB 2.0. 10GB hard drive doesn’t look cost effective. Looks like a hook for RIAA/MPAA streaming-only propaganda control.

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These devices seem cool. The XP-Embedded and XP-Table will run what I want. I don’t think any of the non-PDAs among these will be under $500 though.

Austin seems to be working on a hyper-realistic driving (consumer and high-performance road car) simulator going by a sparse mention of a email (Yahoo Group x-plane news) news release and a some of the improvements in the X-Plane 8.50 betas. They are mainly road traffic and a greatly enhanced landing gear tire traction model. These are probably code from the top-secret driving sim being cross-implemented back into the X-Plane 8.50 betas.

I probably won’t get it and wait for a laptop Blu-Ray burner. I probably won’t buy movies on either Blue-Ray or HD-DVD until the DRM has reliable and universal crack tools available, but I do prefer Blu-Ray’s superior capacity for blank-disk burning.

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I am leaning toward a WII. PS3 better have some damn good games that fully exploit that powerful hardware with no bugs. XBox360, blaahh.

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I agree with “P2PNet - Zune to end file sharing war” somewhat. It won’t end the war, but i may get some of the leechers off the network. If Zune’s Wi-Fi transfer hardware-DRM is cracked via a bootleg firmware update, it will definitly “scare Apple to the core”. Otherwise the Wi-Fi DRM knocks out most of what it would make it better than apple - the social networking.

It appears that Microsoft has pulled the ability for the end user to back-up their DRM usage rights data with Windows Media Player 11. They put in an ‘on-line’ restoration system that works only some of the time to compensate, and generally tells those who lose their data and can’t work the online restoration that they are ’shit out of luck’. I don’t rip CDs with Windows Media player, so I don’t have to worry it about it planting DRM into the audio files. I use open source CDEX to rip CDs, which happily makes unprotected MP3s (anything you have a codec for). I will not use Windows Media Center Edition (or Vista Home Premium or Ultimate) to record TV shows. I don’t think I ever had a microsft-DRM-ed file on my hard drive ever.

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I like this — “Luckily, if you ignored the law, you can enjoy Zune to the fullest.”. Microsoft is looking to exploit both the law abiding by ripping them off with incompatible DRM versions, and the law breakers by competing with the generic players in the MeritLine.com category above. At least you know the MS is looking for the most profit, on both sides of the law, regardless of whether the law is good or bad for the consumer (the Anti-DRM cracking part of the DMCA is bad). None of the MeritLine devices has a screen though. They have to be hooked up to a TV or monitor.

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Bad news, it looks like Zune will practice ‘viral DRM’ - all 3 days / 3 plays (whichever is hit first), even on unprotected content. The ‘viral DRM’ kicks in if you do a player to player transfer of content. It doesn’t seem to actually DRM the file itself, so the scope of the DRM is limited to the wi-fi transmission recipient’s player only. So the user could maybe bypass it by copying out the file and then copying it back in? This is probably lawsuit paranoia with a nice exploit of a loophole in the creative commons license, and still fits the profit motive pattern.

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This proprietary DRM is STUPID. I bet the RIAA loves Apple for setting a pioneer’s exmple of their proprietary ways. Standardized DRM would at least prevent this (and why the RIAA doesn’t want it probably in agreement with Apple) - Microsoft will bear the consumer’s burden of re-purchasing songs to convert a customer from IPod to Zune (or at least make the customer use both devices concurrently)!!! I bet Apple will do their best to fight Microsoft’s scanning of Itunes. The RIAA tough, will lavishly accept Microsofts re-purchase payments though, so at least this may create a further rift between Apple and the RIAA on top of the pricing disputes (The RIAA wants to charge more for popular tracks and leave the less popular rather than charge less for unpopular tracks and leave the popular ones), but probably not. Then again, most customers rip CDs or download from P2P like Emule. So far it looks like I don’t want a Zune, either, especially if the price markup is going to be higher than even Ipod.

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People HATE DRM. DRM-free download sites will flourish when the unprotected, rippable CD becomes obsolete, if the RIAA can ever manage that. THe RIAA Pulling non_DRM CDs right now is an immediate death sentence for the recording industry and they know it. The extinction of the unprotected CD would multiply piracy rates by 10 with the remainder going to the independant indie lables, with only the stupidist or the most subjugatable buying the DRM. The MPAA was saved only by De-CSS.

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The MPAA is training and recruiting ‘pirate DVD’ dogs? I wonder how they differentiate legit-stamp, pirate-stamp, DVDs with XVIDs, burnt DVD-video, and DVDs with misc data? Maybe they are targeting the scent of certain types of pirate pressing equipment? Most counterfeiting is going to the burners these days, so the dogs are obsolete already if specific pressing equipment scents are being targeted. If people who don’t want to pay for shit (or can’t due to legal / trade restrictions) would just download their movies for free from Emule, then the counterf