Bad Typing

I have always considered myself a fast typist. I also think I am fairly accurate. This morning I learned that I am delusional. While I may be fast, I am not accurate at all.

One of my latest software projects is to convert a bunch of Unix cron jobs to Microsoft's SQL Server Integration Studio (SSIS). These are basically reports that query a MySQL database every day at the same time and spit the output into spreadsheets. It sounds easy enough but the queries are about half a page each and there six of them.

When I started creating the project, there was no easy way to copy and paste the database queries. Instead I had to retype them. I felt like I was accurate as I was typing but then came the true test where I ran them against the database. All six of them contained various errors. Some were as simple as using one double quote instead of two single quotes. Others were a bit more severe such as three missing lines.

I was less than pleased with my typing skills and gained a whole new appreciation for "cut and paste." When I couldn't find one particularly tricky problem, I figured out a way to make cut and paste work. Now I just wish I had gone through the effort much sooner. It would have saved me a lot of typing and debugging.