I very rarely used hints in my more database'y days - but every so often, they were needed, and often to tell the database something that seemed screamingly obvious to me.
I'm not sure where you got the notion that hints were something noobs would be working with? At least, that certainly wasn't my experience.
We are in strong agreement, and the phrasing and measure of your post made it pretty obvious you are knowledgeable (another inverse correlation: absolute opinions launched with violence also seemed to be the realm of newbies; and yours was eminently not).
> I very rarely used hints in my more database'y days
evidence thereof!
> I'm not sure where you got the notion that hints were something noobs would be working with? At least, that certainly wasn't my experience.
It's been very, very much my experience. I worked in one place where nolock hints were applied everywhere, without them realising that READ UNCOMMITTED trans iso even existed, so had to show them that, and show them it could be specified at the application layer (not in the SQL). In another recent case I came across their use and I'm damn sure the person who used it didn't actually know what it did. Yeah, I've seen far too much hinting in my career.
I very rarely used hints in my more database'y days - but every so often, they were needed, and often to tell the database something that seemed screamingly obvious to me.
I'm not sure where you got the notion that hints were something noobs would be working with? At least, that certainly wasn't my experience.