Questions are everywhere in the workplace and in life. Sometimes we act as questioners and sometimes we act as answerers.

Some people might think it’s just a question. What’s so hard about that? I’m serious. Asking questions is a skill.

How to ask questions correctly is a crucial skill.

After writing the official account, many students would send me private messages and ask me all kinds of questions. As someone who has been there, I certainly understand the confusion of programmers who are just starting out. I also experienced that stage.

In the early days of my career, I would ask some difficult questions, but it was only after being beaten up by society that I gradually learned the art of asking questions.

Today I want to talk about how programmers should ask questions, some of which may sound harsh, but that’s the reality.

Wrong question

The question can be answered simply by using a search engine.

For example, someone asks: What is blockchain?

It is difficult to? Even a programmer can’t use a search engine?

Or are you so lazy that you need someone else to:

  1. Open a search engine

  2. Input keywords

  3. Click on the search

  4. Click on the answer

Do these steps for you, and then send you the link, you directly click on the line?

For example, some code errors, a search engine can get the answer, such as:

Predecessors plant trees for later generations to enjoy the shade, you prefer not to stay under that tree, pull others to let him plant trees on the spot.

I’ve never discouraged anyone from learning programming before, so I’m going to discourage you from seeing this.

What code can search engines not write?

You’re not cut out to write code. You don’t have programming blood. You’re cut out to be a young master.

So why don’t you at least do your own research before you ask? Don’t throw a problem out there, don’t try, don’t try, just want to eat?

There are some things at work that need to be mentioned.

For example, the leader sent out a code specification manual last week, which contains many, hundreds of items.

Then you forgot a specific constraint when you wrote the code today, but you remember it, so I suggest you pull down the document and look it up yourself, rather than asking a colleague.

You might think it’s faster to ask a colleague, but if you can’t remember it yourself don’t expect people to remember it, the company file tray is right there, you can download it yourself, flip through it quickly, if you don’t bother people try not to bother people.

Make it a habit at work and relationships will be better.

It’s like mom taught you when you were a kid, do your own thing.

Ask questions that are too broad.

For example, someone asks: How can I learn programming well?

I can understand your passionate desire to grow and struggle.

Everyone wants to progress, everyone wants to be someone else’s child.

But the scope of the problem is too large, what is your idea of good programming?

Is to make a website? Or do you make a wheel that everyone knows about?

Is it $10, $20, $30 a month?

This kind of question is very vague, and the words are not clear, it is certainly a systematic study, it is estimated that it would take a column to explain, so how do you ask people to answer?

If I have to give an answer, I can only say study hard?

I guess you won’t like the answer again, and say I’m putting you off.

How to tune mysql?

I feel you are interviewing me, I can only answer you: ***********.

Get it!

Long questions, typos, piles of code.

This kind of problem is relatively common among us programmers.

The problem is that we often have to combine a large piece of code that involves specific business logic.

Then a bunch of codes were sent directly to wechat without any typesetting. The question was several paragraphs long, and I just threw it away and sat down to answer it.

There are also some typos, sentences, you can understand when you chat typos, but now you are asking a question, is asking someone to help you answer.

You need to take responsibility for your questions. Why should the respondent bother to interpret your questions if they are not clear?

There are dozens of suites all day long thinking about how to collect rent, really idle egg pain?

How do you feel when someone throws a question at you like this, like a bunch of code, like a bunch of questions that you can’t read?

So pay attention, I will post a RocketMQ issue template for this kind of question, refer to this format, write it out, and then send it to ask questions.

There are also problems related to business strength. I sincerely suggest that YOU ask the leader when you have done enough research. What do you do without the leader? It takes a lot of effort for outsiders to understand your business.

A leader is not for supply, he is for use.

The right questions

Figure out the details and simplify your questions.

Don’t open your mouth to problems. Have you really thought hard about them?

Do you really understand the context of the data?

Did you really debug the break point yourself step by step?

Or do you just see, gee, this service has an error, what’s going on?

Then ask the elder brother beside, I this call how to report wrong, you help me see?

I used to be like this, because I really don’t know, at my wit’s end, I couldn’t even hit the break point.

One thing goes wrong and you go blind.

At this time, we need to reflect on ourselves, to learn, so that knowledge arm themselves.

Again, if you think about it you might find that you’ve solved the problem.

Sometimes it’s just a lack of back and forth combing, and you just focus on one point and think and think and think, and you can’t figure it out.

This is when you can push yourself back by asking the right question, because asking the right question requires refining the question, clarifying the details, forcing yourself to start from the beginning, and often you end up solving the problem yourself.

If there are any questions, the questions are concise and accurate, and you can clearly clarify the process and improve the efficiency of the problem solving.

So they first find out the details, simplify the problem, can not only exercise their problem investigation ability, refining ability, but also better questions, benefits without harm.

Don’t take solving your problems for granted. Cherish every question you ask.

Actually, I don’t like to ask questions. I think it will trouble others, and I will only ask questions unless I really can’t solve them.

Helpless ability is limited, so I still often ask others questions, I also have questions can not reply, I will be angry, why not answer my questions.

As human beings, I can understand what it’s like to edit a paragraph and then get no response.

But the flip side of the equation is that someone might be working on a project?

They might get home at 2:00 in the morning, right? I’m not paying anyone. What obligation or responsibility does he have to answer my questions?

So accept the fact that you can’t complain, he’s not your parents, and he’s busy, so understand.

So you want to cherish when someone answers your question, you want to think about it before you ask a question is that a good question, is it ambiguous?

The best thing you can do is shorten the time it takes them to answer your questions, and the best thing you can do is ask valuable questions that will benefit both of you.

And, uh, be respectful, don’t talk to you like you’re saving face by asking questions, be confident?

Try to think through a few possibilities, or scenarios, on your own.

If you ask a question and then say what you understand, it shows you’ve at least thought hard.

After all, you are the person involved and you are familiar with your own situation, so you can offer some broad directions or alternatives.

Let me give you a random example. For example, IF I want to do some logging, which message queue should I use?

Replace this question with: am I doing some logging now, is the message queue Kafka, RocketMQ or RabbitMQ?

So it’s more specific, and there’s a saying that multiple choice is better than short answer.

Let’s say you ask your leader a question and let him make a decision.

A: Leader, my performance has been declining recently. I have two plans here. Plan A needs XXXX, and plan B needs XXXX.

Question B: Sir, my performance has been declining recently. What should I do?

You’re the leader. Which one do you prefer?

Needless to say, I prefer multiple choice questions to short answer questions in exams.

Leaders hire you to give ideas, not to give them to you.

The last

The purpose of this article is not to satirize, but to ask the right questions.

Correct questioning can not only improve personal ability to analyze and refine problems, but also improve the efficiency of solving problems.

In this way, you and I are good and everyone is good.

Don’t be a partisan. Some problems really need your own research to grow, and what others tell you is not the same as your own research.

Again, this article is not about not asking questions, it’s about asking the right questions.

Then I recommend a how-to-ask-questions-the-Smart-way article for us programmers.

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Chinese version address: github.com/ryanhanwu/H…

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