If you want your skills to be sharp, you practice. If you want to get yourself to actually do practice, you call it a “challenge”. This is what the Advent of Code is.
Now let me be perfectly clear about how I feel about practice. I saw Jeremiah’s (b|t) post on this and ignored it. Then I saw Steve Jones’s (b|t) post and ignored it. Then I saw Andy Warren’s (b|t) post on it that also contained the answer, so I took a look.
It was intriguing and refreshing to have a question like that asked. The refreshing part was all the requirements were all there in one place.
The intriguing part was me sitting there asking myself how I’d answer that question, realizing I would have done SOOO much more work than Andy. However, I had to read Andy’s answer 3 times for me to realize I wasn’t able to read it, which increase my level of intrigue. I rewrote it adding in some legibility for my sake and posted it on his comments.
Now there’s more to it. I cheated. I only rewrote someone else’s answer and didn’t really do the work. Yeah, that’s what half of computer science is, copy/paste others work intelligently, add just enough to call it your own, then ask for a raise. However, could I do one on my own?
Well, there’s 25 days on the Advent calendars I’m used to, and this one is no different. So I tried it out on Day 2.
SPOILER ALERT: My answer to Day 2 is below. Don’t cheat like I did.
The one odd thing you’ll see is that I copy/pasted the dimensions from the Advent of Code site, then I held in ALT and drug the mouse to write on more lines than one at a time. (even I read that as I drugged the mouse…oh well) However, that introduced an issue where there were trailing spaces and tabs I had to take care of as well, which I fixed in code as well.
IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#input') IS NOT NULL BEGIN DROP TABLE #input; END CREATE TABLE #input ( dims varchar(100) ); INSERT INTO #input SELECT '4x23x21' UNION ALL SELECT '22x29x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x4x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x10x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x18x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x25x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x13x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x15x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x22x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x7x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x22x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x9x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x29x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x3x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x10x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x2x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x10x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x26x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x2x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x18x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x3x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x5x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x11x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x8x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x18x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x3x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x16x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x16x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x15x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x9x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x10x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x7x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x20x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x11x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x8x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x28x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x11x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x2x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x5x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x14x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x14x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x26x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x20x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x12x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x26x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x25x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x16x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x23x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x27x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x27x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x7x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x7x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x28x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x22x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x5x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x2x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x5x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x9x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x21x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x4x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x16x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x17x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x18x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x19x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x15x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x10x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x18x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x14x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x15x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x12x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x12x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x21x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x23x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x26x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x1x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x29x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x13x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x20x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x25x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x21x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x22x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x24x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x18x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x7x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x27x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x5x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x10x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x2x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x3x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x29x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x26x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x25x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x17x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x2x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x30x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x9x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x26x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x18x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x29x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x6x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x27x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x22x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x16x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x18x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x16x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x8x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x25x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x29x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x21x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x26x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x4x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x29x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x4x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x22x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x5x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x29x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x13x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x10x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x22x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x21x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x20x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x2x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x18x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x13x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x7x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x21x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x10x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x16x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x22x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x13x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x24x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x18x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x7x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x12x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x28x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x15x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x13x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x22x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x10x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x6x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x2x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x10x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x7x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x28x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x11x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x23x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x4x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x5x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x17x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x11x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x11x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x23x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x23x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x15x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x2x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x21x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x20x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x28x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x22x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x11x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x29x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x16x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x26x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x24x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x27x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x13x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x27x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x15x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x21x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x27x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x4x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x13x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x23x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x3x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x5x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x13x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x2x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x4x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x14x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x27x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x16x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x23x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x7x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x12x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x7x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x30x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x16x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x19x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x18x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x14x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x10x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x20x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x9x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x17x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x30x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x3x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x16x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x24x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x10x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x7x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x6x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x25x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x14x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x22x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x3x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x13x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x6x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x11x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x12x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x30x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x1x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x23x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x13x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x26x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x15x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x23x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x27x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x24x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x24x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x25x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x1x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x4x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x5x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x30x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x22x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x7x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x3x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x18x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x1x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x25x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x7x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x19x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x6x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x11x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x3x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x14x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x22x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x1x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x26x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x30x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x30x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x16x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x29x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x25x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x12x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x19x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x25x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x18x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x8x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x20x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x5x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x3x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x26x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x25x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x12x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x7x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x20x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x29x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x7x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x7x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x15x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x4x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x12x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x30x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x24x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x8x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x25x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x26x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x9x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x1x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x12x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x11x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x15x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x6x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x22x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x16x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x5x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x12x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x14x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x27x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x16x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x28x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x20x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x14x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x10x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x23x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x15x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x20x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x2x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x28x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x1x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x16x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x21x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x9x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x18x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x30x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x18x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x15x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x20x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x29x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x21x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x23x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x9x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x11x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x28x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x10x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x14x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x9x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x3x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x8x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x29x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x25x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x17x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x30x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x18x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x10x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x29x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x15x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x17x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x3x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x12x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x1x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x8x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x28x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x2x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x18x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x26x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x24x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x24x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x8x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x11x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x5x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x15x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x17x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x10x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x11x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x19x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x9x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x26x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x11x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x17x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x9x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x21x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x5x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x8x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x16x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x9x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x30x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x21x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x10x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x7x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x13x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x5x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x22x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x15x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x2x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x21x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x20x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x17x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x7x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x12x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x30x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x19x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x9x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x20x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x7x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x12x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x2x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x7x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x13x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x8x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x5x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x26x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x8x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x20x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x1x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x15x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x17x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x17x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x12x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x13x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x25x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x7x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x2x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x15x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x13x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x30x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x1x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x21x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x10x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x16x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x7x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x10x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x11x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x29x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x2x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x27x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x15x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x8x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x27x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x1x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x24x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x20x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x28x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x8x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x16x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x5x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x19x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x24x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x25x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x24x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x3x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x20x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x7x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x5x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x30x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x16x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x10x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x2x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x2x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x9x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x4x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x23x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x26x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x1x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x4x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x29x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x13x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x10x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x12x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x27x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x28x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x6x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x27x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x17x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x24x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x23x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x5x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x4x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x1x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x15x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x9x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x3x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x20x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x21x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x5x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x6x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x17x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x7x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x23x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x1x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x12x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x19x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x5x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x7x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x5x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x11x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x25x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x4x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x27x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x3x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x11x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x17x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x6x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x22x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x27x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x21x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x10x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x2x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x8x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x26x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x11x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x18x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x27x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x8x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x3x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x21x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x13x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x22x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x1x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x17x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x11x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x30x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x22x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x6x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x16x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x18x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x13x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x29x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x23x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x16x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x26x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x28x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x6x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x26x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x15x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x7x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x28x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x2x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x8x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x4x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x20x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x22x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x8x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x28x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x10x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x8x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x24x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x19x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x1x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x5x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x19x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x7x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x7x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x12x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x21x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x28x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x9x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x20x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x27x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x24x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x10x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x19x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x4x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x30x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x1x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x4x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x18x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x2x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x1x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x14x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x29x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x27x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x16x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x2x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x27x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x17x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x4x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x28x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x14x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x24x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x26x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x18x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x19x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x25x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x17x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x29x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x19x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x2x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x24x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x18x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x14x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x5x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x24x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x4x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x7x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x15x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x1x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x4x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x1x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x21x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x1x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x8x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x27x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x23x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x22x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x3x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x24x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x28x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x29x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x5x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x22x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x9x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x3x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x13x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x25x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x20x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x21x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x21x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x5x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x8x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x17x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x17x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x12x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x1x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x24x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x25x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x27x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x11x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x4x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x1x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x1x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x12x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x29x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x25x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x23x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x30x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x28x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x11x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x25x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x11x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x29x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x5x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x18x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x7x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x11x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x10x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x1x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x17x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x22x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x9x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x13x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x4x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x20x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x14x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x7x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x23x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x19x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x21x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x17x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x8x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x9x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x12x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x13x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x26x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x19x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x12x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x30x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x2x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x9x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x17x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x17x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x21x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x9x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x8x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x12x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x26x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x30x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x22x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x26x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x26x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x28x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x12x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x23x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x15x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x19x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x10x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x23x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x28x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x21x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x26x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x23x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x4x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x1x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x21x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x15x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x13x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x19x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x6x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x16x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x2x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x3x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x12x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x23x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x21x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x28x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x27x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x28x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x30x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x16x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x19x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x22x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x4x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x10x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x15x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x11x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x7x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x22x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x25x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x29x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x1x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x27x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x23x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x19x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x11x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x13x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x1x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x20x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x3x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x16x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x6x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x1x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x18x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x28x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x21x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x21x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x1x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x18x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x27x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x3x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x1x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x12x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x13x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x2x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x1x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x6x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x14x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x11x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x27x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x24x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x15x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x6x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x23x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x16x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x9x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x18x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x11x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x16x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x29x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x9x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x10x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x17x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x7x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x19x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x3x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x25x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x14x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x6x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x27x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x26x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x8x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x10x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x26x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x13x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x15x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x20x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x2x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x25x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x25x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x14x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x25x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x17x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x29x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x9x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x17x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x22x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x4x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x18x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x25x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x24x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x22x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x10x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x12x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x5x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x16x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x24x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x20x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x27x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x9x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x15x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x3x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x11x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x1x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x23x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x13x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x23x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x1x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x12x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x8x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x30x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x29x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x16x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x8x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x17x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x27x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x28x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x16x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x8x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x30x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x30x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x12x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x10x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x21x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x1x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x15x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x14x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x22x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x26x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x3x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x28x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x20x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x4x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x26x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x11x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x19x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x13x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x7x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x20x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x24x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x25x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x3x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x29x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x12x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x17x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x16x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x8x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x30x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x26x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x19x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x24x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x29x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x25x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x25x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x10x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x29x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x13x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x28x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x15x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x10x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x26x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x14x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x16x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x17x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x8x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x9x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x8x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x12x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x26x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x12x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x21x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x23x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x14x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x27x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x30x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x13x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x9x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x18x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x30x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x22x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x15x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x14x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x15x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x4x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x21x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x29x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x17x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x13x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x4x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x9x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x3x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x21x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x19x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x5x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x4x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x2x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x14x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x5x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x17x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x19x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x22x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x28x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x21x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x2x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x26x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x23x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x14x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x3x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x23x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x20x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x4x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x5x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x9x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x29x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x4x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x27x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x3x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x27x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x27x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '1x26x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x16x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x6x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x24x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x2x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x17x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x7x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x19x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x10x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x17x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x19x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x20x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x20x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x30x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x2x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x4x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x17x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x3x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x29x10 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x15x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x28x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x5x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x28x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x28x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x5x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x12x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x30x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x16x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x20x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x10x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x28x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x12x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '11x13x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x16x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x3x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '5x9x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x23x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '3x13x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x30x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x2x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x8x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x1x16 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x10x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x5x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x18x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x10x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x10x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x12x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x20x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '18x9x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x23x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x1x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x10x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x12x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x11x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x22x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x10x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x10x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x20x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x20x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x16x4 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x27x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x27x22 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x16x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x11x25 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x28x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x6x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x2x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x30x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x27x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x19x8 ' UNION ALL SELECT '24x13x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x26x28 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x21x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x5x13 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x3x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x1x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x17x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x13x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x12x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x4x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '4x21x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x28x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x22x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x23x12 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x17x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x4x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x19x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '28x24x7 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x24x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x20x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x24x29 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x26x3 ' UNION ALL SELECT '16x12x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '17x4x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x4x20 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x27x17 ' UNION ALL SELECT '9x21x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x25x6 ' UNION ALL SELECT '7x9x26 ' UNION ALL SELECT '13x25x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '6x9x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '12x10x11 ' UNION ALL SELECT '30x28x21 ' UNION ALL SELECT '15x6x2 ' UNION ALL SELECT '8x18x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x20x24 ' UNION ALL SELECT '26x17x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '27x8x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '19x19x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '25x24x27 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x29x15 ' UNION ALL SELECT '22x26x1 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x17x9 ' UNION ALL SELECT '2x6x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '29x7x5 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x16x19 ' UNION ALL SELECT '14x21x18 ' UNION ALL SELECT '10x15x23 ' UNION ALL SELECT '21x29x14 ' UNION ALL SELECT '20x29x30 ' UNION ALL SELECT '23x11x5 '; WITH TrimmedDims AS ( SELECT Dims = RTRIM(REPLACE(Dims, ' ', '')) FROM #Input ) , XLoc AS ( SELECT Dims , FirstX = charindex('x', Dims) , SecondX = LEN(Dims) - charindex('x', REVERSE(Dims)) + 1 FROM TrimmedDims ) , Dims AS ( SELECT BoxL = CAST(LEFT(Dims, FirstX - 1) as Int) , BoxW = CAST(SUBSTRING(Dims, FirstX + 1, SecondX - FirstX - 1) as Int) , BoxH = Right(Dims, LEN(Dims) - SecondX) FROM XLoc ) , Measurements As ( SELECT LW = BoxL * BoxW , LH = BoxL * BoxH , WH = BoxW * BoxH , Slack = CASE WHEN BoxL >= BoxW AND BoxL >= BoxH THEN BoxH * BoxW WHEN BoxW >= BoxH THEN BoxL * BoxH ELSE BoxL * BoxW END , RibbonWrap = CASE WHEN BoxL >= BoxW AND BoxL >= BoxH THEN BoxH * 2 + BoxW * 2 WHEN BoxW >= BoxH THEN BoxL * 2 + BoxH * 2 ELSE BoxL * 2 + BoxW * 2 END , RibbonBow = BoxL * BoxW * BoxH FROM Dims ) SELECT Wrapping = SUM(LW * 2 + LH * 2 + WH * 2 + Slack) , Ribbon = SUM(RibbonWrap + RibbonBow) FROM Measurements;
*Update – I realized there was a part 2 to each day of code, so I updated the code above to figure out how much ribbon to order, too. It was just adding the last two columns to the last CTE and the last column to the final SELECT statement. BTW, I have never voluntarily written so many CTE’s in my life…this is about as normal as helping elves with math.
Let me know what you’d do differently. Also, if there’s interest, I also did the next couple days and could make posts for those as well.
Simple SQL Server 
Very cool. I haven’t tried any in T-SQL, but I’ll definitely cheat and take your insert statement when I do. Busy with life, so I’m on Day 7, but it’s tricky. One I need to work on more as I get time.
Yeah, I did up to day 6, then hit 7…. Turns out those functions actually DO EXIST in SQL Server, who knew? I’m thinking use smallint, subtract 32,768 from each as I set the values, then add 32,768 back onto it to give the answer. It’s still in the “you can actually do that in SQL…really!?!?” phase though.
Ohhh nooooo…. I’ve been completing each day and moving on with my life. Turns out I was completely missing step 2 on each day. Looks like I’ll be revisiting this post with an update later, after some cookies with Santa.
I finally got around to day #2. Definitely solved the first part a different way – http://sqlandy.com/2015/12/advent-of-code-2.
I didn’t consider using ranking, mostly because I didn’t consider unpivot. I believe are answers are pretty close in efficiency as it stands. However, if the elves were in BI, instead of packaging, and their cubes had more than three dimensions, your way would put my way to shame. Now I’m picturing Mark Vaillencourt as an elf….think happy thoughts…think happy thoughts…
As far as part 2 goes, I updated the code above with very minimal changes to figure out the ribbon. We each added that part on about the same, but it was too simple of a task for us to vary by much.
What you did seems reasonable. I thought about CASE and decided not to, but it’s easy to follow what you’re doing and that is worth something.
I, personally, think I would make a handsome and witty elf. But, Dexterity-wise, I’m probably more of a malnourished Dwarf.
I think I have to agree with that assessment. It’s just the thought of an elf stating “my cube transcended into the fourth dimension.”
Due to your post and the description of cubes you gave to Erin Stellato at SQL Saturday Cleveland in 2014, I always think of you when physical dimensions break into quantum physics.