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There has been talk about creating per-tag FAQ pages.

Assuming this is going to be implemented at some point, I suggest this question here as a collection point for such FAQ entries in the various tags, rather than putting them into the original question, to avoid cluttering the discussion that takes place there.

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8 Answers 8

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Python


Python vs ...

Language Features

Object Oriented

Missing features

Syntax and semantics

Common Tasks

Debugging

Tools

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  • 1
    Nice work! ----
    – Pekka
    May 31, 2010 at 11:03
  • I gave the source in the text (as a comment, wanted to keep the body as a clean prototype like the rest), but should've left a comment, too: it isn't me that deserves the credit. :) @que
    – Gnome
    May 31, 2010 at 11:08
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JavaScript

  • How do I do basic JavaScript debugging using the error console and Firebug?
  • HTML page remains blank in IE after I insert a <script> tag
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PHP: Must haves

  • How do I execute an external program on Windows / on Linux / on OS X? (I am so tired of this one)
  • I am trying to execute an external program but it doesn't work. What are first steps to debug it?
  • My special characters come out all screwed up. Why?
  • "Headers have already been sent" error message
  • How do I make my database queries secure from SQL injection?
  • How do I make my E-Mails secure from E-Mail injection?
  • Can I protect my PHP code from theft? If so, how?

PHP: Not sure about these. What do you think?

  • How to get started with localization?
  • Which PHP Framework to use?
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  • I'm going to start integrating a few of these into the php tag-wiki, which I've populated with a plethora of links.
    – Charles
    Jul 23, 2010 at 17:38
  • @Charles great stuff!
    – Pekka
    Jul 23, 2010 at 18:06
  • thanks! I've integrated ten second drafts of each of these into the wiki, except for the two external program ones, which I'm not entirely sure about actually providing the right answers for.
    – Charles
    Jul 23, 2010 at 22:30
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HTML / CSS

  • How to vertically center an element in CSS?
  • How to build a footer that sticks to the bottom of the page?
  • How to use custom fonts in web pages?
  • My CSS style sheet is applied in all browsers except Firefox, even though it's loading it!
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SQL Server

  • How do I generate a sequence of numbers/dates?
  • How do I track changes to my database/tables?
  • How can I apply version control to databases?
  • How do I write a groupwise maximum query?
  • How do I write a pivot query?
    (Questions on dynamic pivots are especially frequent.)
  • How do I write a hierarchical / recursive query?
  • What general steps can I take to improve / optimize database performance?
  • Does SQL Server scale for very large tables?
  • Should I use an IDENTITY or uniqueidentifier (GUID) as my primary key?

There are many, many more FAQs for databases and SQL Server, feel free to add them if you think of any that I missed.

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Web development in general

  • I want to start developing web applications. Which language/platform should I go for?
  • I am sending automated E-Mails but they never arrive / they get caught in people's spam filters. What can I do?
  • My web site is slow. How can I speed it up?
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C#/.NET

  • When and why do I need to Dispose objects implementing IDisposable?
  • How do I clone/copy an arbitrary object?
  • What is the performance impact of Reflection, and what alternatives are faster?
  • When should I use a class vs. struct? (Alternative: What is the difference between a value type and a reference type?)
  • How do I obfuscate my code (prevent it from being stolen?)
  • How do I programmatically create/open an Excel spreadsheet?
  • What data storage options are available for .NET applications?
  • What are the recommended practices for handling exceptions in a .NET application?
  • The Covariance/Contravariance questions
  • How do I save settings in a [.NET/Winforms/WPF/ASP.NET] application?

(Note - I'm not saying that these are all great or even good questions, but they still seem to come up at least once a week in various forms.)

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  • Yup - I think frequency should be our focus rather than the actual quality of the question. A lot of FAQ entries are bound to deal with newbie questions and common mistakes.
    – Pekka
    May 21, 2010 at 21:31
  • 1
    I would separate C# from .NET. The .NET issues would also show up in a VB.NET section. May 23, 2010 at 0:21
  • @John: I agree with you in principle; my concern is that the types of people who we really, really want to see this FAQ/homepage are exactly the ones who don't know the difference. If we could make the .NET questions also show up for C#, then I'd be in favour. As it is, all of the above questions could apply to any .NET language.
    – Aarobot
    May 23, 2010 at 15:14
  • I have no intention of enabling those who don't know the difference. If they don't know, they'll find out when we, who do know the difference, separate the topics. We can provide a link in the C# and VB.NET FAQ's to the .NET FAQ. May 24, 2010 at 2:10
  • @John: As long as you also link to the .NET page from the C# and VB pages and explain what the difference is there, I'm fine with that. Nobody said that the tag homepage/FAQ had to be just a list of questions; in this case, the first paragraph should probably be something explaining how it's divided.
    – Aarobot
    May 24, 2010 at 13:52
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WCF

For some reason, I'm the only person so far to edit the WCF tag wiki. I'm not the most expert WCF person on Stackoverflow! Please comment on the WCF tag wiki.

So far, I've added the following sections:

  • Excerpt
  • Overview
  • WCF Resources
  • WCF Features
  • Interesting WCF Questions on Stackoverflow

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .