Smart Questions, Why So Important?

Introduction

Communication is one of the most important software engineering skills to develop, and asking questions the “smart way” is one of the most important communication skills for a software engineer.

A “smart” question isn’t just about being articulate; it’s about providing the necessary context, demonstrating prior effort, and pinpointing the core issue in a way that helps others provide a precise solution.

According to Eric Raymond, there are some guidelines for effective interaction with the open source community. In this case, we will be diving into Stack Overflow.

These are some rules that he mentioned:

1. Do your homework: Before asking, do research by searching online to solve the problem.
2. Choose the Right Forum: Select the appropriate platform
3. Be Clear and Specific: Make precise and informative subject headers, etc.
4. Be Informative: Provide all necessary details about your issue.
5. Interpret Answers: Understand how you can recieve and apply the solutions.
6. Handle Rudeness: Learn how to filter out unhelpful responses.

The Role of Smart Questions for Software Engineers

For software engineers, asking smart questions is an important strategy that underpins efficiency, collaboration, and continuous learning. In this case, we will delve into why a question can be considered “smart.”

Here is an Example of a Smart Question:

Q:
What is an explanation for the performance characteristics of CLWB when sharing data between cores (Tigerlake)?

Goal
I would like to transfer a 32KiB buffer between two cores (C1 and C2) as fast as possible,
performing loads and stores at both cores.

Observation
A simple benchmark is devised: one core performs loads and stores of the buffer sequentially*. Once it has finished, it records the time taken,
then sets a flag to indicate that the other core ought to take over. It busy waits for the flag to be reset, before repeating this process.
Thus, the two cores ping-pong this buffer between their local caches. The mean of the recorded times is found to be:

EXPERIMENT 1
C1 averaged 9615 cycles, 3.452µs
C2 averaged 9624 cycles, 3.455µs
...

This user clearly states their objective: “transfer a 32KiB buffer between two cores (C1 and C2) as fast as possible.” The user then follows with an observation from a “simple benchmark,” including timings and cycle counts for both cores. This clarifies what is being observed and what the questioner wants to achieve.

Target Specifications
The target CPU is a TigerLake 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz. It uses the Intel Willow Cove core {optim of Sunny Cove}.
It has 48KiB L1d cache, 4 cores, each with 2 threads.

The target OS is Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS.

The question also provides environmental details: “TigerLake 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz,” “48KiB L1d cache,” “4 cores, each with 2 threads,” and “Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS.” This information is valuable for anyone attempting to diagnose a performance issue.

Code
An reproducible full example (from clang 20.1.0, built with -O3) is here on godbolt
...

Q&A
Q: Did you try other prefetch distances?
A: Yes. All 'reasonable' prefetch distances result in the same performance, unreasonably short or long prefetch distances see worse performance.

They also demonstrated reproducible code, which is arguably the most powerful aspect of a smart question. This makes it highly informative and easier for others to provide precise solutions, as it allows them to directly observe and debug the problem.

This user provided extensive detail and posted their question in the appropriate forum. They were also clear and specific about their objective. Furthermore, the inclusion of a Q&A section demonstrates prior research, addresses anticipated follow-up questions, and helps guide the scope of desired responses.

Here is the link to Smart Question.

Inside of a Not-So-Smart Question

Q:
What should be the next step

.. .Hi guys I hope you doing well ..I am really felling disappointed I have taken pytorch,tensorflow.datasience ,As well as Ibm Ai certificate
.After almost year of working Now I don't Know what is the next step or course recommend me to take it I.hope to get intuition from any expert here
..thank you guys

In contrast, this question exemplifies a not-so-smart question.

First, the problem is extremely vague and could likely be resolved through a simple online search or by consulting common resources.

Second, it is posted in the wrong forum, as Stack Overflow is primarily intended for more technical, code-specific questions.

Third, the emotional tone of the question, resembling a general expression of disappointment, risks attracting unhelpful or even rude comments directed at the user rather than focusing on a technical solution.

Here is the link to Not So Smart.

Insights Gained

This exercise gave me a better insight into what makes a good question and what doesn’t. I also learned that to respect everyone’s time, we should provide as much information and be as precise about our objective as possible.