05 October 2013

Sad Day for the PL/SQL Challenge: Cheaters Removed

Since the early days of the PL/SQL Challenge, we have been aware of the possibility of cheating by players. In response, we developed a set of tools to analyze player data to identify patterns of answer submissions that could reflect one or another form of cheating (such as a single person having multiple accounts, or multiple people colluding to achieve high scores).

We have in the past applied these tools to identify players who answer too quickly, and made adjustments to their scores accordingly. When we apply the adjustment, we notify the players that:

It is certainly quite possible that a person answering so quickly (and correctly) is cheating by taking the quiz under a different account, figuring out the correct answers, and then submitting the answer under their "real" account. It is also possible that they knew that subject very well or simply guessed. Rather than automatically reject such answers, we analyze player patterns over a longer period of time, usually no less than two weeks. We then make adjustments to the timings and ranks of those players who answer, cumulatively, in so short an amount of time that there is no way to distinguish their pattern of play from someone who would be cheating. 

Today, it is my distinct non-privilege to announce that I have removed from the website three players who I believe have colluded over many quarters to take a whole bunch of the top prizes in the quarterly PL/SQL Championships. The players are (with their championship history under their names):

Frank Schrader

Q3 2010:12th, Q4 2010:30th, Q1 2011:1st, Q2 2011:5th, Q3 2011:1st, Q4 2011:1st, Q1 2012:13th, Q2 2012:3rd, Q3 2012:2nd, Q4 2012:4th, Q1 2013:2nd, Q2 2013:22nd

Dieter Kowalski

Q1 2012:21st, Q2 2012:8th, Q4 2012:16th, Q1 2013:24th, Q2 2013:16th

Konrad Schmidt (kowido)

Q1 2011:26th, Q2 2011:9th, Q3 2011:17th, Q4 2011:21st, Q1 2012:4th, Q2 2012:1st, Q3 2012:9th, Q4 2012:2nd, Q1 2013:1st, Q2 2013:15th

As you can see, two of our consistent champions dropped dramatically in ranking when in the Q2 2013 championship everyone played at the same time.

After I notified all three players of my determination and asked for a response, all three "people" immediately stopped playing. Only Frank even replied to my request and he protested his innocence. Unfortunately, it was not a convincing protest. The bottom line is that there is no way to distinguish their pattern of play from someone who would be cheating. 

Frank and Konrad cumulatively won $2800 in prizes on the PL/SQL Challenge site. This is, of course, a source of extreme frustration for me....but what can you do?

Well, here's what we can do: all rankings have been recalculated after these players' removal. We therefore have in many cases new winners for the championships. I am sorry that we will not be able to issue prizes to these new winners, but at least you will be able to print off and display your certificate of achievement - and these new achievements become a part of your profile and history on the PL/SQL Challenge website.

And - do I really need to say this? - let this be a warning to other players who are cheating or contemplating such: we will continue to enhance and apply our tools to root our cheaters, remove them from the site, and announce their crimes to the world.

We may also make our tools available on the website itself, so that any players can run the analysis and see if they can uncover cases of potential cheating to report to us.

New Weekly Quiz on Database Design

Since April 2010, the PL/SQL Challenge has offered daily, weekly and monthly quizzes on Oracle PL/SQL, SQL, deductive logic and Oracle Application Express. Oracle technologists have submitted over 740,000 answers to these quizzes. Hundreds have raved about how much they have learned, how much fun it is to compete (or not, as you choose!)....

This website is one of my proudest achievements, but I sure would love to have more of my developer and DBA friends around the world using the site.

So I am excited to announce a new weekly quiz on Database Design, which will start on 5 October.

Relational databases form the backbone of thousands, if not millions, of applications around the globe. A key part of building these applications is designing and implementing the data structures they use. Proper table design can mean the difference between a scalable, high performing database that is a joy to query and an unscalable mess that makes your brain melt.

Given the importance of databases, understanding good data modelling techniques and physical implementation methods are essential skills for architects, database administrators and developers creating database applications.

Building on the SQL and PL/SQL quizzes already available at the PL/SQL Challenge, the weekly Database Design Quiz kicks off on 5 October to help you build these skills. The quiz will cover many areas of database design, from logical design all the way to physical database design, including topics such as:
  • Normalization - ensuring you have high quality data
  • Referential integrity - saving you the time and effort of writing your own constraints
  • Indexing - enabling you to write fast and efficient queries
Whether you're an experienced data modeller or completely new to relational databases, the weekly Database Design Quiz offers you the opportunity to both learn new approaches and show off your expertise. It will teach techniques that you can use to improve the quality for your work and impress future employers with your achievements.

The person who has made this quiz possible is Chris Saxon, a long-time player on the PL/SQL Challenge. Chris is a database technologist with 10 years experience designing and building Oracle database applications. He currently works as the Data Architect for the airline Flybe, a role which sees him creating the data structures for the flybe.com database and the company's enterprise data warehouse. He also runs the blog www.sqlfail.com, a project to explain database concepts and other topics of interest using just SQL and PL/SQL. While not thinking about data, his spare time is filled chasing after his daughter Isabelle, born in January this year.

I have, by the way, seen pictures of Isabelle. She is beautiful!

But Chris is so devoted to his craft and so interested in helping others that he is going to give up precious time with his daughter to create and manage the quizzes.

So play the quiz! Every week! Starting 5 October (this Saturday).

If you have not yet visited the PL/SQL Challenge, it's easy to register and entirely free. Check it out!

06 September 2013

Q2 2013 PL/SQL Championship Results!

You will find below the rankings for the 2013-2 playoff; the number next to the player's name is the number of times that player has participated in a playoff.

Congratulations first and foremost to our top-ranked players:

1st Place: Frank Schmitt of Germany wins: Amazon.com US$250 Gift Card .

2nd Place: Chris Saxon of United Kingdom wins: Amazon.com US$175 Gift Card.

3rd Place: Niels Hecker of Germany wins: Amazon.com US$100 Gift Card.

Congratulations to everyone who played in the playoff. I hope you found it entertaining, challenging and educational. And for those who were not able to participate in the playoff, you can take the quizzes next week through the Practice feature.

Warm regards,
Steven Feuerstein


Note: Below the table of results for this playoff, you will find another list showing the playoff history of each of these players.

Rank Name Country Total Time % Correct Total Score
1Frank Schmitt (6)Germany23 mins 28 secs92%2971
2Chris Saxon (6)United Kingdom27 mins 56 secs92%2881
3Niels Hecker (12)Germany29 mins 10 secs92%2857
4Janis Baiza (7)Latvia22 mins 49 secs88%2834
5Peter Schmidt (4)Germany30 mins 57 secs92%2821
6Ivan Blanarik (6)Slovakia33 mins 42 secs92%2741
7mentzel.iudith (11)Israel34 mins 38 secs92%2682
8Chad Lee (9)United States32 mins 35 secs88%2663
9Alexey Ponomarenko (1)Ukraine32 mins 45 secs88%2635
10Jason H (2)United States30 mins 31 secs84%2520
11Michal Cvan (9)Slovakia29 mins 01 secs80%2485
12Mike Pargeter (11)United Kingdom23 mins 51 secs76%2473
13Randy Gettman (11)United States32 mins 28 secs80%2451
14Vincent Malgrat (6)French Republic34 mins 42 secs84%2431
15kowido (10)Germany34 mins 27 secs84%2416
16Dieter Kowalski (5)Germany34 mins 13 secs80%2356
17Jerry Bull (9)United States31 mins 05 secs80%2353
18Siim Kask (11)Estonia25 mins 03 secs76%2289
19Tony Winn (3)Australia31 mins 34 secs80%2244
20Jeroen Rutte (5)Netherlands32 mins 26 secs76%2241
21Ajaykumar Gupta (2)Singapore33 mins 57 secs76%2211
22Frank Schrader (12)Germany32 mins 21 secs76%2143
23Veera Marimuthu (2)Singapore30 mins 45 secs76%2135
24Matthias Rogel (3)Germany18 mins 02 secs60%1869
25Viacheslav Stepanov (10)Russia31 mins 11 secs64%1751
26Stelios Vlasopoulos (8)Belgium23 mins 17 secs56%1674
27Leszek Grudzień (1)Poland25 mins 17 secs56%1599
28Pavel Noga (1)Czech Republic34 mins 52 secs60%1593
29swart260 (5)Netherlands33 mins 40 secs64%1582
30Vinu Garg (4)India24 mins 03 secs56%1569
31Rakesh Dadhich (3)India27 mins 45 secs56%1550
32Naresh Kumar (1)India32 mins 00 secs60%1540
33Yuan Tschang (7)United States34 mins 43 secs60%1531
34Livio (1)Luxembourg34 mins 51 secs44%878

Playoff Performance History

After each name, the quarter in which he or she played, and the ranking in that playoff.
Name History
Frank SchmittQ4 2011:24th, Q2 2012:4th, Q3 2012:23rd, Q4 2012:5th, Q1 2013:15th, Q2 2013:1st
Chris SaxonQ4 2010:16th, Q2 2011:2nd, Q4 2011:8th, Q3 2012:22nd, Q4 2012:3rd, Q2 2013:2nd
Niels HeckerQ2 2010:2nd, Q3 2010:1st, Q4 2010:15th, Q1 2011:7th, Q3 2011:8th, Q4 2011:11th, Q1 2012:2nd, Q2 2012:5th, Q3 2012:3rd, Q4 2012:9th, Q1 2013:8th, Q2 2013:3rd
Janis BaizaQ2 2010:3rd, Q4 2010:7th, Q3 2011:10th, Q4 2011:2nd, Q3 2012:25th, Q1 2013:6th, Q2 2013:4th
Peter SchmidtQ3 2010:2nd, Q4 2010:14th, Q3 2012:29th, Q2 2013:5th
Ivan Blanarik Q1 2012:3rd, Q2 2012:15th, Q3 2012:18th, Q4 2012:27th, Q2 2013:6th
mentzel.iudithQ4 2010:4th, Q1 2011:18th, Q2 2011:25th, Q3 2011:6th, Q4 2011:5th, Q1 2012:8th, Q2 2012:19th, Q3 2012:35th, Q4 2012:6th, Q1 2013:4th, Q2 2013:7th
Chad LeeQ2 2011:28th, Q3 2011:19th, Q4 2011:13th, Q1 2012:1st, Q2 2012:26th, Q3 2012:30th, Q4 2012:25th, Q1 2013:22nd, Q2 2013:8th
Alexey PonomarenkoQ2 2013:9th
Jason HQ3 2012:19th, Q2 2013:10th
Michal CvanQ3 2010:23rd, Q4 2010:25th, Q3 2011:23rd, Q1 2012:12th, Q3 2012:16th, Q4 2012:17th, Q1 2013:16th, Q2 2013:11th
Mike PargeterQ4 2010:22nd, Q1 2011:16th, Q2 2011:10th, Q4 2011:6th, Q1 2012:6th, Q2 2012:20th, Q3 2012:6th, Q4 2012:23rd, Q2 2013:12th
Randy GettmanQ3 2010:8th, Q1 2011:27th, Q2 2011:12th, Q3 2011:4th, Q4 2011:12th, Q1 2012:20th, Q2 2012:22nd, Q3 2012:32nd, Q4 2012:14th, Q1 2013:5th, Q2 2013:13th
Vincent MalgratQ4 2011:10th, Q1 2012:15th, Q2 2012:16th, Q4 2012:8th, Q1 2013:3rd, Q2 2013:14th
kowidoQ1 2011:26th, Q2 2011:9th, Q3 2011:17th, Q4 2011:21st, Q1 2012:4th, Q2 2012:1st, Q3 2012:9th, Q4 2012:2nd, Q1 2013:1st, Q2 2013:15th
Dieter KowalskiQ1 2012:21st, Q2 2012:8th, Q4 2012:16th, Q1 2013:24th, Q2 2013:16th
Jerry BullQ2 2011:34th, Q3 2011:9th, Q1 2012:14th, Q2 2012:14th, Q3 2012:15th, Q4 2012:18th, Q1 2013:11th, Q2 2013:17th
Siim KaskQ1 2011:30th, Q2 2011:7th, Q3 2011:11th, Q4 2011:4th, Q1 2012:9th, Q2 2012:6th, Q3 2012:33rd, Q4 2012:12th, Q1 2013:13th, Q2 2013:18th
Tony WinnQ3 2010:17th, Q2 2013:19th
Jeroen RutteQ3 2010:20th, Q3 2012:12th, Q4 2012:13th, Q1 2013:10th, Q2 2013:20th
Ajaykumar GuptaQ1 2013:7th, Q2 2013:21st
Frank SchraderQ3 2010:12th, Q4 2010:30th, Q1 2011:1st, Q2 2011:5th, Q3 2011:1st, Q4 2011:1st, Q1 2012:13th, Q2 2012:3rd, Q3 2012:2nd, Q4 2012:4th, Q1 2013:2nd, Q2 2013:22nd
Veera MarimuthuQ1 2013:21st, Q2 2013:23rd
Matthias RogelQ2 2013:24th
Viacheslav StepanovQ1 2011:9th, Q2 2011:4th, Q3 2011:14th, Q4 2011:20th, Q1 2012:19th, Q2 2012:12th, Q3 2012:7th, Q4 2012:24th, Q1 2013:20th, Q2 2013:25th
Stelios VlasopoulosQ4 2010:38th, Q4 2011:22nd, Q1 2012:30th, Q2 2012:33rd, Q3 2012:1st, Q4 2012:1st, Q1 2013:30th, Q2 2013:26th
Leszek GrudzieńQ2 2013:27th
Pavel NogaQ2 2013:28th
swart260Q2 2012:24th, Q3 2012:27th, Q4 2012:28th, Q1 2013:32nd, Q2 2013:29th
Vinu GargQ2 2012:32nd, Q1 2013:31st, Q2 2013:30th
Rakesh DadhichQ2 2012:13th, Q1 2013:26th, Q2 2013:31st
Naresh KumarQ2 2013:32nd
Yuan TschangQ2 2012:27th, Q3 2012:26th, Q4 2012:30th, Q2 2013:33rd
LivioQ2 2013:34th

03 August 2013

On the Importance of Being Emailed

I don't know about you, but my In box functions as my to-do list. Not my only to-do list, mind you. I still scratch out lists on paper with an ancient technology known as a pen. But my In box plays a critical role in reminding me of upcoming items of interest.

I am not the only one, as I was reminded rather forcefully this week.

The PL/SQL Challenge reminds players (who have asked for reminders) about their daily and weekly quizzes. We also send out emails with results, once the quiz has closed.

Unfortunately, the email queue for our site (and perhaps others?) got backed up this week. Emails did not go out. And I did not pay sufficient attention to notice.

As a result, we received some painful emails like:

I got reminder for 2013-07-30 quiz at early morning of 2013-08-03. Looking at the email headers it is not my local SMTP server problem. All other emails from plsql challenge also is very late, so I missed Fridays quiz :(

I didn't get "Quiz Results"-mails on 31 July and 01 August and I also didn't get a "Reminder"-mail yesterday (or already some days before). So I forgot to play the quiz yesterday.

and worst of all:

I have been playing PL/SQL quizzes without having missed a single quiz since last 2 years.  Since I am working, I rely on reminder emails, But I missed out the 1st August 2013 quiz. If you can please resolve the issue with reminder emails and consider my waiver for 1st August Daily Quiz, which I could not take.  

Sadly, we cannot issue waivers or give you credit for a missed quiz. Hundreds of people did play on Thursday and Friday (though I wondered at the time why the count was lower than usual - I just figured it was due to summer holidays).

We will do our best to ensure that the emails keep on flowing, but remember:

If it is a weekday, there is a PL/SQL quiz for you to take!

22 July 2013

Q2 2013 Championship Rescheduled for 3 September

Due to conflicts on 3 August and then the joy of summer vacations and holidays, we will hold the Q2 2013 Championship on 3 September, at 15:00 UTC (still a single time, but now on Tuesday, not Saturday).

Players will be invited via email to sign up for the championship, confirming their participation.

17 July 2013

Q2 2013 Championship will NOT be held on 3 August

It is tough finding a time in the summer to play the Championship! Enough players said "no" to 3 August to trigger the rule that says: "Find a new date!" So the championship will not be held on 3 August. We will poll our players and find a better date - and for this second attempt, we will shift back to a weekday, not the weekend.

15 July 2013

Q2 2013 PL/SQL Championship to be held on 3 August

The second quarter of 2013 is now history. And that means....it's time for the next championship competition!

The following players will be invited to participate in the Q2 2013 championship. The number in parentheses after their names are the number of playoffs in which they have already participated.

See the FAQ for an explanation of the three ways a player can qualify for the playoff.

And congratulations to all listed below on their accomplishment and best of luck in the upcoming competition! We have six first-time championship players and many veterans of this fine competition.

This championship will be different from past events in two important ways:

Everyone will play at the same time: 3 August 16:00 UTC. Which means we are also holding the championship on a Saturday, the first time ever that we play on the weekend. Our three players from the Asia-Pacific region (who will be playing in the very early morning) have graciously accepted this additional challenge. Everyone else is in Europe and the United States, so it shouldn't be too painful. :-) We shall see how it goes!

Name Rank Qualification Country
Ajaykumar Gupta (1)1Top 25Singapore
Rakesh Dadhich (2)2Top 25India
Janis Baiza (6)3Top 25Latvia
swart260 (4)4Top 25Netherlands
mentzel.iudith (10)5Top 25Israel
Stelios Vlasopoulos (7)6Top 25Belgium
Chris Saxon (5)7Top 25United Kingdom
Vinu Garg (3)8Top 25India
Milibor Jovanovic (2)9Top 25Serbia
Mike Pargeter (10)10Top 25United Kingdom
Ivan Blanarik (5)11Top 25Slovakia
Viacheslav Stepanov (9)12Top 25Russia
Niels Hecker (11)13Top 25Germany
Veera Marimuthu (1)14Top 25Singapore
Vincent Malgrat (5)15Top 25French Republic
Frank Schrader (11)16Top 25Germany
kowido (9)17Top 25Germany
Jeroen Rutte (4)18Top 25Netherlands
Dieter Kowalski (4)19Top 25Germany
Jerry Bull (8)20Top 25United States
Siim Kask (10)21Top 25Estonia
Jason H (1)22Top 25United States
Leszek Grudzień (0)23Top 25Poland
Tony Winn (2)24Top 25Australia
Frank Schmitt (5)25Top 25Germany
Peter Schmidt (3)31CorrectnessGermany
Joaquin Gonzalez (5)32WildcardSpain
Chad Lee (8)33CorrectnessUnited States
Matthias Rogel (2)34WildcardGermany
Naresh Kumar (0)35WildcardIndia
Jan Soubusta (0)48WildcardCzech Republic
Alexey Ponomarenko (0)77WildcardUkraine
Yuan Tschang (6)85CorrectnessUnited States
Randy Gettman (10)94CorrectnessUnited States
Pavel Noga (0)96CorrectnessCzech Republic
Michal Cvan (8)107CorrectnessSlovakia
Livio (0)332CorrectnessLuxembourg