How to ask a good question?

If you got stuck with any problem, instead of just thinking and worrying about it, write it down. Many times when you actually write your problem you will get your solution there only. Because to write down anything you need to properly organize it. And believe me if you really able to understand your written problem.. now its good time to post it on CP or google it.

Regards

Ok then, being a Programmer/Developer, you must know how to search using Google at first before posting a question. We programmers/developers will get a better and quick response thru Google. Treat google as your bestfriend :) Then if it still didn't fix your problems, you can post it here :)

Cheers!

You can start by knowing How Not to Ask a Question.

Beyond that, I'd say there are some simple points to ask a good question:

1. Use proper grammar/spelling.
2. Format the question well (e.g., I am using a numbered list in this response, which one could use in a question).
3. Include screenshots or code snippets where appropriate.
4. Consider your audience. We are just a bunch of volunteers. We don't know what you are thinking, so you have to explain it.
5. Ask the question using as few words as necessary, but no fewer. Basically, make it as easy as possible for us to understand your question.
6. Ask a question. Often, people will explain some problem, but will not explicitly ask their question.

All the advice on this page should be taken into account as none of them are comprehensive.

I would start with reading the rules.

First, I want to add some ideas to a vise advice by Pranit.

I would add, don't rush and don't jump to the solution. Think around related problems some more even if you think there is a solution. Sleep over with a problem.

Likewise, after the problem is written, don't rush to post it. Even if you tried hard to solve the problem yourself but failed, this experience will be a great favor.

In fact, if you ask question and get good answer, you may even fail to understand them properly if you did not try to solve it yourself. Unfortunately, too many inquirers are not prepared to get help!

Most devastating problem here is incorrect formulation of questions. First, please see my comments to this question. This is a joke, but with a good hint.

Let's set aside questions where people request to do their own work, the questions where people don't know what they want — there are too many of them. Let's aside those not using Wikipedia, Google, StackOverflow and CodeProject search before asking a question.

Most important thing is this: don't ask just what exactly you want at the moment. Always explain you ultimate goals. I rarely answer exact same answer, instead, I'm thinking about real help, which is not the same. Your question could be based on misconception or preoccupation with wrong conception like some methods and techniques leading to wrong direction. Experts can help you to fix the direction, but only if you explain you ultimate goal, not just what you want to achieve immediately.

In particular, never ask "What's the difference between {0} and {1}?". Just don't. What's the difference between apple and Apple?
[EDIT] See also this related post, I think it's kind of interesting: what is the difference between the class and encapsulation in programming[^]. [/EDIT]

Now, code. The code sample should be short but comprehensive. This is hard to do, sometimes impossible. That said, you should develop some special code sample just for posting a question. Ideally, it should compile and run, yet demonstrating a problem. I know, this is often impossible. Just desirable. At least always paste code from a real code and make sure HTML formatting is correct. Most usual mistake is the failure to escape "<>" with HTML entities. It cab be done with the applet "encode" provided on top of text input box by CodeProject.

Error messages should be presented in detail. Exception information should be presented in detail, complete with exception stack and inner exceptions, recursively. Offending lines of code should be commented with compilation error or exception information.

Finally: correct spelling and grammar! No "textspeak", ever. Full capitalization, punctuation and spelling, no abbreviations. English as not a native language is not an excuse. (This is not my native language, too, so I know what I'm talking about.) Everyone can use a Web browser with spell checker, such as Firefox/Seamonkey. Just spell checking can be obtained free of charge these days.

This is a matter of elementary politeness. Sloppy writing is simply rude.

Thank you for this discussion.
Good luck,

—SA

This is a good example of a well-formulated question: Get the HP printer status[^].

Please also see my comment to it. I'm not saying the question itself is good (interesting, important or something like that), I'm just saying it is an example of adequate formulation of the problem.

In many cases, it would require some more detail: separate explanation of the ultimate purpose of the work, what was attempted by the sample code, what was expected to observe, what exactly was observed (because this is not yet a fact that all readers can reproduce the same results) and why the inquirer think these results are wrong. In some problems, this is apparent, in some — it needs separate explanations.

—SA