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I was hoping someone would say this (so I wouldn't have to). Sitting on the bog with no distractions and no code or diagrams to mislead you is the perfect environment for clarifying one's thoughts. Works perfectly for design decisions and sometimes debugging. Nevertheless most programming obstacles are bizarre error messages and the bog can't help you there. That's what Google is for.
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1) It depends on the problem.
2) It depends on the resources available on the net.
3) It depends on whether someone at work has performed this particular type of work or it is just me who has the only expierience in it.
4) Depends howlong I've been struggling with the problem. Asking help is a last resort. I first try to solve it myself and if no hope I ask for help after having (taken a brake and tried again) * 3.
"Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence."
<< please vote!! >>
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If all the above fail the goto Bacon for help
Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, served in a Provençale manner with shallots and aubergines, garnished with truffle pate, brandy and a fried egg on top and Spam - Monty Python Spam Sketch
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I post a "Gimme code urgentz"-kind of question on Codeproject, preferably all in upper case to emphasize the importance of my request, giving as little information as possible to get an answer as broad and overarching as possible, hoping, that somebody will do my work for me so I can slack of in my office drinking coffee and playing online games, while everybody else in work thinks, I am the genius I pretend to be.
Why, what else should I do?
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." (DNA)
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So all of those are you, under sock puppet accounts? I had wondered...
Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together.
Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."
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Well, as long as it stays confined to QA I can live with in. We had that new member spilling over into the Lounge today with the same nonsense.
Craigslist Troll: litaly@comcast.net
"I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. "
— Hunter S. Thompson
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Why wait till you are stuck on a problem? Are you not better off posting as soon as you get your assignment?
Oh wait; they are probably the same thing 
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PJ Arends wrote: Are you not better off posting as soon as you get your assignment?
Nah, better wait till it's nearly too late, that way you can urge and whine about how important the whole thing is for your live and how time is running out, and maybe somebody will have pity and hand over a solution. What? What do you mean, that never works? That was my career plan.
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." (DNA)
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Just keep plugging away at the problem - Rarely do this unless it's in combination with one of the others.
Ask a colleague or friend - Most frequently with design issues or if I know they have experience with the problem I'm having.
Read the docs. Again. - This is almost never the solution as the state of most documentation sucks.
Read a book - I almost never consider this a solution to a problem. If I'm stuck I want to get unstuck now, not after the time it would take to read a book, and I'm certainly not looking in a book when I have Google at my disposal.
Search online for the exact answer to your problem - Most frequently with error messages I can't get around.
Search online for more general background information on your issue - When I'm trying to do something I've never attempted before.
Post a question online - Only when all else fails. I wouldn't want to post a question that I could just Google, and if I can't easily Google it, it's usually difficult to set up the question in a way that I won't get either flamed or a pile of dumb responses.
Take a break and let the creative juices flow - This often works wonders, and I don't do it often enough.
As someone else noted it is often helpful to just try to explain the problem. I've had a number of occasions where I started to explain the problem to a coworker and had the answer come to me before he had a chance speak.
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I think many respondents may want to select more than one answer. I tend to do the following (in this order):
- Read the docs. Again.
- Take a break and let the creative juices flow.
- Search online for the exact answer to your problem.
- Search online for more general background information on your issue.
- Post a question online.
- Ask a colleague or friend.
/ravi
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That's what I also thought. I would need two additional choices, which I would both select:
- All of the above
- None of the above
My choice of the approaches as well as the order depend very much on the problem at hand.
"I just exchanged opinions with my boss. I went in with mine and came out with his." - me, 2011
---
I am endeavoring, Madam, to construct a mnemonic memory circuit using stone knives and bearskins - Mr. Spock 1935 and me 2011
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Since we can't get you guys to order answers (and since I find it incredibly annoying when I'm asked to do it myself) I chose to ask for the first thing that you try.
I know "it depends" but I'm sure there is a trend you can spot in your own actions.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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Perhaps you should have asked for the FIRST thing people do! 
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"You're stuck on a programming problem. What do you do first?"
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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You forgot the underline, ALL CAPS and using a larger font so people are slightly less likely to misread the question!
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cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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Ah. Obviously I was hasty in responding.
/ravi
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Or at least I have done all of the above to find solutions to problems (bugs or design issues) that I can not initially figure out. Sometimes I do something completely different and the answer just comes to me. I have solved dozens of computing problems waking up from sleep in the shower or driving to work. After 15 years in the industry I only rarely post my question online expecting someone to solve it for me. The reason is this is so rare that my questions would get answered.
Edit: I should have qualified the last part. I was thinking asking for a complete solution (or even a push in the right direction) to a tough problem online rarely leads to an answer. Asking for simple problems that may be part of a bigger problem will more often lead to an answer.
John
modified on Monday, June 13, 2011 10:04 AM
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When i'm realy stucked into a problem i usally try to find someone not technically and explain him my Problem. Because this person isn't a programmer, i have to shift my point of view to explain the technically problem. In 99.9% during explaining it, i find a solution by myself.
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And it's such fun watching their eyes glaze over. 
Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together.
Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."
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Surely if you already know the exact answer, there's little point searching online!
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Agreed... That is why I search for something general that may lead me to the "exact" solution.
I wasn't, now I am, then I won't be anymore.
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sometimes is enought copying the exact error message to google and the exact answer will come
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Surely that's searching for an answer to your exact problem - if you know the exact answer, why bother searching?
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