1. What is a Database?

A database is a collection of information in an organized form for faster and better access, storage
and manipulation. It can also be defined as a collection of tables, schema, views, and other database
objects.

2. What is Data warehouse?

Data warehouse refers to a central repository of data from multiple sources of information. Those
data are consolidated, transformed and made available for the mining as well as online processing.

3. What is a Table in a Database?

A table is a database object used to store records in a field in the form of columns and rows that
holds data.

4. What is a Field in a Database?

A field in a Database table is a space allocated to store a particular record within a table.

5. What is a Record in a Database?

A record (also called a row of data) is an ordered set of related data in a table.

6. What is a column in a Table?

A column is a vertical entity in a table that contains all information associated with a specific field in
a table.

7. What is DBMS?

Database Management System is a collection of programs that enables a user to store, retrieve,
update and delete information from a database.

8. What are the types of DBMS?

There are two types of DBMS

1. Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)

2. Non-Relational Database Management System

9. What is RDBMS?

RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System. RDBMS is a database management
system (DBMS) that is based on the relational model. Data from a relational database can be
accessed using Structured Query Language (SQL)

10. What are the popular Database Management Systems in the IT Industry?

Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Sybase, MongoDB, DB2, and Microsoft Access
etc.,

11. What is SQL?

SQL Overview: SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is an American National Standard
Institute (ANSI) standard. It is a standard language for accessing and manipulating databases. Using
SQL, some of the action we could do are to create databases, tables, stored procedures (SP’s),
execute queries, retrieve, insert, update, delete data against a database.

12. What are the different types of SQL commands?

SQL commands are segregated into the following types:

• DDL – Data Definition Language

• DML – Data Manipulation Language

• DQL – Data Query Language

• DCL – Data Control Language

• TCL – Transaction Control Language

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13. What are the different DDL commands in SQL?

DDL commands are used to define or alter the structure of the database.

• CREATE: To create databases and database objects

• ALTER: To alter existing database objects

• DROP: To drop databases and databases objects

• TRUNCATE: To remove all records from a table but not its database structure

• RENAME: To rename database objects

14. What are the different DML commands in SQL?

DML commands are used for managing data present in the database.

• SELECT: To select specific data from a database

• INSERT: To insert new records into a table

• UPDATE: To update existing records

• DELETE: To delete existing records from a table

15. What are the different DCL commands in SQL?

DCL commands are used to create roles, grant permission and control access to the database
objects.

• GRANT: To provide user access

• DENY: To deny permissions to users

• REVOKE: To remove user access

16. What are the different TCL commands in SQL?

TCL commands are used to manage the changes made by DML statements.

• COMMIT: To write and store the changes to the database

• ROLLBACK: To restore the database since the last commit

17. What is an Index?

An index is used to speed up the performance of queries. It makes faster retrieval of data from the
table. The index can be created on one column or a group of columns.

18. What are all the different types of indexes?

There are three types of indexes

1. Unique Index: Unique Indexes helps maintain data integrity by ensuring that no two rows of data
in a table have identical key values. A unique index can be applied automatically when a primary key
is defined. It ensures that the values in the index key columns are unique.

2. Clustered Index: Clustered Index reorders the physical order of the table and search based on the
key values. There will be only one clustered index per table.

3. Non-Clustered Index: Non-Clustered Index doesn’t alter the physical order of the table and
maintains a logical order of the data. Each table can have many non-clustered indexes.

19. What is the difference between Cluster and Non-Cluster Index?

The difference between the clustered and non-clustered index in SQL is as follows:

Clustered Index:

It is used for easy retrieval of data from the database and it is faster.

One table can only have one clustered index

It alters the way records are stored in a database as it sorts out rows by the column which is set to
be clustered index.

Non-Clustered Index:

It is slower compared to the Clustered index.

One table can have multiple non clustered index

It doesn’t alter the way it was sorted but it creates a separate object within a table which points
back to the original table rows after searching.

20. What is a View?

A view is like a subset of a table which is stored logically in a database. A view is a virtual table. It
contains rows and columns similar to a real table. The fields in the view are fields from one or more
real tables. Views do not contain data of their own. They are used to restrict access to the database
or to hide data complexity.

1 CREATE VIEW view_name AS SELECT column_name1, column_name2 FROM table_name

WHERE CONDITION;

21. What are the advantages of Views?

Some of the advantages of Views are

1. Views occupy no space

2. Views are used to simply retrieve the results of complicated queries that need to be
executed often.

3. Views are used to restrict access to the database or to hide data complexity.

22. What is a relationship and what are they?

Database Relationship is defined as the connection between the tables in a database. There are
various database relationships namely

1. One to One Relationship

2. One to Many Relationship

3. Many to One Relationship

4. Self-Referencing Relationship

23. What is a query?

A database query is a request for data or information from a database table or combination of
tables. A database query can be either a select query or an action query.

24. What is a Subquery?

A Subquery is a SQL query within another query. It is a subset of a Select statement whose return
values are used in filtering the conditions of the main query.

25. What are the types of subquery?

There are two types of subquery:

1. Correlated: In a SQL database query, a correlated subquery is a subquery that uses values from
the outer query in order to complete. Because a correlated subquery requires the outer query to be
executed first, the correlated subquery must run once for every row in the outer query. It is also
known as a synchronized subquery.

2. Non-Correlated: A Non-correlated subquery is a subquery in which both outer query and inner
query are independent to each other.

26. What is Synchronized Subquery?

Refer Correlated Subquery.

27. What is the difference between Local Variables and Global Variables?

Local Variables: Local variables can be used or exist only inside the function. These variables are not
used or referred by any other functions. These are not known to other functions. Variables can be
created whenever that function is called.

Global Variables: Global variables can be used or exist throughout the program. Same variable
declared in global cannot be used in functions. Global variables cannot be created whenever that
function is called.

28. What is data Integrity?

Data integrity defines the accuracy and consistency of the data stored in a database. It also defines
integrity constraints to enforce business rules on the data when it is entered into an application or a
database.

29. What is Auto Increment in SQL?

It is one of the important Oracle DBA Interview Questions.

Auto increment keyword allows the user to create a unique number to get generated when a new
record is inserted into a table. Auto increment keyword can be used whenever Primary Key is used.

AUTO INCREMENT keyword is used in Oracle and IDENTITY keyword is used in SQL Server.

30. What is a temp table?

Ans. A temp table is a temporary storage structure to store the data temporarily.

31. How to avoid duplicate records in a query?

The SQL SELECT DISTINCT query is used to return only unique values. It eliminates all the duplicated
values.

32. What is the difference between Rename and Alias?

‘Rename’ is a permanent name given to a table or column

‘Alias’ is a temporary name given to a table or column.

33. What is a Join?

Join is a query, which retrieves related columns or rows from multiple tables.

34. What are the different types of joins?

Types of Joins are as follows:

• INNER JOIN

• LEFT JOIN

• RIGHT JOIN

• OUTER JOIN

35. What is the difference between an inner and outer join?

An inner join returns rows when there is at least some matching data between two (or more) tables
that are being compared.

An outer join returns rows from both tables that include the records that are unmatched from one
or both the tables.

36. What are SQL constraints?

SQL constraints are the set of rules that enforced some restriction while inserting, deleting or
updating of data in the databases.

37. What are the constraints available in SQL?

Some of the constraints in SQL are – Primary Key, Foreign Key, Unique Key, SQL Not Null, Default,
Check and Index constraint.

38. What is a Unique constraint?

A unique constraint is used to ensure that there are no duplication values in the field/column.

39. What is a Primary Key?

A PRIMARY KEY constraint uniquely identifies each record in a database table. All columns
participating in a primary key constraint must not contain NULL values.

40. Can a table contain multiple PRIMARY KEY’s?

The short answer is no, a table is not allowed to contain multiple primary keys but it allows to have
one composite primary key consisting of two or more columns.

41. What is a Composite PRIMARY KEY?

Composite PRIMARY KEY is a primary key created on more than one column (combination of
multiple fields) in a table.

42. What is a FOREIGN KEY?

A FOREIGN KEY is a key used to link two tables together. A FOREIGN KEY in a table is linked with the
PRIMARY KEY of another table.

43. Can a table contain multiple FOREIGN KEY’s?

A table can have many FOREIGN KEY’s.

44. What is the difference between UNIQUE and PRIMARY KEY constraints?

There should be only one PRIMARY KEY in a table whereas there can be any number of UNIQUE
Keys.

PRIMARY KEY doesn’t allow NULL values whereas Unique key allows NULL values.

45. What is a NULL value?

A field with a NULL value is a field with no value. A NULL value is different from a zero value or a field
that contains spaces. A field with a NULL value is one that has been left blank during record creation.
Assume, there is a field in a table is optional and it is possible to insert a record without adding a
value to the optional field then the field will be saved with a NULL value.

46. What is the difference between NULL value, Zero, and Blank space?

As I mentioned earlier, Null value is field with no value which is different from zero value and blank
space.

Null value is a field with no value.

Zero is a number

Blank space is the value we provide. The ASCII value of space is CHAR(32).

47. How to Test for NULL Values?

A field with a NULL value is a field with no value. NULL value cannot be compared with other NULL
values. Hence, It is not possible to test for NULL values with comparison operators, such as =, <, or
<>. For this, we have to use the IS NULL and IS NOT NULL operators.

1 SELECT column_names FROM table_name WHERE column_name IS NULL;

1 SELECT column_names FROM table_name WHERE column_name IS NOT NULL;

48. What is SQL NOT NULL constraint?

NOT NULL constraint is used to ensure that the value in the filed cannot be a NULL

49. What is a CHECK constraint?

A CHECK constraint is used to limit the value that is accepted by one or more columns.

E.g. ‘Age’ field should contain only the value greater than 18.

1 CREATE TABLE EMP_DETAILS(EmpID int NOT NULL, NAME VARCHAR (30) NOT NULL, Age INT
CHECK (AGE &gt; 18), PRIMARY KEY (EmpID));

50. What is a DEFAULT constraint?

DEFAULT constraint is used to include a default value in a column when no value is supplied at the
time of inserting a record.

51. What is Normalization?

Normalization is the process of table design to minimize the data redundancy.

52. What are all the different Normalization?

There are different types of Normalization forms in SQL.

• First Normal Form (1NF)

• Second Normal Form (2NF)

• Third Normal Form (3NF)

• Boyce and Codd Normal Form (BCNF)

53. What is Denormalization?

Denormalization is a database optimization technique used to increase the performance of a

database infrastructure. It involves in the process of adding redundant data to one or more tables. In
a normalized database, we store data in separate logical tables and attempt to minimize redundant
data.

54. What is Stored procedure?

A Stored Procedure is a collection of SQL statements that have been created and stored in the
database to perform a particular task. The stored procedure accepts input parameters and processes
them and returns a single value such as a number or text value or a result set (set of rows).

55. What is a Trigger?

A Trigger is a SQL procedure that initiates an action in response to an event (Insert, Delete or
Update) occurs. When a new Employee is added to an Employee_Details table, new records will be
created in the relevant tables such as Employee_Payroll, Employee_Time_Sheet etc.,