SQL Interview Questions and Answers

The following are the most popular and useful SQL interview questions and answers
for fresher and experienced candidates. These questions are created specifically to
familiarise you with the types of questions you might encounter during your SQL
interview. According to our experiences, good interviewers rarely plan to ask any
specific topic during the interview. Instead, questioning usually begins with a basic
understanding of the subject, and based on your responses, further discussion
happened.

1) What is SQL?
SQL stands for the Structured Query Language. It is the standard language used to
maintain the relational database and perform many different data manipulation
operations on the data. SQL was initially invented in 1970. It is a database language
used for database creation, deletion, fetching and modifying rows, etc. sometimes, it
is pronounced as 'sequel.' We can also use it to handle organized data comprised of
entities (variables) and relations between different entities of the data.

2) When SQL appeared?

SQL first appeared in 1974. It is one of the most used languages for maintaining the
relational database. In 1986, SQL became the standard of the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) in
1987.

3) What are the usages of SQL?

SQL is responsible for maintaining the relational data and the data structures present
in the database. Some of the common usages are given below:

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o To execute queries against a database

o To retrieve data from a database
 o To inserts records in a database
o To updates records in a database
o To delete records from a database
o To create new databases
o To create new tables in a database
o To create views in a database
o To perform complex operations on the database.

4) Does SQL support programming language features?

SQL refers to the Standard Query Language. Therefore, it is true that SQL is a language
but does not actually support the programming language. It is a common language
that doesn't have a loop, conditional statements, and logical operations. It cannot be
used for anything other than data manipulation. It is a command language to perform
database operations. The primary purpose of SQL is to retrieve, manipulate, update,
delete, and perform complex operations like joins on the data present in the database.

5) What are the subsets of SQL?

The following are the four significant subsets of the SQL:

o Data definition language (DDL): It defines the data structure that consists of
commands like CREATE, ALTER, DROP, etc.
o Data manipulation language (DML): It is used to manipulate existing data in the
database. The commands in this category are SELECT, UPDATE, INSERT, etc.
o Data control language (DCL): It controls access to the data stored in the database.
The commands in this category include GRANT and REVOKE.
o Transaction Control Language (TCL): It is used to deal with the transaction
operations in the database. The commands in this category are COMMIT, ROLLBACK,
SET TRANSACTION, SAVEPOINT, etc.

6) What is the purpose of DDL Language?

DDL stands for Data definition language. It is the subset of a database that defines the
data structure of the database when the database is created. For example, we can use
the DDL commands to add, remove, or modify tables. It consists of the following
commands: CREATE, ALTER and DELETE database objects such as schema, tables,
indexes, view, sequence, etc.

Example

1. CREATE TABLE Students

2. (
3. Roll_no INT,
4. Name VARCHAR(45),
5. Branch VARCHAR(30),
6. );

7) What is the purpose of DML Language?

Data manipulation language makes the user able to retrieve and manipulate data in a
relational database. The DML commands can only perform read-only operations on
data. We can perform the following operations using DDL language:

o Insert data into the database through the INSERT command.

o Retrieve data from the database through the SELECT command.
o Update data in the database through the UPDATE command.
o Delete data from the database through the DELETE command.

Example

1. INSERT INTO Student VALUES (111, 'George', 'Computer Science')

8) What is the purpose of DCL Language?

Data control language allows users to control access and permission management to
the database. It is the subset of a database, which decides that what part of the
database should be accessed by which user at what point of time. It includes two
commands, GRANT and REVOKE.

GRANT: It enables system administrators to assign privileges and roles to the specific
user accounts to perform specific tasks on the database.
REVOKE: It enables system administrators to revoke privileges and roles from the user
accounts so that they cannot use the previously assigned permission on the database.

Example

1. GRANT * ON mydb.Student TO javatpoint@localhsot;

9) What are tables and fields in the database?

A table is a set of organized data in the form of rows and columns. It enables users to
store and display records in the structure format. It is similar to worksheets in the
spreadsheet application. Here rows refer to the tuples, representing the simple data
item, and columns are the attribute of the data items present in a particular row.
Columns can categorize as vertical, and Rows are horizontal.

Fields are the components to provide the structure for the table. It stores the same
category of data in the same data type. A table contains a fixed number of columns
but can have any number of rows known as the record. It is also called a column in the
table of the database. It represents the attribute or characteristics of the entity in the
record.

Example

Table: Student

Field: Stud_rollno, Stud_name, Date of Birth, Branch, etc.

10) What is a primary key?

A primary key is a field or the combination of fields that uniquely identify each record
in the table. It is one of a special kind of unique key. If the column contains a primary
key, it cannot be null or empty. A table can have duplicate columns, but it cannot have
more than one primary key. It always stores unique values into a column. For
example, the ROLL Number can be treated as the primary key for a student in the
university or college.
We can define a primary key into a student table as follows:

1. CREATE TABLE Student (

2. roll_number INT PRIMARY KEY,
3. name VARCHAR(45),
4. );

To read more information, click here.

11) What is a foreign key?

The foreign key is used to link one or more tables together. It is also known as the
referencing key. A foreign key is specified as a key that is related to the primary key of
another table. It means a foreign key field in one table refers to the primary key field
of the other table. It identifies each row of another table uniquely that maintains the
referential integrity. The primary key-foreign key relationship is a very crucial
relationship as it maintains the ACID properties of the database sometimes. It also
prevents actions that would destroy links between the child and parent tables.

We can define a foreign key into a table as follows:

1. CONSTRAINT constraint_name]
2. FOREIGN KEY [foreign_key_name] (col_name, ...)
3. REFERENCES parent_tbl_name (col_name,...)

To read more information, click here.

12) What is a unique key?

A unique key is a single or combination of fields that ensure all values stores in the
column will be unique. It means a column cannot stores duplicate values. This key
provides uniqueness for the column or set of columns. For example, the email
addresses and roll numbers of student's tables should be unique. It can accept a null
value but only one null value per column. It ensures the integrity of the column or
group of columns to store different values into a table.

We can define a foreign key into a table as follows:

 1. CREATE TABLE table_name(
2. col1 datatype,
3. col2 datatype UNIQUE,
4. ...
5. );

To read more information, click here.

13) What is the difference between a primary key and a unique

key?
The primary key and unique key both are essential constraints of the SQL. The main
difference among them is that the primary key identifies each record in the table. In
contrast, the unique key prevents duplicate entries in a column except for a NULL
value. The following comparison chart explains it more clearly:

Primary Key Unique Key

The primary key act as a unique identifier for The unique key is also a unique identifier for records when the
each record in the table. primary key is not present in the table.

We cannot store NULL values in the primary We can store NULL value in the unique key column, but only one
key column. NULL is allowed.

We cannot change or delete the primary key We can modify the unique key column values.
column values.

To read more information, click here.

14) What is a Database?

A database is an organized collection of data that is structured into tables, rows,
columns, and indexes. It helps the user to find the relevant information frequently. It is
an electronic system that makes data access, data manipulation, data retrieval, data
storing, and data management very easy. Almost every organization uses the database
for storing the data due to its easily accessible and high operational ease. The database
provides perfect access to data and lets us perform required tasks.
The following are the common features of a database:

o Manages large amounts of data

o Accurate
o Easy to update
o Security
o Data integrity
o Easy to research data

15) What is meant by DBMS?

DBMS stands for Database Management System. It is a software program that
primarily functions as an interface between the database and the end-user. It provides
us the power such as managing the data, the database engine, and the database
schema to facilitate the organization and manipulation of data using a simple query in
almost no time. It is like a File Manager that manages data in a database rather than
saving it in file systems. Without the database management system, it would be far
more difficult for the user to access the database's data.

The following are the components of a DBMS:

o Software
o Data
o Procedures
o Database Languages
o Query Processor
o Database Manager
o Database Engine
o Reporting

16) What are the different types of database management

systems?
The database management systems can be categorized into several types. Some of the
important lists are given below:
 o Hierarchical databases (DBMS)
o Network databases (IDMS)
o Relational databases (RDBMS
o Object-oriented databases
o Document databases (Document DB)
o Graph databases
o ER model databases
o NoSQL databases

17) What is RDBMS?

RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System. It is a database
management system based on a relational model. It facilitates you to manipulate the
data stored in the tables by using relational operators. RDBMS stores the data into the
collection of tables and links those tables using the relational operators easily
whenever required. Examples of relational database management systems are
Microsoft Access, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle database, etc.

18) What is Normalization in a Database?

Normalization is used to minimize redundancy and dependency by organizing fields
and table of a database.

There are some rules of database normalization, which is commonly known as Normal
From, and they are:

o First normal form(1NF)

o Second normal form(2NF)
o Third normal form(3NF)
o Boyce-Codd normal form(BCNF)

Using these steps, the redundancy, anomalies, inconsistency of the data in the
database can be removed.
19) What is the primary use of Normalization?
Normalization is mainly used to add, delete or modify a field that can be made in a
single table. The primary use of Normalization is to remove redundancy and remove
the insert, delete and update distractions. Normalization breaks the table into small
partitions and then links them using different relationships to avoid the chances of
redundancy.

20) What are the disadvantages of not performing database

Normalization?
The major disadvantages are:

The occurrence of redundant terms in the database causes the waste of space in the
disk.

Due to redundant terms, inconsistency may also occur. If any change is made in the
data of one table but not made in the same data of another table, then inconsistency
will occur. This inconsistency will lead to the maintenance problem and effects the
ACID properties as well.

21) What is an inconsistent dependency?

An Inconsistent dependency refers to the difficulty of getting relevant data due to a
missing or broken path to the data. It leads users to search the data in the wrong table,
resulting in an error as an output.

22) What is Denormalization in a Database?

Denormalization is a technique used by database administrators to optimize the
efficiency of their database infrastructure. The denormalization concept is based on
Normalization, which is defined as arranging a database into tables correctly for a
particular purpose. This method allows us to add redundant data into a normalized
database to alleviate issues with database queries that merge data from several tables
into a single table. It adds redundant terms into the tables to avoid complex joins and
many other complex operations.
Denormalization doesn't mean that normalization will not be done. It is an
optimization strategy that takes place after the normalization process.

23) What are the different types of SQL operators?

Operators are the special keywords or special characters reserved for performing
particular operations. They are also used in SQL queries. We can primarily use these
operators within the WHERE clause of SQL commands. It's a part of the command to
filters data based on the specified condition. The SQL operators can be categorized
into the following types:

o Arithmetic operators: These operators are used to perform mathematical operations

on numerical data. The categories of this operators are addition (+), subtraction (-),
multiplication (*), division (/), remainder/modulus (%), etc.
o Logical operators: These operators evaluate the expressions and return their results
in True or False. This operator includes ALL, AND, ANY, ISNULL, EXISTS, BETWEEN, IN,
LIKE, NOT, OR, UNIQUE.
o Comparison operators: These operators are used to perform comparisons of two
values and check whether they are the same or not. It includes equal to (=), not equal
to (!= or <>), less than (<), greater than (>), less than or equal to (<=), greater than or
equal to (>=), not less than (!<), not greater than (!>), etc.
o Bitwise operators: It is used to do bit manipulations between two expressions of
integer type. It first performs conversion of integers into binary bits and then applied
operators such as AND (& symbol), OR (|, ^), NOT (~), etc.
o Compound operators: These operators perform operations on a variable before
setting the variable's result to the operation's result. It includes Add equals (+=),
subtract equals (-=), multiply equals (*=), divide equals (/=), modulo equals (%=), etc.
o String operators: These operators are primarily used to perform concatenation and
pattern matching of strings. It includes + (String concatenation), += (String
concatenation assignment), % (Wildcard), [] (Character(s) matches), [^] (Character(s)
not to match), _ (Wildcard match one character), etc.

24) What is a view in SQL?

A view is a database object that has no values. It is a virtual table that contains a subset
of data within a table. It looks like an actual table containing rows and columns, but it
takes less space because it is not present physically. It is operated similarly to the base
table but does not contain any data of its own. Its name is always unique. A view can
have data from one or more tables. If any changes occur in the underlying table, the
same changes reflected in the views also.

The primary use of a view is to implement the security mechanism. It is the searchable
object where we can use a query to search the view as we use for the table. It only
shows the data returned by the query that was declared when the view was created.

We can create a view by using the following syntax:

1. CREATE VIEW view_name AS

2. SELECT column_lists FROM table_name
3. WHERE condition;

25) What is an Index in SQL?

An index is a disc structure associated with a table or view that speeds up row retrieval.
It reduces the cost of the query because the query's high cost will lead to a fall in its
performance. It is used to increase the performance and allow faster retrieval of
records from the table. Indexing reduces the number of data pages we need to visit to
find a particular data page. It also has a unique value meaning that the index cannot
be duplicated. An index creates an entry for each value which makes it faster to retrieve
data.
For example: Suppose we have a book which carries the details of the countries. If
you want to find out information about India, why will you go through every page of
that book? You could directly go to the index. Then from the index, you can go to that
particular page where all the information about India is given.

26) What are the different types of indexes in SQL?

SQL indexes are nothing more than a technique of minimizing the query's cost. The
higher the query's cost, the worse the query's performance. The following are the
different types of Indexes supported in SQL:

o Unique Index
o Clustered Index
o Non-Clustered Index
o Bit-Map Index
o Normal Index
o Composite Index
o B-Tree Index
o Function-Based Index

27) What is the unique index?

UNIQUE INDEX is used to enforce the uniqueness of values in single or multiple
columns. We can create more than one unique index in a single table. For creating a
unique index, the user has to check the data in the column because the unique indexes
are used when any column of the table has unique values. This indexing does not allow
the field to have duplicate values if the column is unique indexed. A unique index can
be applied automatically when a primary key is defined.

We can create it by using the following syntax:

1. CREATE UNIQUE INDEX index_name

2. ON table_name (index_column1, index_column2,...);

Example

1. CREATE TABLE Employee(

 2. ID int AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
3. Name varchar(45),
4. Phone varchar(15),
5. City varchar(25),
6. );

Suppose we want to make a Phone column as a unique index. We can do this like
below:

1. CREATE UNIQUE INDEX index_name_phone ON Employee (Phone);

To read more information, click here.

28) What is clustered index in SQL?

A clustered index is actually a table where the data for the rows are stored. It
determines the order of the table data based on the key values that can sort in only
one direction. Each table can have only one clustered index. It is the only index, which
has been automatically created when the primary key is generated. If many data
modifications needed to be done in the table, then clustered indexes are preferred.

To read more information, click here.

29) What is the non-clustered index in SQL?

The indexes other than PRIMARY indexes (clustered indexes) are called non-clustered
indexes. We know that clustered indexes are created automatically when primary keys
are generated, and non-clustered indexes are created when multiple joins conditions
and various filters are used in the query. The non-clustered index and table data are
both stored in different places. It cannot be able to alter the physical order of the table
and maintains the logical order of data.

The purpose of creating a non-clustered index is for searching the data. Its best
example is a book where the content is written in one place, and the index is at a
different place. We can create 0 to 249 non-clustered indexes in each table. The non-
clustered indexing improves the performance of the queries which use keys without
assigning the primary key.
 30) What are the differences between SQL, MySQL, and SQL
Server?
The following comparison chart explains their main differences:

SQL MySQL SQL Server

SQL or Structured Query Language MySQL is the popular database SQL Server is an RDBMS database
is useful for managing our management system used for system mainly developed for the
relational databases. It is used to managing the relational database. It Windows system to store, retrieve,
query and operate the database. is a fast, scalable, and easy-to-use and access data requested by the
database. developer.

SQL first appeared in 1974. MySQL first appeared on May 23, SQL Server first appeared on April
1995. 24, 1989.

SQL was developed by IBM MySQL was developed by Oracle SQL Server was developed by
Corporation. Corporation. Microsoft Company.

SQL is a query language for MySQL is database software that SQL Server is also a software that
managing databases. uses SQL language to conduct with uses SQL language to conduct with
the database. the database.

SQL has no variables. MySQL can use variables constraints SQL Server can use variables
and data types. constraints and data types.

SQL is a programming language, MySQL is software, so it gets SQL Server is also software, so it
so that it does not get any updates. frequent updation. gets frequent updation.
Its commands are always fixed and
remain the same.

31) What is the difference between SQL and PL/SQL?

The following comparison chart explains their main differences:

SQL PL/SQL
SQL is a database structured query language PL/SQL or Procedural Language/Structured Query Language is
used to communicate with relational a dialect of SQL used to enhance the capabilities of SQL. Oracle
databases. It was developed by IBM Corporation developed it in the early 90's. It uses SQL as its
Corporations and first appeared in 1974. database language.

SQL is a declarative and data-oriented PL/SQL is a procedural and application-oriented language.

language.

SQL has no variables. PL/SQL can use variables constraints and data types.

SQL can execute only a single query at a time. PL/SQL can execute a whole block of code at once.

SQL query can be embedded in PL/SQL. PL/SQL cannot be embedded in SQL as SQL does not support
any programming language and keywords.

SQL can directly interact with the database PL/SQL cannot directly interact with the database server.
server.

SQL is like the source of data that we need to PL/SQL provides a platform where SQL data will be shown.
display.

32) Is it possible to sort a column using a column alias?

Yes. We can use the alias method in the ORDER BY instead of the WHERE clause for
sorting a column.

33) What is the difference between clustered and non-clustered

indexes in SQL?

Clustered Index Non-Clustered Index

A clustered index is a table or view where the data for The indexes other than PRIMARY indexes (clustered
the rows are stored. In a relational database, if the table indexes) are called non-clustered indexes. It has a
column contains a primary key, MySQL automatically structure separate from the data row. The non-
creates a clustered index named PRIMARY. clustered indexes are also known as secondary indexes.

Clustered indexes store the data information and the Non-clustered indexes stores only the information,
data itself. and then it will refer you to the data stored in clustered
data.

There can only be one clustered index per table. There can be one or more non-clustered indexes in a
table.

A clustered index determines how data is stored It creates a logical ordering of data rows and uses
physically in the table. Therefore, reading from a pointers for accessing the physical data files. Therefore,
clustered index is faster. reading from a clustered index is slower.

A clustered index always contains an index id of 0. A non-clustered index always contains an index id>0.

Indexing is a method to get the requested data very fast. There are mainly two types
of indexes in SQL, clustered index and non-clustered index. The differences between
these two indexes are very important from an SQL performance perspective. The
following comparison chart explains their main differences:

To read more information, click here.

34) What is the SQL query to display the current date?

There is a built-in function in SQL called GetDate(), which is used to return the current
timestamp.

35) Which are joins in SQL? Name the most commonly used
SQL joins?
SQL joins are used to retrieve data from multiple tables into a meaningful result set. It
is performed whenever you need to fetch records from two or more tables. They are
used with SELECT statement and join conditions.

The following are the most commonly used joins in SQL:

 o INNER JOIN
o LEFT OUTER JOIN
o RIGHT OUTER JOIN

36) What are the different types of joins in SQL?

Joins are used to merge two tables or retrieve data from tables. It depends on the
relationship between tables. According to the ANSI standard, the following are the
different types of joins used in SQL:

o INNER JOIN
o SELF JOIN
o LEFT OUTER JOIN
o RIGHT OUTER JOIN
o FULL OUTER JOIN
o CROSS JOIN

To read more information, click here.

37) What is INNER JOIN in SQL?

Inner join returns only those records from the tables that match the specified condition
and hides other rows and columns. In simple words, it fetches rows when there is at
least one match of rows between the tables is found. INNER JOIN keyword joins the
matching records from two tables. It is assumed as a default join, so it is optional to
use the INNER keyword with the query.

The below visual representation explain this join more clearly:

The following syntax illustrates the INNER JOIN:

1. SELECT column_lists
2. FROM table1
3. INNER JOIN table2 ON join_condition1
4. INNER JOIN table3 ON join_condition2
5. ...;

To read more information, click here.

38) What is the Right JOIN in SQL?

The Right join is used to retrieve all rows from the right-hand table and only those
rows from the other table that fulfilled the join condition. It returns all the rows from
the right-hand side table even though there are no matches in the left-hand side table.
If it finds unmatched records from the left side table, it returns a Null value. This join
is also known as Right Outer Join.
The below visual representation explain this join more clearly:

The following syntax illustrates the RIGHT JOIN:

1. SELECT colum_lists
2. FROM table1
3. RIGHT JOIN table2
4. ON join_condition;

To read more information, click here.

39) What is Left Join in SQL?

The Left Join is used to fetch all rows from the left-hand table and common records
between the specified tables. It returns all the rows from the left-hand side table even
though there are no matches on the right-hand side table. If it will not find any
matching record from the right side table, then it returns null. This join can also be
called a Left Outer Join.

The following visual representation explains it more clearly:

The following syntax illustrates the RIGHT JOIN:

1. SELECT colum_lists
2. FROM table1
3. LEFT JOIN table2
4. ON join_condition;

To read more information, click here.

40) What is Full Join in SQL?

The Full Join results from a combination of both left and right join that contains all the
records from both tables. It fetches rows when there are matching rows in any one of
the tables. This means it returns all the rows from the left-hand side table and all the
rows from the right-hand side tables. If a match is not found, it puts NULL value. It is
also known as FULL OUTER JOIN.

The following visual representation explains it more clearly:

The following syntax illustrates the FULL JOIN:

1. SELECT * FROM table1

2. FULL OUTER JOIN table2
3. ON join_condition;

To read more information, click here.

41) What is a "TRIGGER" in SQL?

A trigger is a set of SQL statements that reside in a system catalog. It is a special type
of stored procedure that is invoked automatically in response to an event. It allows us
to execute a batch of code when an insert, update or delete command is run against
a specific table because the trigger is the set of activated actions whenever DML
commands are given to the system.

SQL triggers have two main components one is action, and another is an event. When
certain actions are taken, an event occurs as a result of those actions.

We use the CREATE TRIGGER statement for creating a trigger in SQL. Here is the syntax:

1. CREATE TRIGGER trigger_name

2. (AFTER | BEFORE) (INSERT | UPDATE | DELETE)
3. ON table_name FOR EACH ROW
4. BEGIN
5. --variable declarations
 6. --trigger code
7. END;

To read more information, click here.

42) What is self-join and what is the requirement of self-join?

A SELF JOIN is used to join a table with itself. This join can be performed using table
aliases, which allow us to avoid repeating the same table name in a single sentence. It
will throw an error if we use the same table name more than once in a single query
without using table aliases.

A SELF JOIN is required when we want to combine data with other data in the same
table itself. It is often very useful to convert a hierarchical structure to a flat structure.

The following syntax illustrates the SELF JOIN:

1. SELECT column_lists
2. FROM table1 AS T1, table1 AS T2
3. WHERE join_conditions;

Example

Suppose we have a table 'Student' having the following data:

If we want to get retrieve the student_id and name from the table where student_id is
equal, and course_id is not equal, it can be done by using the self-join:

1. SELECT s1.student_id, s1.name

2. FROM student AS s1, student s2
3. WHERE s1.student_id=s2.student_id
4. AND s1.course_id<>s2.course_id;

Here is the result:

To read more information, click here.

43) What are the set operators in SQL?

We use the set operators to merge data from one or more tables of the same kind.
Although the set operators are like SQL joins, there is a significant distinction. SQL joins
combine columns from separate tables, whereas SQL set operators combine rows from
different queries. SQL queries that contain set operations are called compound
queries. The set operators in SQL are categories into four different types:

A. UNION: It combines two or more results from multiple SELECT queries into a single
result set. It has a default feature to remove the duplicate rows from the tables. The
following syntax illustrates the Union operator:

1. SELECT columns FROM table1

2. UNION
3. SELECT columns FROM table2;

B. UNION ALL: This operator is similar to the Union operator, but it does not remove
the duplicate rows from the output of the SELECT statements. The following syntax
illustrates the UNION ALL operator:
 1. SELECT columns FROM table1
2. UNION ALL
3. SELECT columns FROM table2;

C. INTERSECT: This operator returns the common records from two or more SELECT
statements. It always retrieves unique records and arranges them in ascending order
by default. Here, the number of columns and data types should be the same. The
following syntax illustrates the INTERSECT operator:

1. SELECT columns FROM table1

2. INTERSECT
3. SELECT columns FROM table2;

D. MINUS: This operator returns the records from the first query, which is not found
in the second query. It does not return duplicate values. The following syntax illustrates
the MINUS operator:

1. SELECT columns FROM table1

2. MINUS
3. SELECT columns FROM table2;

To read more information, click here.

44) What is the difference between IN and BETWEEN

operators?
The following comparison chart explains their main differences:

BETWEEN Operator IN Operator

This operator is used to selects the range of data It is a logical operator to determine whether or not a specific
between two values. The values can be value exists within a set of values. This operator reduces the
numbers, text, and dates as well. use of multiple OR conditions with the query.

It returns records whose column value lies in It compares the specified column's value and returns the
between the defined range. records when the match exists in the set of values.
The following syntax illustrates this operator: The following syntax illustrates this operator:
SELECT * FROM table_name SELECT * FROM table_name
WHERE column_name BETWEEN 'value1' AND WHERE column_name IN ('value1','value 2');
'value2';

45) What is a constraint? Tell me about its various levels.

The constraint is used to specify the rule and regulations that allows or restricts what
values/data will be stored in the table. It ensures data accuracy and integrity inside the
table. It enforces us to store valid data and prevents us from storing irrelevant data. If
any interruption occurs between the constraint and data action, the action is failed.
Some of the most commonly used constraints are NOT NULL, PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN
KEY, AUTO_INCREMENT, UNIQUE KEY, etc.

The following syntax illustrates us to create a constraint for a table:

1. CREATE TABLE table_name (

2. column1 datatype constraint,
3. column2 datatype constraint,
4. .........
5. );

SQL categories the constraints into two levels:

Column Level Constraints: These constraints are only applied to a single column and
limit the type of data that can be stored in that column.

Table Level Constraints: These constraints are applied to the entire table and limit
the type of data that can be entered.

To read more information, click here.

46) How to write an SQL query to find students' names start with
'A'?
We can write the following query to get the student details whose name starts with A:

1. SELECT * FROM student WHERE stud_name like 'A%';

Here is the demo example where we have a table named student that contains two
names starting with the 'A' character.

47) Write the SQL query to get the third maximum salary of an
employee from a table named employees.
The following query is the simplest way to get the third maximum salary of an
employee:

1. SELECT * FROM `employees` ORDER BY `salary` DESC LIMIT 1 OFFSET 2

Here is the demo example that shows how to get the third maximum salary of an
employee.
The following are the alternative way to get the third-highest salary of an employee:

A. Using LIMIT Keyword

1. SELECT salary FROM employees

2. ORDER BY salary DESC
3. LIMIT 2, 1;

B. Using Subquery

1. SELECT salary
2. FROM
3. (SELECT salary
4. FROM employees
5. ORDER BY salary DESC
6. LIMIT 3) AS Temp
7. ORDER BY salary LIMIT 1;

C. Using TOP Keyword

1. SELECT TOP 1 salary

2. FROM
 3. (SELECT DISTINCT TOP 3 salary
4. FROM employees
5. ORDER BY salary DESC) AS Temp
6. ORDER BY salary ASC;

48) What is the difference between DELETE and TRUNCATE

statements in SQL?
The main difference between them is that the delete statement deletes data without
resetting a table's identity, whereas the truncate command resets a particular table's
identity. The following comparison chart explains it more clearly:

No. DELETE TRUNCATE

1) The delete statement removes single or multiple The truncate command deletes the whole contents of
rows from an existing table depending on the an existing table without the table itself. It preserves
specified condition. the table structure or schema.

2) DELETE is a DML command. TRUNCATE is a DML command.

3) We can use the WHERE clause in the DELETE We cannot use the WHERE clause with TRUNCATE.
command.

4) DELETE statement is used to delete a row from TRUNCATE statement is used to remove all the
a table. rows from a table.

5) DELETE is slower because it maintained the log. TRUNCATE statement is faster than DELETE
statement as it deletes entire data at a time without
maintaining transaction logs.

6) You can roll back data after using the DELETE It is not possible to roll back after using the
statement. TRUNCATE statement.

7) DELETE query takes more space. TRUNCATE query occupies less space.

To read more information, click here.

49) What is the ACID property in a database?
The ACID properties are meant for the transaction that goes through a different group
of tasks. A transaction is a single logical order of data. It provides properties to
maintain consistency before and after the transaction in a database. It also ensures
that the data transactions are processed reliably in a database system.

The ACID property is an acronym for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability.

Atomicity: It ensures that all statements or operations within the transaction unit must
be executed successfully. If one part of the transaction fails, the entire transaction fails,
and the database state is left unchanged. Its main features are COMMIT, ROLLBACK,
and AUTO-COMMIT.

Consistency: This property ensures that the data must meet all validation rules. In
simple words, we can say that the database changes state only when a transaction will
be committed successfully. It also protects data from crashes.

Isolation: This property guarantees that the concurrent property of execution in the
transaction unit must be operated independently. It also ensures that statements are
transparent to each other. The main goal of providing isolation is to control
concurrency in a database.

Durability: This property guarantees that once a transaction has been committed, it
persists permanently even if the system crashes, power loss, or failed.

To read more information, click here.

50) Is a blank space or zero the same as a NULL value?

No. The NULL value is not the same as zero or a blank space. The following points
explain their main differences:

o A NULL value is a value, which is 'unavailable, unassigned, unknown or not applicable.'

It would be used in the absence of any value. We can perform arithmetic operations
on it. On the other hand, zero is a number, and a blank space is treated as a character.
o The NULL value can be treated as an unknown and missing value, but zero and blank
spaces differ from the NULL value.
o We can compare a blank space or a zero to another blank space or a zero. On the other
hand, one NULL may not be the same as another NULL. NULL indicates that no data
has been provided or that no data exists.
51) What are functions and their usage in SQL?
SQL functions are simple code snippets that are frequently used and re-used in
database systems for data processing and manipulation. Functions are the measured
values. It always performs a specific task. The following rules should be remembered
while creating functions:

o A function should have a name, and the name cannot begin with a special character
such as @, $, #, or other similar characters.
o Functions can only work with the SELECT statements.
o Every time a function is called, it compiles.
o Functions must return value or result.
o Functions are always used with input parameters.

SQL categories the functions into two types:

o User-Defined Function: Functions created by a user based on their needs are termed
user-defined functions.
o System Defined Function: Functions whose definition is defined by the system are
termed system-defined functions. They are built-in database functions.

SQL functions are used for the following purposes:

o To perform calculations on data

o To modify individual data items
o To manipulate the output
o To format dates and numbers
o To convert data types

52) What is meant by case manipulation functions? Explains its

different types in SQL.
Case manipulation functions are part of the character functions. It converts the data
from the state in which it is already stored in the table to upper, lower, or mixed case.
The conversion performed by this function can be used to format the output. We can
use it in almost every part of the SQL statement. Case manipulation functions are
mostly used when you need to search for data, and you don't have any idea that the
data you are looking for is in lower case or upper case.

There are three case manipulation functions in SQL:

LOWER: This function is used to converts a given character into lowercase. The
following example will return the 'STEPHEN' as 'stephen':

1. SELECT LOWER ('STEPHEN') AS Case_Reault FROM dual;

NOTE: Here, 'dual' is a dummy table.

UPPER: This function is used to converts a given character into uppercase. The
following example will return the 'stephen' as 'STEPHEN':

1. SELECT UPPER ('stephen') AS Case_Reault FROM dual;

INITCAP: This function is used to converts given character values to uppercase for the
initials of each word. It means every first letter of the word is converted into uppercase,
and the rest is in lower case. The following example will return the 'hello stephen' as
'Hello Stephen':

1. SELECT INITCAP ('hello stephen') AS Case_Reault FROM dual;

53) Explain character-manipulation functions? Explains its

different types in SQL.
Character-manipulation functions are used to change, extract, and alter the character
string. When one or more characters and words are passed into the function, the
function will perform its operation on those input strings and return the result.

The following are the character manipulation functions in SQL:

A) CONCAT: This function is used to join two or more values together. It always
appends the second string into the end of the first string. For example:

Input: SELECT CONCAT ('Information-', 'technology') FROM DUAL;

Output: Information-technology

B) SUBSTR: It is used to return the portion of the string from a specified start point to
an endpoint. For example:

Input: SELECT SUBSTR ('Database Management System', 9, 11) FROM DUAL;

Output: Management

C) LENGTH: This function returns the string's length in numerical value, including the
blank spaces. For example:

Input: SELECT LENGTH ('Hello Javatpoint') FROM DUAL;

Output: 16

D) INSTR: This function finds the exact numeric position of a specified character or
word in a given string. For example:

Input: SELECT INSTR ('Hello Javatpoint', 'Javatpoint');

Output: 7

E) LPAD: It returns the padding of the left-side character value for right-justified value.
For example:

Input: SELECT LPAD ('200', 6,'*');

Output: ***200

F) RPAD: It returns the padding of the right-side character value for left-justified value.
For example:

Input: SELECT RPAD ('200', 6,'*');

Output: 200***

G) TRIM: This function is used to remove all the defined characters from the
beginning, end, or both. It also trimmed extra spaces. For example:

Input: SELECT TRIM ('A' FROM 'ABCDCBA');

Output: BCDCB

H) REPLACE: This function is used to replace all occurrences of a word or portion of

the string (substring) with the other specified string value. For example:

Input: SELECT REPLACE ( 'It is the best coffee at the famous coffee shop.', 'coffee',
'tea');

Output: It is the best tea at the famous tea shop.

54) What is the usage of the NVL() function?
The NVL() function is used to convert the NULL value to the other value. The function
returns the value of the second parameter if the first parameter is NULL. If the first
parameter is anything other than NULL, it is left unchanged. This function is used in
Oracle, not in SQL and MySQL. Instead of NVL() function, MySQL have IFNULL() and
SQL Server have ISNULL() function.

55) Which function is used to return remainder in a division

operator in SQL?
The MOD function returns the remainder in a division operation.

56) What are the syntax and use of the COALESCE function?
The COALESCE() function evaluates the arguments in sequence and returns the first
NON-NULL value in a specified number of expressions. If it evaluates arguments as
NULL or not found any NON-NULL value, it returns the NULL result.

The syntax of COALESCE function is given below:

1. COALESCE (exp1, exp2, .... expn)

Example:

1. SELECT COALESCE(NULL, 'Hello', 'Javatpoint', NULL) AS Result;

This statement will return the following output:

57) How do we use the DISTINCT statement? What is its use?

The DISTINCT keyword is used to ensure that the fetched value always has unique
values. It does not allow to have duplicate values. The DISTINCT keyword is used with
the SELECT statement and retrieves different values from the table's column. We can
use it with the help of the following syntax:

1. SELECT DISTINCT column_lists FROM table_name WHERE [condition];

Suppose we have a table 'customer' containing eight records in which the name
column has some duplicate values.

If we want to get the name column without any duplicate values, the DISTINCT
keyword is required. Executing the below command will return a name column with
unique values.

58) What is the default ordering of data using the ORDER BY

clause? How could it be changed?
The ORDER BY clause is used to sort the table data either in ascending or descending
order. By default, it will sort the table in ascending order. If we want to change its
default behavior, we need to use the DESC keyword after the column name in the
ORDER BY clause.

The syntax to do this is given below:

1. SELECT expressions FROM tables

2. WHERE conditions
3. ORDER BY expression [ASC | DESC];

We have taken a customer table in the previous example. Now, we will demonstrate
the ORDER BY clause on them as well.

In the below output, we can see that the first query will sort the table data in ascending
order based on the name column. However, if we run the second query by specifying
the DESC keyword, the table's order is changed in descending order.

59) Is the following query returns the output?

 1. SELECT subject_code, AVG (marks)
2. FROM Students
3. WHERE AVG(marks) > 70
4. GROUP BY subject_code;

Answer: No. The above query does not return the output because we cannot use the
WHERE clause to restrict the groups. We need to use the HAVING clause instead of
the WHERE clause to get the correct output.

60) What is the difference between the WHERE and HAVING

clauses?
The main difference is that the WHERE clause is used to filter records before any
groupings are established, whereas the HAVING clause is used to filter values from a
group. The below comparison chart explains the most common differences:

WHERE HAVING

This clause is implemented in row operations. This clause is implemented in column

operations.

It does not allow to work with aggregate functions. It can work with aggregate functions.

This clause can be used with the SELECT, UPDATE, and DELETE This clause can only be used with the SELECT
statements. statement.

To know more differences, click here.

61) How many Aggregate functions are available in SQL?

The aggregate function is used to determine and calculate several values in a table
and return the result as a single number. For example, the average of all values, the
sum of all values, and the maximum and minimum value among particular groupings
of values.

The following syntax illustrates how to use aggregate functions:

 1. function_name (DISTINCT | ALL expression)

SQL provides seven (7) aggregate functions, which are given below:

o AVG(): This function is used to returns the average value from specified columns.
o COUNT(): This function is used to returns the number of table rows, including rows
with null values.
o MAX(): This function is used to returns the largest value among the group.
o MIN(): This function is used to returns the smallest value among the group.
o SUM(): This function is used to returns the total summed values(non-null) of the
specified column.
o FIRST(): This function is used to returns the first value of an expression.
o LAST(): This function is used to returns the last value of an expression.

62) What is SQL Injection?

SQL injection is a type of vulnerability in website and web app code that allows
attackers to control back-end operations and access, retrieve, and destroy sensitive
data from databases. In this technique, malicious SQL statements are inserted into a
database entry field, and once they are performed, the database becomes vulnerable
to an attacker. This technique is commonly used to access sensitive data and perform
administrative activities on databases by exploiting data-driven applications. It is also
known as SQLi attack.

Some common examples of SQL injection are:

o Accessing confidential data to modify an SQL query to get desired results.

o UNION attacks to steal data from different database tables.
o Examine the database to extract information regarding the version and structure of the
database.

63) What is the difference between the RANK() and

DENSE_RANK() functions?
The RANK function determines the rank for each row within your ordered partition in
the result set. If the two rows are assigned the same rank, then the next number in the
ranking will be its previous rank plus a number of duplicate numbers. For example, if
we have three records at rank 4, the next rank listed would be ranked 7.

The DENSE_RANK function assigns a unique rank for each row within a partition as
per the specified column value without any gaps. It always specifies ranking in
consecutive order. If the two rows are assigned the same rank, this function will assign
it with the same rank, and the next rank being the next sequential number. For
example, if we have 3 records at rank 4, the next rank listed would be ranked 5.

64) Is it possible to implicitly insert a row for the identity column?

Yes. We can implicitly insert a row for the identity column. Here is an example of doing
this:

1. SET IDENTITY_INSERT TABLE1 ON

2. INSERT INTO demo_table1 (id, name, branch)
3. SELECT id, name, branch FROM demo_table2
4. SET IDENTITY_INSERT OFF

65) What are SQL comments?

Comments are explanations or annotations in SQL queries that are readable by
programmers. It's used to make SQL statements easier to understand for humans.
During the parsing of SQL code, it will be ignored. Comments can be written on a
single line or across several lines.

o Single Line Comments: It starts with two consecutive hyphens (--).

o Multi-line Comments: It starts with /* and ends with */.