SQL Cheat Sheet: Questions 1 to 52
(Data Engineer Focus)
1. RDBMS Concept
Tables, rows, columns. Uses primary and foreign keys. Ensures data integrity using
normalization and ACID properties.
2. Database, Schema, Table, Alias, View
Database: container; Schema: namespace; Table: rows/columns; Alias: temporary name via
AS; View: virtual table from SELECT.
3. Local & Global Temporary Tables
#Temp = local to session; ##Global = available across sessions; auto-dropped.
4. ACID Properties
Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability — ensures reliable transactions.
5. Basics of SQL
Core commands: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, FROM, WHERE, ORDER BY.
6. Types of SQL Statements
DDL (CREATE), DML (INSERT), DCL (GRANT), TCL (COMMIT), DQL (SELECT).
7. Create, Delete, Update Tables
CREATE TABLE, DROP TABLE, DELETE FROM, TRUNCATE, UPDATE SET.
8. Entity, Attribute, ER Diagram
Entity: object/table; Attribute: column; Relationship: links between entities; ER diagram:
visual schema.
9. Query and Subquery
Subquery: nested SELECT in WHERE, FROM, or SELECT. Used with IN, EXISTS.
10. Nested & Correlated Subqueries
Nested = independent; Correlated = depends on outer query row.
11. SQL Constraints
PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN KEY, UNIQUE, NOT NULL, CHECK, DEFAULT.
12. Keys and Indexes
PK = Unique + Not Null; FK = reference to PK; Composite PK = multi-column; Index =
improves performance.
13. Types of Index
Clustered (sorts data), Non-clustered (separate pointer), Unique, Composite, Full-Text.
14. Referential Integrity
FK must match PK; options: ON DELETE/UPDATE CASCADE, RESTRICT.
15. All SQL Statement Types
Same as #6 – includes DDL, DML, DCL, TCL, DQL.
16. Join Types
INNER, LEFT, RIGHT, FULL, SELF, CROSS JOIN.
17. SQL Functions
Aggregate (SUM), Scalar (LEN), String, Date, Numeric.
18. Aggregate Functions
SUM, COUNT, AVG, MIN, MAX; use with GROUP BY, HAVING.
19. Scalar Functions
Return one value per row: LEN, UPPER, GETDATE, ROUND.
20. Manipulation Functions
REPLACE, SUBSTRING, CAST, CONVERT, TRIM.
21. Analytic Functions
Use OVER(), PARTITION BY, ORDER BY; ROW_NUMBER, LAG, LEAD.
22. Ranking Functions
RANK(), DENSE_RANK(), NTILE(); used with ORDER BY.
23. Rowset Functions
OPENQUERY(), OPENROWSET() — used for external data access.
24. Local & Global Variables
@var = local; @@var = global; declared using DECLARE, SET.
25. Set Operators
UNION, UNION ALL, INTERSECT, EXCEPT — merge result sets.
26. SQL Relationship
1:1, 1:N, M:N via PK-FK relationships.
27. Normalization
1NF (Atomic), 2NF (No partial), 3NF (No transitive), BCNF.
28. De-normalization
Adds redundancy for performance; fewer joins.
29. Stored Procedures
Precompiled SQL blocks; support parameters, logic, transactions.
30. Extended Stored Proc
Call external DLLs (e.g. xp_cmdshell); system integration.
31. Recursive Stored Proc
Proc calls itself; used for hierarchy/tree structure traversal.
32. Stored Proc vs Dynamic SQL
SP = precompiled, safe; Dynamic = flexible, runtime-built.
33. Advantages of Stored Proc
Performance, security, reuse, reduced network traffic.
34. Isolation Levels
READ UNCOMMITTED, COMMITTED, REPEATABLE READ, SNAPSHOT, SERIALIZABLE —
define transaction visibility.
35. Columnstore Index
Column-wise storage, high compression, fast for OLAP, batch processing.
36. Improve Query Performance
Use indexes, avoid SELECT *, use EXISTS, optimize joins, update stats.
37. Triggers, Cursors, Event Notification
Trigger = auto-action on table; Cursor = row loop; Event = async message.
38. Deadlocks
Circular wait; resolve with consistent access order and retry logic.
39. Commits
Marks transaction as complete; COMMIT, ROLLBACK, BEGIN TRAN.
40. Lock Types
Shared = read; Exclusive = write; Update = for modifying with lock upgrade.
41. SP vs Function
SP: EXEC, allows DML, multi-action; Function: must return value, no DML.
42. SQL Server
Microsoft's RDBMS, supports T-SQL, SSMS, BI tools, Windows/Linux.
43. Database Engine
Core SQL Server service — handles storage, queries, indexing.
44. SSMA
SQL Server Migration Assistant — migrate Oracle/MySQL to SQL Server.
45. SSIS
SQL Server Integration Services — ETL, data flow, transformation, control flow.
46. OLTP vs OLAP
OLTP: real-time transactions; OLAP: analytics, aggregates, reporting.
47. Recovery Models
Simple (no log), Full (point-in-time restore), Bulk-Logged (bulk ops).
48. SSRS
SQL Server Reporting Services — report generation, charts, PDF/Excel export.
49. PolyBase
Query external sources (Hadoop, Blob) using T-SQL; supports big data.
50. Database Design
Schema planning, ER diagrams, normalization, indexing, relationships.
51. Database Models
Relational, Document, Key-Value, Graph — based on use case.
52. Data Lineage
Track data origin, transformation, flow — for audit, debugging, governance.
