| 1 | What is a foreign key constraint, and how does it help maintain data integrity between two related tables? SQL Server › Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | SQL Server | Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | Beginner |
| 2 | How do cascading actions work with foreign key constraints, such as ON DELETE CASCADE, and what risks come with using them? SQL Server › Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | SQL Server | Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | Advanced |
| 3 | What is a primary key constraint, and why is it important for a database table? SQL Server › Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | SQL Server | Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | Beginner |
| 4 | How is a unique constraint different from a primary key constraint, and when would you use one instead of the other? SQL Server › Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | SQL Server | Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | Intermediate |
| 5 | What is a check constraint, and how do you use one to enforce a specific business rule at the database level? SQL Server › Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | SQL Server | Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | Intermediate |
| 6 | How do you temporarily disable a constraint to perform a bulk data load, and how do you safely re-enable it afterward? SQL Server › Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | SQL Server | Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | Intermediate |
| 7 | How would you add a new constraint to an existing table that already contains data, especially if some existing rows might violate that constraint? SQL Server › Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | SQL Server | Constraints (Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check & Unique) | Advanced |
| 8 | What are the most commonly used data types in SQL Server, and when would you use each one? SQL Server › Data Types & Schema Design | SQL Server | Data Types & Schema Design | Beginner |
| 9 | What is the difference between a clustered index and a nonclustered index? SQL Server › Indexes | SQL Server | Indexes | Beginner |
| 10 | What is an INNER JOIN, and how does it combine data from two tables? SQL Server › Joins | SQL Server | Joins | Beginner |
| 11 | What are the three main clauses of a MERGE statement, and what does each one control? SQL Server › Merge Statement (Upsert) | SQL Server | Merge Statement (Upsert) | Beginner |
| 12 | What is database normalization, and why is it an important concept in schema design? SQL Server › Normalization | SQL Server | Normalization | Beginner |
| 13 | What is the first normal form, and what specific rule does it require a table to follow? SQL Server › Normalization | SQL Server | Normalization | Beginner |
| 14 | Can you insert, update, or delete data through a view, and what conditions must be met for this to work? SQL Server › Views | SQL Server | Views | Beginner |
| 15 | What is the difference between COUNT(*), COUNT(1), and COUNT(column_name) in SQL Server? SQL Server › Aggregate Functions & GROUP BY | SQL Server | Aggregate Functions & GROUP BY | Intermediate |
| 16 | How do you choose an appropriately sized data type for a column to balance storage efficiency with future flexibility? SQL Server › Data Types & Schema Design | SQL Server | Data Types & Schema Design | Intermediate |
| 17 | What are the differences between DATETIME, DATETIME2, and DATE, and when would you choose each one? SQL Server › Data Types & Schema Design | SQL Server | Data Types & Schema Design | Intermediate |
| 18 | How do computed columns work in SQL Server, and what are some practical use cases for them? SQL Server › Data Types & Schema Design | SQL Server | Data Types & Schema Design | Intermediate |
| 19 | How do you update a specific value within a JSON document stored in a column without replacing the entire JSON text? SQL Server › JSON Support in SQL Server | SQL Server | JSON Support in SQL Server | Intermediate |
| 20 | What is the second normal form, and how does it build on the requirements of the first normal form? SQL Server › Normalization | SQL Server | Normalization | Intermediate |
| 21 | What is the third normal form, and what kind of dependency does it specifically eliminate? SQL Server › Normalization | SQL Server | Normalization | Intermediate |
| 22 | What practical problems, such as update anomalies, can occur in a poorly normalized database, and how does normalization address them? SQL Server › Normalization | SQL Server | Normalization | Intermediate |
| 23 | What are some alternatives to using a trigger for tasks like auditing or enforcing business rules, and when might those alternatives be preferable? SQL Server › Triggers | SQL Server | Triggers | Intermediate |
| 24 | What is a schema bound view, and what specific benefit does the WITH SCHEMABINDING option provide? SQL Server › Views | SQL Server | Views | Intermediate |
| 25 | How do you modify a specific part of an XML document stored in a column without replacing the entire document? SQL Server › XML Data Type & Querying | SQL Server | XML Data Type & Querying | Intermediate |
| 26 | What migration steps and limitations should you consider when converting an existing disk based table to a memory optimized table? SQL Server › In-Memory OLTP (Memory-Optimized Tables) | SQL Server | In-Memory OLTP (Memory-Optimized Tables) | Advanced |
| 27 | How would you validate that a value stored in a column actually contains well formed JSON before allowing it to be inserted or updated? SQL Server › JSON Support in SQL Server | SQL Server | JSON Support in SQL Server | Advanced |
| 28 | What requirements must be satisfied for the ALTER TABLE SWITCH PARTITION operation to work correctly when moving data between tables? SQL Server › Partitioning | SQL Server | Partitioning | Advanced |
| 29 | What happens to the performance and correctness of a view if the underlying tables change significantly after the view was originally created? SQL Server › Views | SQL Server | Views | Advanced |