Top 84 SQL Interview Questions and Answers for 2026

Associate Data Engineer in SQL

For beginners

1. General questions. Expect questions about your experience, the SQL dialects you're familiar
with, and your level of proficiency.

2. Technical questions. These will cover the basics of SQL, such as what it is, its applications,
SQL statements, SQL commands, and types of SQL queries, among others.

For intermediate practitioners

1. Functions in SQL. You should know about aggregate and scalar functions, as well as built-in
and user-defined functions.

2. Advanced commands. Questions may cover topics like joins, primary and foreign keys,
indexes, and SQL relationships.

3. Database design. Expect questions on normalization, denormalization, and the differences

between various SQL statements like DELETE, TRUNCATE, and DROP.

4. Advanced queries. You may be asked about subqueries, both nested and correlated, as well
as how to perform specific tasks like finding the nth highest value in a column.

General SQL Interview Questions

1. What is SQL?

It stands for Structured Query Language, and it's a programming language used for interaction with
relational database management systems (RDBMS). This includes fetching, updating, inserting, and
removing data from tables.

2. What are SQL dialects? Give some examples.

The various versions of SQL, both free and paid, are also called SQL dialects. All the dialects of SQL
have a very similar syntax and vary insignificantly only in additional functionality. Some examples are
Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, T-SQL, and Oracle.

3. What are the main applications of SQL?

Using SQL, we can:

 create, delete, and update tables in a database

 access, manipulate, and modify data in a table

 retrieve and summarize the necessary information from a table or several tables

 add or remove certain rows or columns from a table

SQL Interview Questions for Beginners

Your interviewer may get the ball rolling by starting with the easier questions:

4. What is an SQL statement?

Also known as an SQL command. It's a string of characters interpreted by the SQL engine as a legal
command and executed accordingly. Some examples of SQL statements
are SELECT, CREATE, DELETE, DROP, REVOKE, and so on.

5. What is an SQL query?

A query is a piece of code written in SQL to access or modify data from a database.

There are two types of SQL queries: queries for data retrieval and data modification. The first ones
are used to retrieve the necessary data (this also includes limiting, grouping, ordering the data,
extracting the data from multiple tables, etc.), while the second ones are used to create, add, delete,
update, and rename the data.

6. What is an SQL subquery?

Also called an inner query, a query placed inside another query, or an outer query. A subquery may
occur in the clauses such as SELECT, FROM, WHERE, UPDATE, etc. It's also possible to have a
subquery inside another subquery. The innermost subquery is run first, and its result is passed to the
containing query (or subquery).

7. What is an SQL join?

A clause used to combine and retrieve records from two or multiple tables. SQL tables can be joined
based on the relationship between the columns of those tables. Check out our SQL joins tutorial for
more context, plus our dedicated guide to SQL joins interview questions.

8. What is an SQL comment?

A human-readable clarification of what a particular piece of code does. SQL code comments can be
single-line (preceded by a double dash --) or span over multiple lines (as follows: /*comment_text*/).
When the SQL engine runs, it ignores code comments. The purpose of adding SQL code comments is
to make the code more comprehensive for those people who will read it in the future.

9. What is an SQL alias?

A temporary name given to a table (or a column in a table) while executing a certain SQL query.
Aliases are used to improve the code readability and make the code more compact. An alias is
introduced with the AS keyword:

SELECT col_1 AS column

FROM table_name;

Technical SQL Interview Questions

Now, let's move on to the technical SQL interview questions and some potential answers to them.

When answering technical questions, the best strategy is to give as precise answers as possible. It
may look like an attempt to deviate from the main topic. In addition, it may provoke additional
questions about which you can feel less confident.

All in all, SQL allows querying a database in multiple ways. In addition, SQL easily integrates with
other programming languages, such as Python or R, so we can use their combined power.
10. What types of SQL commands do you know?

 Data Definition Language (DDL) – to define and modify the structure of a database.

 Data Manipulation Language (DML) – to access, manipulate, and modify data in a database.

 Data Control Language (DCL) – to control user access to the data in the database and give or
revoke privileges to a specific user or a group of users.

 Transaction Control Language (TCL) – to control transactions in a database.

 Data Query Language (DQL) – to perform queries on the data in a database to retrieve the
necessary information from it.

11. Give some examples of common SQL commands.

 DDL: CREATE, ALTER TABLE, DROP, TRUNCATE, and ADD COLUMN

 DML: UPDATE, DELETE, and INSERT

 DCL: GRANT and REVOKE

 TCL: COMMIT, SET TRANSACTION, ROLLBACK, and SAVEPOINT

 DQL: – SELECT

12. What is DBMS, and what types of DBMS do you know?

It stands for Database Management System, a software package used to perform various operations
on the data stored in a database, such as accessing, updating, wrangling, inserting, and removing
data. There are various types of DBMS, such as relational, hierarchical, network, graph, or object-
oriented. These types are based on the way the data is organized, structured, and stored in the
system.

13. What is RDBMS? Give some examples of RDBMS.

It stands for Relational Database Management System. It's the most common type of DBMS used for
working with data stored in multiple tables related to each other by means of shared keys. The SQL
programming language is designed to interact with RDBMS. Some examples of RDBMS are MySQL,
PostgreSQL, Oracle, MariaDB, etc.

14. What are tables and fields in SQL?

A table is an organized set of related data stored in a tabular form, i.e., in rows and columns. A field is
another term for a column of a table.

15. What types of SQL subqueries do you know?

 Single-row – returns at most one row.

 Multi-row – returns at least two rows.

 Multi-column – returns at least two columns.

 Correlated – a subquery related to the information from the outer query.

 Nested – a subquery inside another subquery.

16. What is a constraint, and why use constraints?

A set of conditions defining the type of data that can be input into each column of a table.
Constraints ensure data integrity in a table and block undesired actions.

17. What SQL constraints do you know?

 DEFAULT – provides a default value for a column.

 UNIQUE – allows only unique values.

 NOT NULL – allows only non-null values.

 PRIMARY KEY – allows only unique and strictly non-null values (NOT NULL and UNIQUE).

 FOREIGN KEY – provides shared keys between two or more tables.

18. What types of joins do you know?

 (INNER) JOIN – returns only those records that satisfy a defined join condition in both (or all)
tables. It's a default SQL join.

 LEFT (OUTER) JOIN – returns all records from the left table and those records from the right
table that satisfy a defined join condition.

 RIGHT (OUTER) JOIN – returns all records from the right table and those records from the left
table that satisfy a defined join condition.

 FULL (OUTER) JOIN – returns all records from both (or all) tables. It can be considered as a
combination of left and right joins.

Note: FULL OUTER JOIN is supported by PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and MySQL 8.0 and above,
but MySQL only allows it through UNION patterns; meanwhile, SQLite does not support RIGHT JOIN,
which can be emulated using LEFT JOIN in combination with UNION.

19. What is a primary key in SQL?

A column (or multiple columns) of a table to which the PRIMARY KEY constraint was imposed to
ensure unique and non-null values in that column. In other words, a primary key is a combination of
the NOT NULL and UNIQUE constraints. The primary key uniquely identifies each record of the
table. Each table can define at most one PRIMARY KEY (which may be composite). A PRIMARY KEY is
strongly recommended but not strictly required by all engines.

20. What is a unique key in SQL?

A column (or multiple columns) of a table to which the UNIQUE constraint was imposed to ensure
unique values in that column, including a possible NULL value (the only one).

Note:

 SQL Server: Only one NULL allowed unless you use a filtered index.

 PostgreSQL / Oracle / MySQL: Multiple NULLs allowed because NULL <> NULL.

21. What is a foreign key in SQL?

A column (or multiple columns) of a table to which the FOREIGN KEY (or UNIQUE key) constraint was
imposed to link this column to the primary key in another table (or several tables). The purpose of
foreign keys is to keep connected various tables of a database.

22. What is an SQL index?

A special data structure related to a database table and used for storing its important parts and
enabling faster data search and retrieval. Indexes are especially efficient for large databases, where
they significantly enhance query performance.

23. What types of indexes do you know?

 Unique index – doesn't allow duplicates in a table column and hence helps maintain data
integrity.

 Clustered index – defines the physical order of records of a database table and performs
data searching based on the key values. A table can have only one clustered index.

 Non-clustered index – keeps the order of the table records that don't match the physical
order of the actual data on the disk. It means that the data is stored in one place and a non-
clustered index – in another one. A table can have multiple non-clustered indexes.

24. What is a schema?

A collection of database structural elements such as tables, stored procedures, indexes, functions,
and triggers. It shows the overall database architecture, specifies the relationships between various
objects of a database, and defines different access permissions for them. Read our database schema
guide for a deeper understanding.

25. What is a SQL operator?

A reserved character, a combination of characters, or a keyword used in SQL queries to perform a

specific operation. SQL operators are commonly used with the WHERE clause to set a condition (or
conditions) for filtering the data.

26. What types of SQL operators do you know?

 Arithmetic (+, -, *, /, etc.)

 Comparison (>, <, =, >=, etc.)

 Compound (+=, -=, *=, /=, etc.)

 Logical (AND, OR, NOT, BETWEEN, etc.)

 String (%, _, +, ^, etc.)

 Set (UNION, UNION ALL, INTERSECT, and MINUS (or EXCEPT))

27. What is a clause?

A condition imposed on a SQL query to filter the data to obtain the desired result. Some examples
are WHERE, LIMIT, HAVING, LIKE, AND, OR, ORDER BY, etc.

28. What are some common statements used with the SELECT query?

The most common ones are FROM, GROUP BY, JOIN, WHERE, ORDER BY, LIMIT, and HAVING.
29. How do you create a table in SQL?

Using the CREATE TABLE statement. For example, to create a table with three columns of predefined
datatypes, we apply the following syntax:

CREATE TABLE table_name (col_1 datatype,

col_2 datatype,

col_3 datatype);

30. How to update a table?

Using the UPDATE statement. The syntax is:

UPDATE table_name

SET col_1 = value_1, col_2 = value_2

WHERE condition;

31. How to delete a table from a database?

Using the DROP TABLE statement. The syntax is: DROP TABLE table_name;.

32. How to get the count of records in a table?

Using the COUNT() aggregate function with the asterisk passed as its argument: SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM table_name;.

33. How to sort records in a table?

Using the ORDER BY statement:

SELECT * FROM table_name

ORDER BY col_1;

We can specify that we need a descending order using the DESC keyword; otherwise, the order will
be ascending by default. Also, we can sort by more than one column and specify for each one,
ascending or descending order separately. For example:

SELECT * FROM table_name

ORDER BY col_1 DESC, col_3, col_6 DESC;

34. How to select all columns from a table?

Using the asterisk * with the SELECT statement. The syntax is: SELECT * FROM table_name;.

35. How to select common records from two tables?

Using the INTERSECT statement:

SELECT col1, col2 FROM table_1

INTERSECT

SELECT col1, col2 FROM table_2;

Note: INTERSECT requires the same number of columns and compatible types.

36. What is the DISTINCT statement, and how do you use it?

This statement is used with the SELECT statement to filter out duplicates and return only unique
values from a column of a table. The syntax is:

SELECT DISTINCT col_1

FROM table_name;

37. What are relationships? Give some examples.

Relationships are the connections and correlations between entities, basically meaning how two or
more tables of a database are related to one another. For example, we can find an ID of the same
client in a table on sales data and in a customer table.

38. What is a NULL value? How is it different from zero or a blank space?

A NULL value indicates the absence of data for a certain cell of a table. Instead, zero is a valid
numeric value, and an empty string is a legal string of zero length.

39. What is the difference between SQL and NoSQL?

SQL databases are relational, structured, and use tables with predefined schemas, while NoSQL
databases are non-relational, schema-less, and designed to handle unstructured or semi-structured
data.

40. What are some common challenges when working with SQL databases?

Challenges include performance tuning for large datasets, managing indexing strategies, ensuring
data integrity with constraints, handling concurrent transactions, and optimizing query execution.

Intermediate SQL Interview Questions

In this section, we take a look at the most popular intermediate SQL questions and answers so that
you'll know what to expect from your interviewer.

41. What is a function in SQL?

A database object representing a set of SQL statements frequently used for a certain task. A function
takes in some input parameters, performs calculations or other manipulations on them, and returns
the result. Functions help improve code readability and avoid repetition of the same code snippets.

42. What types of SQL functions do you know?

  Aggregate functions – work on multiple, usually grouped records for the provided columns
of a table, and return a single value (usually by group).

 Scalar functions – work on each individual value and return a single value.

On the other hand, SQL functions can be built-in (defined by the system) or user-defined (created by
the user for their specific needs).

43. What SQL aggregate functions do you know?

 AVG() – returns the average value

 SUM() – returns the sum of values

 MIN() – returns the minimum value

 MAX() – returns the maximum value

 COUNT() – returns the number of rows, including those with null values

44. What SQL scalar functions do you know?

 LEN() (in other SQL dialects – LENGTH()) – returns the length of a string, including the blank
spaces

 UCASE() (in other SQL dialects – UPPER()) – returns a string converted to the upper case

 LCASE() (in other SQL dialects – LOWER()) – returns a string converted to the lower case

 INITCAP() – returns a string converted to the title case (i.e., each word of the string starts
from a capital letter)

 MID() (in other SQL dialects – SUBSTR()) – extracts a substring from a string

 ROUND() – returns the numerical value rounded to a specified number of decimals

 NOW() – returns the current date and time

45. What are case manipulation functions in SQL?

Case manipulation functions represent a subset of character functions, and they're used to change
the case of the text data. With these functions, we can convert the data into the upper, lower, or title
case.

 UCASE() (in other SQL dialects – UPPER()) – returns a string converted to the upper case

 LCASE() (in other SQL dialects – LOWER()) – returns a string converted to the lower case

 INITCAP() – returns a string converted to the title case (i.e., each word of the string starts
from a capital letter)

46. What are character manipulation functions in SQL?

Character manipulation functions represent a subset of character functions, and they're used to
modify the text data.

 CONCAT() – joins two or more string values appending the second string to the end of the
first one
  SUBSTRING()/SUBSTR() – returns a part of a string satisfying the provided start and end
points

 LENGTH() (in other SQL dialects – LEN()) – returns the length of a string, including the blank
spaces

 REPLACE() – replaces all occurrences of a defined substring in a provided string with another
substring

 INSTR() – returns the numeric position of a defined substring in a provided string

 LPAD() and RPAD() – return the padding of the left-side/right-side character for right-
justified/left-justified value

 TRIM() – removes all the defined characters, as well as white spaces, from the left, right, or
both ends of a provided string

47. What is the difference between local and global variables?

Local variables can be accessed only inside the function in which they were declared. Instead, global
variables, being declared outside any function, are stored in fixed memory structures and can be
used throughout the entire program.

48. What is the difference between SQL and PL/SQL?

SQL is a standard language for querying and managing relational databases, primarily used for data
manipulation and retrieval. PL/SQL (Procedural Language/SQL) is an extension of SQL used in Oracle
databases that includes procedural programming constructs like loops, conditions, and exception
handling, allowing for complex business logic to be implemented within the database. We have
another article on the Top 20 PL/SQL Interview Questions and Answers, which is a good review if
you know you will be asked about your knowledge of Oracle.

49. What is the difference between LEFT JOIN and LEFT OUTER JOIN?

There is no difference between LEFT JOIN and LEFT OUTER JOIN. They are interchangeable. SQL
allows the OUTER keyword to be optional, so LEFT JOIN is simply a shorthand for LEFT OUTER JOIN.
Both return all records from the left table and the matching records from the right table.

50. What is indexing in SQL, and how does it improve performance?

Indexing creates a special data structure that speeds up data retrieval by allowing the database to
find rows more efficiently. It works like an optimized lookup table, reducing the need for full table
scans. However, excessive indexing can slow down insert, update, and delete operations due to the
need for index maintenance.

51. What is a stored procedure, and how is it different from a function?

A stored procedure is a precompiled set of SQL statements executed as a unit to perform a task.
Procedures can modify data or schema objects, manage transactions, and return zero or more result
sets. Functions, on the other hand, are typically used in SQL expressions, must return a value (scalar
or table-valued), and in many databases are restricted from side effects. Exact behavior differs by DB
(e.g., T-SQL has scalar and table-valued functions; PostgreSQL distinguishes between functions and
procedures).

52. What is the default data ordering with the ORDER BY statement, and how do you change it?
Default is ascending (NULLS FIRST/LAST varies by DB). Use ASC/DESC per column keyword as follows:

SELECT * FROM table_name

ORDER BY col_1 DESC;

53. What are SQL set operators?

 UNION – returns the records obtained by at least one of two queries (excluding duplicates)

 UNION ALL – returns the records obtained by at least one of two queries (including
duplicates)

 INTERSECT – returns the records obtained by both queries

 EXCEPT (called MINUS in MySQL and Oracle) – returns only the records obtained by the first
query but not the second one

54. What operator is used in the query for pattern matching?

The LIKE operator in combination with the % and _ wildcards. The % wildcard represents any number
of characters including zero, while _ – strictly one character.

55. What is the difference between a primary key and a unique key in SQL?

While both types of keys ensure unique values in a column of a table, the first one uniquely identifies
each record of the table, and the second one prevents duplicates in that column.

56. What is a SQL composite primary key?

The primary key of a table, based on multiple columns.

57. What is the typical order of SQL clauses in a SELECT statement?

SELECT – FROM – JOIN – ON – WHERE – GROUP BY – HAVING – ORDER BY – LIMIT

58. In which order does the interpreter execute the common statements in the SELECT query?

Here is the SQL order of execution:

FROM → ON → JOIN → WHERE → GROUP BY → HAVING → SELECT → ORDER BY → LIMIT/OFFSET

(FETCH)

59. What is a view in SQL?

A virtual table containing a subset of data retrieved from one or more database tables (or other
views). Standard views store no data; materialized views do. Views can simplify queries, encapsulate
logic, and, combined with privileges, restrict columns/rows. They can join/aggregate data from
multiple tables.

60. Can we create a view based on another view in SQL?

Yes. This is also known as nested views. However, we should avoid nesting multiple views since the
code becomes difficult to read and debug.

61. Can we still use a view if the original table is deleted?

No. Any views based on that table will become invalid after deleting the base table. If we try to use
such a view anyway, we'll receive an error message.

62. What types of SQL relationships do you know?

 One-to-one – each record in one table corresponds to only one record in another table

 One-to-many – each record in one table corresponds to several records in another table

 Many-to-many – each record in both tables corresponds to several records in another table

63. What are the possible values of a BOOLEAN data field?

In some SQL dialects, such as PostgreSQL, the BOOLEAN data type exists explicitly and takes
values TRUE, FALSE, or NULL. In other dialects, such as Microsoft SQL Server, the BIT datatype is used
to store Boolean values as integers 1 (true) or 0 (false).

64. What is normalization in SQL?

Normalization is a process of database design that includes organizing and restructuring data in a
way to reduce data redundancy, dependency, duplication, and inconsistency. This leads to enhanced
data integrity, more tables within the database, more efficient data access and security control, and
greater query flexibility.

65. What is denormalization in SQL?

Denormalization is the process opposite of normalization: it introduces data redundancy and

combines data from multiple tables. Denormalization optimizes the performance of the database
infrastructure in situations when read operations are more important than write operations since it
helps avoid complex joins and reduces the time of query running.

66. What is the difference between renaming a column and giving an alias to it?

Renaming a column means permanently changing its actual name in the original table. Giving an alias
to a column means giving it a temporary name while executing an SQL query, with the purpose to
make the code more readable and compact.

67. What is the difference between nested and correlated subqueries?

A correlated subquery is an inner query nested in a bigger (outer) query that refers to the values
from the outer query for its execution, meaning that a correlated subquery depends on its outer
query. Instead, a non-correlated subquery doesn't rely on the data from the outer query and can be
run independently of it.

68. What is the difference between clustered and non-clustered indexes?

While a clustered index defines the physical order of records of a table and performs data searching
based on the key values, a non-clustered index keeps the order of records that do not match the
physical order of the actual data on the disk. A table can have only one clustered index but many
non-clustered ones.

69. What is the CASE() function?

The way to implement the if-then-else logic in SQL. This function sequentially checks the provided
conditions in the WHEN clauses and returns the value from the corresponding THEN clause when the
first condition is satisfied. If none of the conditions is satisfied, the function returns the value from
the ELSE clause in case it's provided, otherwise, it returns NULL. The syntax is:

CASE

WHEN condition_1 THEN value_1

WHEN condition_2 THEN value_2

WHEN condition_3 THEN value_3

...

ELSE value

END;

70. What is the difference between the DELETE and TRUNCATE statements?

DELETE is a DML (Data Manipulation Language) command used to remove one or more rows from a
table based on a condition in the WHERE clause. It is reversible only if wrapped in a transaction (via
ROLLBACK).

TRUNCATE is a DDL (Data Definition Language) command that removes all rows from a table by
deallocating pages. It is faster but generally irreversible, and cannot be used on tables that are
referenced by a foreign key.

71. What is the difference between the DROP and TRUNCATE statements?

DROP deletes a table from the database completely, including the table structure and all the
associated constraints, relationships with other tables, and access privileges. TRUNCATE deletes all
rows from a table without affecting the table structure and constraints. Both are DDL. DROP
removes the table and its metadata; TRUNCATE deletes all rows but keeps the table definition.
Performance and transactional behavior depend on the DB engine.

72. What is the difference between the HAVING and WHERE statements?

The first one works on aggregated data after they are grouped, while the second one checks each
row individually. If both statements are present in a query, they appear in the following
order: WHERE – GROUP BY – HAVING. The SQL engine interprets them also in the same order.

73. How do you add a record to a table?

Using the INSERT INTO statement in combination with VALUES. The syntax is:

INSERT INTO table_name

VALUES (value_1, value_2, ...);

74. How do you delete a record from a table?

Using the DELETE statement. The syntax is:

DELETE FROM table_name

WHERE condition;

In this way, we can also delete multiple records if they satisfy the provided condition.

75. How do you add a column to a table?

Using the ALTER TABLE statement in combination with ADD. The syntax is:

ALTER TABLE table_name

ADD column_name datatype;

76. How do you rename a column of a table?

Using the ALTER TABLE statement in combination with RENAME COLUMN ... TO ... The syntax is:

ALTER TABLE table_name

RENAME COLUMN old_column_name TO new_column_name;

77. How do you delete a column from a table?

Using the ALTER TABLE statement in combination with DROP COLUMN. The syntax is:

ALTER TABLE table_name

DROP COLUMN column_name;

78. How do you select all even or all odd records in a table?

By checking the remainder of the division by 2. In some SQL versions (e.g., PostgreSQL and MySQL),
we use the MOD function, in the others (Microsoft SQL Server and SQLite) – the modulo operator
(%). To select all even records using MOD:

SELECT * FROM table_name

WHERE MOD(ID_column, 2) = 0;

To select all even records using %:

SELECT * FROM table_name

WHERE ID_column % 2 = 0;

To select all odd records, the syntax is identical in both cases, only that we would use the inequality
operator <> instead of =.

79. How to prevent duplicate records when making a query?

Using the DISTINCT statement in combination with SELECT or creating a unique key for that table.

80. How do you insert many rows in a table?

Using the INSERT INTO statement in combination with VALUES. The syntax is:

INSERT INTO table_name

VALUES (value_1, value_2, ...),

(value_3, value_4, ...),

(value_5, value_6, ...),

...;

81. How do you find the nth highest value in a column of a table?

Using window functions to handle ties correctly:

SELECT column_name

FROM (

SELECT column_name, DENSE_RANK() OVER (ORDER BY column_name DESC) AS rnk

FROM table_name

)t

WHERE rnk = :n;

For the nth row by order (ignoring ties): ORDER BY column_name DESC OFFSET n-1 ROWS FETCH
NEXT 1 ROW ONLY.

82. How do you find the values in a text column of a table that start with a certain letter?

Using the LIKE operator in combination with the % and _ wildcards. For example, we need to find all
surnames in a table that start with "A". The query is:

SELECT * FROM table_name

WHERE surname LIKE 'A_';

Here, we assume that a surname must contain at least two letters. Without this assumption
(meaning that a surname can be just A), the query is as follows:

SELECT * FROM table_name

WHERE surname LIKE 'A%';

83. How do you find the last id in a table?

The simplest method is to use the aggregate function MAX().

SELECT MAX(id) AS highest_id

FROM table_name;

Using ORDER BY with LIMIT or TOP

SELECT id

FROM table_name

ORDER BY id DESC

LIMIT 1;

84. How to select random rows from a table?

Using the RAND() function in combination with ORDER BY and LIMIT. In some SQL dialects, such as
PostgreSQL, it's called RANDOM(). For example, the following code will return five random rows from
a table in MySQL:

SELECT * FROM table_name

ORDER BY RAND()

LIMIT 5;