✅ Advanced / Tricky

Q9. What’s the difference between RANK(), DENSE_RANK(), and ROW_NUMBER()?

Example: marks table: [90, 90, 85]

ROW_NUMBER(): 1, 2, 3

RANK(): 1, 1, 3 (skips rank after ties)

DENSE_RANK(): 1, 1, 2 (no gap in ranking)

Q10. How do you find the 2nd highest salary from employee table?
Several ways:

-- Using LIMIT / OFFSET

SELECT salary FROM employees ORDER BY salary DESC LIMIT 1 OFFSET 1;

-- Using subquery
SELECT MAX(salary)
FROM employees
WHERE salary < (SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employees);

-- Using RANK()
SELECT salary FROM (
SELECT salary, RANK() OVER (ORDER BY salary DESC) AS rnk
FROM employees
) t WHERE rnk = 2;

Q11. Tricky question: What happens if you insert NULL into a column with a UNIQUE
constraint?

Allowed: UNIQUE constraint allows multiple NULL values (since NULL ≠ NULL).

Q12. Difference between primary key and unique key?

Primary Key: only one per table, auto NOT NULL, ensures entity integrity.

Unique Key: multiple per table allowed, can contain NULLs.

Q13. Can you have a foreign key referencing a non-primary key column?

✅ Yes, as long as the referenced column has a unique constraint.

Q14. What’s the difference between clustered index vs non-clustered index in

detail?

Clustered: actual data rows sorted → only 1 allowed.

Non-clustered: separate structure → many allowed.

Q15. What is a deadlock in SQL? How to prevent?

Deadlock: two transactions waiting for each other’s locks, neither can proceed.

Prevention:

Access objects in same order

Keep transactions short

Use lower isolation level if possible

💡 Very Common Tricky Question Interviewers Ask:

👉 “If a table has a composite primary key (say (A, B)), can column A have duplicate
values?”

Answer: YES, duplicates are allowed in A as long as (A,B) pair is unique.

Do you want me to prepare this into a PDF-style 50+ question handbook (with
answers) for your SQL/RDBMS interview prep like we did for Java?

You said:
give me more intvie wquestions? keep level simple/medium and hard
ChatGPT said:

Perfect 👌 Let’s build a big collection of SQL/RDBMS interview questions across 3

levels (Simple → Medium → Hard).

I’ll keep them concise with short answers or hints so you can recall them quickly
in interviews.

📌 SQL / RDBMS Interview Questions

🔹 Simple Level

What is SQL?
Structured Query Language for managing relational databases.

What’s the difference between SQL and NoSQL?

SQL: structured, relational, schema-based.

NoSQL: unstructured/semi-structured, flexible schema.

What is the difference between DDL, DML, DCL, and TCL?

DDL – Data Definition (CREATE, ALTER, DROP).

DML – Data Manipulation (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE).

DCL – Data Control (GRANT, REVOKE).

TCL – Transaction Control (COMMIT, ROLLBACK).

What is a primary key?

Uniquely identifies each row, cannot be null.

What is a foreign key?

References another table’s primary/unique key for referential integrity.

What is the difference between CHAR and VARCHAR?

CHAR: fixed length.

VARCHAR: variable length.

What is the default sort order in SQL?

ASC (ascending).

What’s the difference between IS NULL and = NULL?

Use IS NULL; = NULL is invalid.

🔹 Medium Level

What’s the difference between EXISTS and IN?

EXISTS: checks row existence (faster in large datasets).

IN: checks for values in a list.

What is a view? Advantages?

Virtual table from a query.

Security (hide sensitive columns).

Simplify queries.

Can a view be updated?

Yes, if it references a single base table without aggregations/joins.

Difference between COALESCE and ISNULL?

COALESCE: returns first non-null from a list (ANSI standard).

ISNULL: replaces only with given value (SQL Server specific).

What is a stored procedure vs function?

Procedure: can have multiple statements, return 0/many values, allow DML.

Function: must return a value, usually used in SELECTs.

What is a trigger?
Special procedure that runs automatically on insert/update/delete.

Difference between OLTP and OLAP?

OLTP: transactional, day-to-day operations.

OLAP: analytical, reporting.

How do you detect duplicate rows in a table?

SELECT col, COUNT(*)

FROM table
GROUP BY col
HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;

What is a surrogate key?

Artificial key (like auto-increment ID) instead of natural business key.

What is the difference between clustered and non-clustered index?

Clustered: physically orders rows.

Non-clustered: logical index pointing to rows.

What is the difference between ANY and ALL?

ANY: true if condition matches at least one.

ALL: true if condition matches all.

🔹 Hard / Tricky Level

What are isolation levels in SQL transactions?

Read Uncommitted → dirty reads allowed.

Read Committed → no dirty reads.

Repeatable Read → no dirty/non-repeatable reads.

Serializable → strictest, no phantom reads.

Explain deadlock with an example.

Two transactions holding locks and waiting for each other = deadlock.

How to find the Nth highest salary without using LIMIT or TOP?

SELECT salary
FROM employees e1
WHERE N-1 = (
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT salary)
FROM employees e2
WHERE e2.salary > e1.salary
);

What is the difference between DELETE with no WHERE and TRUNCATE?

Both remove all rows.

DELETE: slower, logged, triggers fire.

TRUNCATE: faster, minimal logging, no triggers.

What is a CTE (Common Table Expression)?

Temporary named result set, defined with WITH.
Useful for recursive queries.

What is the difference between star schema and snowflake schema?

Star: dimension tables directly linked to fact table.

Snowflake: dimensions normalized into multiple tables.

What is sharding in databases?

Splitting data horizontally across multiple servers for scalability.

How would you optimize a slow query?

Check execution plan.

Add indexes.

Rewrite query.

Partitioning.

Reduce joins/subqueries.

What’s the difference between correlated subquery and non-correlated subquery?

Non-correlated: runs independently.

Correlated: depends on outer query row.

Tricky: Can a table have multiple foreign keys referencing the same parent table?

✅ Yes, if referencing different columns.

Tricky: What happens if you group by a column but don’t include it in SELECT?

Error (most SQL engines) unless using aggregate function.

👉 This list covers 30 questions across levels.

I can expand this to 100+ with detailed answers and examples (like a PDF handbook)
if you want.

Would you like me to prepare a structured Q&A guide (50–100 questions) so you can
revise like an interview booklet?

You said:
give me mor equestions answers but befor ethat check if the queyr provided for this
question is correct ? How to find the Nth highest salary without using LIMIT or
TOP?
ChatGPT said:

Great question 👍 Let’s first carefully check the Nth highest salary query you
mentioned.