Interview Q&A / SQL & DBMS

INTERVIEW Q&A · 69 QUESTIONS

SQL & DBMS interview questions

Joins, keys, normalisation, indexes and transactions for placement and backend interviews.

  1. Why can't you use a column alias in the WHERE clause?

    WHERE runs before SELECT, so the alias does not exist yet when the filter is evaluated. Repeat the expression, or put the query in a subquery or CTE and filter outside.

    BeginnerQuick answer1 min read
  2. What is the difference between putting a filter in ON versus WHERE in a LEFT JOIN?

    A filter on the right table in ON limits which rows match while still keeping every left row. The same filter in WHERE runs after the join and removes the NULL-extended rows, turning the LEFT JOIN into an INNER JOIN.

    IntermediateQuick answer1 min read