Oracle Interview Questions

Oracle Interview Questions
1.
Explain the difference between a hot backup and a cold backup and the
benefits associated with each.
A hot backup is basically taking a backup of the database while it is still up and
running and it must be in archive log mode. A cold backup is taking a backup of the
database while it is shut down and does not require being in archive log mode. The
benefit of taking a hot backup is that the database is still available for use while the
backup is occurring and you can recover the database to any point in time. The
benefit of taking a cold backup is that it is typically easier to administer the backup
and recovery process. In addition, since you are taking cold backups the database
does not require being in archive log mode and thus there will be a slight
performance gain as the database is not cutting archive logs to disk.
2.
You have just had to restore from backup and do not have any control files.
How would you go about bringing up this database?
I would create a text based backup control file, stipulating where on disk all the data
files were and then issue the recover command with the using backup control file
clause.
3.
How do you switch from an init.ora file to a spfile?
Issue the create spfile from pfile command.
4.
Explain the difference between a data block, an extent and a segment.
A data block is the smallest unit of logical storage for a database object. As objects
grow they take chunks of additional storage that are composed of contiguous data
blocks. These groupings of contiguous data blocks are called extents. All the extents
that an object takes when grouped together are considered the segment of the
database object.
5.
Give two examples of how you might determine the structure of the table
DEPT.
Use the describe command or use the dbms_metadata.get_ddl package.
6.
Where would you look for errors from the database engine?
In the alert log.
7.
Compare and contrast TRUNCATE and DELETE for a table.
Both the truncate and delete command have the desired outcome of getting rid of
all the rows in a table. The difference between the two is that the truncate
command is a DDL operation and just moves the high water mark and produces few
rollback data. The delete command, on the other hand, is a DML operation, which
will produce rollback data and thus take longer to complete.
8.
Give the reasoning behind using an index.
Faster access to data blocks in a table.
9.
Give the two types of tables involved in producing a star schema and the
type of data they hold.
Fact tables and dimension tables. A fact table contains measurements while
dimension tables will contain data that will help describe the fact tables.
10.
What type of index should you use on a fact table?
A Bitmap index.
11.
Give some examples of the types of database contraints you may find in
Oracle and indicate their purpose.
A Primary or Unique Key can be used to enforce uniqueness on one or more
columns.
A Referential Integrity Contraint can be used to enforce a Foreign Key relationship
between two tables.
A Not Null constraint - to ensure a value is entered in a column
A Value Constraint - to check a column value against a specific set of values.
12.
A table is classified as a parent table and you want to drop and re-create it.
How would you do this without affecting the children tables?
Disable the foreign key constraint to the parent, drop the table, re-create the table,
enable the foreign key constraint.
13.
Explain the difference between ARCHIVELOG mode and NOARCHIVELOG mode
and the benefits and disadvantages to each.
ARCHIVELOG mode is a mode that you can put the database in for creating a
backup of all transactions that have occurred in the database so that you can
recover to any point in time. NOARCHIVELOG mode is basically the absence of
ARCHIVELOG mode and has the disadvantage of not being able to recover to any
point in time. NOARCHIVELOG mode does have the advantage of not having to write
transactions to an archive log and thus increases the performance of the database
slightly.
14.
What command would you use to create a backup control file?
Alter database backup control file to trace.
15.
Give the stages of instance startup to a usable state where normal users may
access it.
STARTUP NOMOUNT - Instance startup
STARTUP MOUNT - The database is mounted
STARTUP OPEN - The database is opened
16.
What column differentiates the V$ views to the GV$ views and how?
The INST_ID column which indicates the instance in a RAC environment the
information came from.
17.
How would you go about generating an EXPLAIN plan?
Create a plan table with utlxplan.sql.
Use the explain plan set statement_id = 'tst1' into plan_table for a SQL statement
Look at the explain plan with utlxplp.sql or utlxpls.sql
18.
How would you go about increasing the buffer cache hit ratio?
Use the buffer cache advisory over a given workload and then query the
v$db_cache_advice table. If a change was necessary then I would use the alter
system set db_cache_size command.
19.
Explain an ORA-01555.
You get this error when you get a snapshot too old within rollback. It can usually be
solved by increasing the undo retention or increasing the size of rollbacks. You
should also look at the logic involved in the application getting the error message.
20.
Explain the difference between $ORACLE_HOME and $ORACLE_BASE.
ORACLE_BASE is the root directory for oracle. ORACLE_HOME located beneath
ORACLE_BASE is where the oracle products reside.
1.
How would you determine the time zone under which a database was
operating?
SELECT dbtimezone FROM DUAL;
2.
Explain the use of setting GLOBAL_NAMES equal to TRUE.
It ensure the use of consistent naming conventions for databases and links in a
networked environment.
3.
What command would you use to encrypt a PL/SQL application?
WRAP
4.
Explain the difference between a FUNCTION, PROCEDURE and PACKAGE.
They are all named PL/SQL blocks.
Function must return a value. Can be called inside a query.
Procedure may or may not return value.
Package is the collection of functions, procedures, variables which can be logically
grouped together.
5.
Explain the use of table functions.
6.
Name three advisory statistics you can collect.
7.
Where in the Oracle directory tree structure are audit traces placed?
8.
Explain materialized views and how they are used.
9.
When a user process fails, what background process cleans up after it?
PMON
10.
What background process refreshes materialized views?
Job Queue Process (CJQ)
11.
How would you determine what sessions are connected and what resources
they are waiting for?
v$session,v$session_wait
12.
Describe what redo logs are.
13.
How would you force a log switch?
alter system switch logfile;
14.
Give two methods you could use to determine what DDL changes have been
made.
15.
What does coalescing a tablespace do?
Coalesce simply takes contigous free extents and makes them into a single bigger
free extent.
16.
What is the difference between a TEMPORARY tablespace and a PERMANENT
tablespace?
TEMP tablespace gets cleared once the transaction is done where as PERMANENT
tablespace retails the data.
17.
Name a tablespace automatically created when you create a database.
SYSTEM
18.
When creating a user, what permissions must you grant to allow them to
connect to the database?
Grant create session to username;
19.
How do you add a data file to a tablespace?
alter tablespace USERS add datafile '/ora01/oradata/users02.dbf' size 50M;
20.
How do you resize a data file?
alter database datafile '/ora01/oradata/users02.dbf' resize 100M;
21.
What view would you use to look at the size of a data file?
dba_data_files
22.
What view would you use to determine free space in a tablespace?
dba_free_space
23.
How would you determine who has added a row to a table?
By implementing an INSERT trigger for logging details during each INSERT operation
on the table
24.
How can you rebuild an index?
ALTER INDEX index_name REBUILD;
25.
Explain what partitioning is and what its benefit is.
A table partition is also a table segment, and by using partitioning technique we can
enhance performance of table access.
26.
You have just compiled a PL/SQL package but got errors, how would you view
the errors?
show errors
27.
How can you gather statistics on a table?
exec dbms_stats.gather_table_stats
Also, remember to analyze all associated indexes on that table using
dbms_stats.gather_index_stats
28.
How can you enable a trace for a session?
alter session set sql_trace='TRUE';
29.
What is the difference between the SQL*Loader and IMPORT utilities?
SQL*LOADER loads external data which is in OS files to oracle database tables while
IMPORT utility imports data only which is exported by EXPORT utility of oracle
database.
30.
Name two files used for network connection to a database.
TNSNAMES.ORA and SQLNET.ORA
1.
Describe the difference between a procedure, function and anonymous pl/sql
block. Candidate should mention use of DECLARE statement, a function must return
a value while a procedure doesn't have to.
2.
What is a mutating table error and how can you get around it? This happens
with triggers. It occurs because the trigger is trying to update a row it is currently
using. The usual fix involves either use of views or temporary tables so the
database is selecting from one while updating the other.
3.
Describe the use of %ROWTYPE and %TYPE in PL/SQL Expected answer:
%ROWTYPE allows you to associate a variable with an entire table row. The %TYPE
associates a variable with a single column type.
4.
What packages (if any) has Oracle provided for use by developers? Expected
answer: Oracle provides the DBMS_ series of packages. There are many which
developers should be aware of such as DBMS_SQL, DBMS_PIPE,
DBMS_TRANSACTION, DBMS_LOCK, DBMS_ALERT, DBMS_OUTPUT, DBMS_JOB,
DBMS_UTILITY, DBMS_DDL, UTL_FILE. If they can mention a few of these and
describe how they used them, even better. If they include the SQL routines provided
by Oracle, great, but not really what was asked.
5.
Describe the use of PL/SQL tables Expected answer: PL/SQL tables are scalar
arrays that can be referenced by a binary integer. They can be used to hold values
for use in later queries or calculations. In Oracle 8 they will be able to be of the
%ROWTYPE designation, or RECORD.
6.
When is a declare statement needed ? The DECLARE statement is used in
PL/SQL anonymous blocks such as with stand alone, non-stored PL/SQL procedures.
It must come first in a PL/SQL stand alone file if it is used.
7.
In what order should a open/fetch/loop set of commands in a PL/SQL block be
implemented if you use the %NOTFOUND cursor variable in the exit when
statement? Why? Expected answer: OPEN then FETCH then LOOP followed by the
exit when. If not specified in this order will result in the final return being done twice
because of the way the %NOTFOUND is handled by PL/SQL.
8.
What are SQLCODE and SQLERRM and why are they important for PL/SQL
developers? Expected answer: SQLCODE returns the value of the error number for
the last error encountered. The SQLERRM returns the actual error message for the
last error encountered. They can be used in exception handling to report, or, store in
an error log table, the error that occurred in the code. These are especially useful
for the WHEN OTHERS exception.
9.
How can you find within a PL/SQL block, if a cursor is open? Expected answer:
Use the %ISOPEN cursor status variable.
10.
How can you generate debugging output from PL/SQL? Expected answer: Use
the DBMS_OUTPUT package. Another possible method is to just use the SHOW
ERROR command, but this only shows errors. The DBMS_OUTPUT package can be
used to show intermediate results from loops and the status of variables as the
procedure is executed. The new package UTL_FILE can also be used.
11.
What are the types of triggers? Expected Answer: There are 12 types of
triggers in PL/SQL that consist of combinations of the BEFORE, AFTER, ROW, TABLE,
INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE and ALL key words: BEFORE ALL ROW INSERT AFTER ALL
ROW INSERT BEFORE INSERT AFTER INSERT etc.
1.
A tablespace has a table with 30 extents in it. Is this bad? Why or why not.
Multiple extents in and of themselves aren?t bad. However if you also have chained
rows this can hurt performance.
2.
How do you set up tablespaces during an Oracle installation?
You should always attempt to use the Oracle Flexible Architecture standard or
another partitioning scheme to ensure proper separation of SYSTEM, ROLLBACK,
REDO LOG, DATA, TEMPORARY and INDEX segments.
3.
You see multiple fragments in the SYSTEM tablespace, what should you check
first?
Ensure that users don?t have the SYSTEM tablespace as their TEMPORARY or
DEFAULT tablespace assignment by checking the DBA_USERS view.
4.
What are some indications that you need to increase the SHARED_POOL_SIZE
parameter?
Poor data dictionary or library cache hit ratios, getting error ORA-04031. Another
indication is steadily decreasing performance with all other tuning parameters the
same.
5.
What is the general guideline for sizing db_block_size and
db_multi_block_read for an application that does many full table scans?
Oracle almost always reads in 64k chunks. The two should have a product equal to
64 or a multiple of 64.
6.
What is the fastest query method for a table
Fetch by rowid
7.
Explain the use of TKPROF? What initialization parameter should be turned on
to get full TKPROF output?
The tkprof tool is a tuning tool used to determine cpu and execution times for SQL
statements. You use it by first setting timed_statistics to true in the initialization file
and then turning on tracing for either the entire database via the sql_trace
parameter or for the session using the ALTER SESSION command. Once the trace
file is generated you run the tkprof tool against the trace file and then look at the
output from the tkprof tool. This can also be used to generate explain plan output.
8.
When looking at v$sysstat you see that sorts (disk) is high. Is this bad or
good? If bad -How do you correct it?
If you get excessive disk sorts this is bad. This indicates you need to tune the sort
area parameters in the initialization files. The major sort are parameter is the
SORT_AREA_SIZe parameter.
9.
When should you increase copy latches? What parameters control copy
latches
When you get excessive contention for the copy latches as shown by the "redo
copy" latch hit ratio. You can increase copy latches via the initialization parameter
LOG_SIMULTANEOUS_COPIES to twice the number of CPUs on your system.
10.
Where can you get a list of all initialization parameters for your instance?
How about an indication if they are default settings or have been changed
You can look in the init.ora file for an indication of manually set parameters. For all
parameters, their value and whether or not the current value is the default value,
look in the v$parameter view.
11.
Describe hit ratio as it pertains to the database buffers. What is the difference
between instantaneous and cumulative hit ratio and which should be used for
tuning
The hit ratio is a measure of how many times the database was able to read a value
from the buffers verses how many times it had to re-read a data value from the
disks. A value greater than 80-90% is good, less could indicate problems. If you
simply take the ratio of existing parameters this will be a cumulative value since the
database started. If you do a comparison between pairs of readings based on some
arbitrary time span, this is the instantaneous ratio for that time span. Generally
speaking an instantaneous reading gives more valuable data since it will tell you
what your instance is doing for the time it was generated over.
12.
Discuss row chaining, how does it happen? How can you reduce it? How do
you correct it
Row chaining occurs when a VARCHAR2 value is updated and the length of the new
value is longer than the old value and won?t fit in the remaining block space. This
results in the row chaining to another block. It can be reduced by setting the
storage parameters on the table to appropriate values. It can be corrected by export
and import of the effected table.
1.
Give one method for transferring a table from one schema to another:
There are several possible methods, export-import, CREATE TABLE... AS SELECT, or
COPY.
2.
What is the purpose of the IMPORT option IGNORE? What is it?s default
setting
The IMPORT IGNORE option tells import to ignore "already exists" errors. If it is not
specified the tables that already exist will be skipped. If it is specified, the error is
ignored and the tables data will be inserted. The default value is N.
3.
You have a rollback segment in a version 7.2 database that has expanded
beyond optimal, how can it be restored to optimal
Use the ALTER TABLESPACE ..... SHRINK command.
4.
If the DEFAULT and TEMPORARY tablespace clauses are left out of a CREATE
USER command what happens? Is this bad or good? Why
The user is assigned the SYSTEM tablespace as a default and temporary tablespace.
This is bad because it causes user objects and temporary segments to be placed
into the SYSTEM tablespace resulting in fragmentation and improper table
placement (only data dictionary objects and the system rollback segment should be
in SYSTEM).
5.
What are some of the Oracle provided packages that DBAs should be aware
of
Oracle provides a number of packages in the form of the DBMS_ packages owned by
the SYS user. The packages used by DBAs may include: DBMS_SHARED_POOL,
DBMS_UTILITY, DBMS_SQL, DBMS_DDL, DBMS_SESSION, DBMS_OUTPUT and
DBMS_SNAPSHOT. They may also try to answer with the UTL*.SQL or CAT*.SQL
series of SQL procedures. These can be viewed as extra credit but aren?t part of the
answer.
6.
What happens if the constraint name is left out of a constraint clause
The Oracle system will use the default name of SYS_Cxxxx where xxxx is a system
generated number. This is bad since it makes tracking which table the constraint
belongs to or what the constraint does harder.
7.
What happens if a tablespace clause is left off of a primary key constraint
clause
This results in the index that is automatically generated being placed in then users
default tablespace. Since this will usually be the same tablespace as the table is
being created in, this can cause serious performance problems.
8.
What is the proper method for disabling and re-enabling a primary key
constraint
You use the ALTER TABLE command for both. However, for the enable clause you
must specify the USING INDEX and TABLESPACE clause for primary keys.
9.
What happens if a primary key constraint is disabled and then enabled
without fully specifying the index clause
The index is created in the user?s default tablespace and all sizing information is
lost. Oracle doesn?t store this information as a part of the constraint definition, but
only as part of the index definition, when the constraint was disabled the index was
dropped and the information is gone.
10.
(On UNIX) When should more than one DB writer process be used? How many
should be used
If the UNIX system being used is capable of asynchronous IO then only one is
required, if the system is not capable of asynchronous IO then up to twice the
number of disks used by Oracle number of DB writers should be specified by use of
the db_writers initialization parameter.
11.
You are using hot backup without being in archivelog mode, can you recover
in the event of a failure? Why or why not
You can?t use hot backup without being in archivelog mode. So no, you couldn?t
recover.
12.
What causes the "snapshot too old" error? How can this be prevented or
mitigated
This is caused by large or long running transactions that have either wrapped onto
their own rollback space or have had another transaction write on part of their
rollback space. This can be prevented or mitigated by breaking the transaction into
a set of smaller transactions or increasing the size of the rollback segments and
their extents.
13. How can you tell if a database object is invalid By checking the status column of
the DBA_, ALL_ or USER_OBJECTS views, depending upon whether you own or only
have permission on the view or are using a DBA account.
13.
A user is getting an ORA-00942 error yet you know you have granted them
permission on the table, what else should you check
You need to check that the user has specified the full name of the object (select
empid from scott.emp; instead of select empid from emp;) or has a synonym that
balls to the object (create synonym emp for scott.emp;)
14.
A developer is trying to create a view and the database won?t let him. He has
the "DEVELOPER" role which has the "CREATE VIEW" system privilege and SELECT
grants on the tables he is using, what is the problem
You need to verify the developer has direct grants on all tables used in the view. You
can?t create a stored object with grants given through views.
15.
If you have an example table, what is the best way to get sizing data for the
production table implementation
The best way is to analyze the table and then use the data provided in the
DBA_TABLES view to get the average row length and other pertinent data for the
calculation. The quick and dirty way is to look at the number of blocks the table is
actually using and ratio the number of rows in the table to its number of blocks
against the number of expected rows.
16.
How can you find out how many users are currently logged into the
database? How can you find their operating system id
There are several ways. One is to look at the v$session or v$process views. Another
way is to check the current_logins parameter in the v$sysstat view. Another if you
are on UNIX is to do a "ps -ef|grep oracle|wc -l? command, but this only works
against a single instance installation.
17.
A user selects from a sequence and gets back two values, his select is:
SELECT pk_seq.nextval FROM dual;What is the problem Somehow two values have
been inserted into the dual table. This table is a single row, single column table that
should only have one value in it.
18.
How can you determine if an index needs to be dropped and rebuilt
Run the ANALYZE INDEX command on the index to validate its structure and then
calculate the ratio of LF_BLK_LEN/LF_BLK_LEN+BR_BLK_LEN and if it isn?t near 1.0
(i.e. greater than 0.7 or so) then the index should be rebuilt. Or if the ratio
BR_BLK_LEN/ LF_BLK_LEN+BR_BLK_LEN is nearing 0.3.
1.
How can variables be passed to a SQL routine
By use of the & symbol. For passing in variables the numbers 1-8 can be used (&1,
&2,...,&8) to pass the values after the command into the SQLPLUS session. To be
prompted for a specific variable, place the ampersanded variable in the code itself:
"select * from dba_tables where owner=&owner_name;" . Use of double
ampersands tells SQLPLUS to resubstitute the value for each subsequent use of the
variable, a single ampersand will cause a reprompt for the value unless an ACCEPT
statement is used to get the value from the user.
2.
You want to include a carriage return/linefeed in your output from a SQL
script, how can you do this
The best method is to use the CHR() function (CHR(10) is a return/linefeed) and the
concatenation function "||". Another method, although it is hard to document and
isn?t always portable is to use the return/linefeed as a part of a quoted string.
3.
How can you call a PL/SQL procedure from SQL
By use of the EXECUTE (short form EXEC) command.

4.
How do you execute a host operating system command from within SQL
By use of the exclamation ball "!" (in UNIX and some other OS) or the HOST (HO)
command.
5.
You want to use SQL to build SQL, what is this called and give an example
This is called dynamic SQL. An example would be: set lines 90 pages 0 termout off
feedback off verify off spool drop_all.sql select ?drop user ?||username||? cascade;?
from dba_users where username not in ("SYS?,?SYSTEM?); spool off Essentially you
are looking to see that they know to include a command (in this case DROP
USER...CASCADE;) and that you need to concatenate using the ?||? the values
selected from the database.
6.
What SQLPlus command is used to format output from a select
This is best done with the COLUMN command.
7.
You want to group the following set of select returns, what can you group on
Max(sum_of_cost), min(sum_of_cost), count(item_no), item_no The only column that
can be grouped on is the "item_no" column, the rest have aggregate functions
associated with them.
8.
What special Oracle feature allows you to specify how the cost based system
treats a SQL statement
The COST based system allows the use of HINTs to control the optimizer path
selection. If they can give some example hints such as FIRST ROWS, ALL ROWS,
USING INDEX, STAR, even better.
9.
You want to determine the location of identical rows in a table before
attempting to place a unique index on the table, how can this be done
Oracle tables always have one guaranteed unique column, the rowid column. If you
use a min/max function against your rowid and then select against the proposed
primary key you can squeeze out the rowids of the duplicate rows pretty quick. For
example: select rowid from emp e where e.rowid > (select min(x.rowid) from emp x
where x.emp_no = e.emp_no); In the situation where multiple columns make up the
proposed key, they must all be used in the where clause.
10.
What is a Cartesian product
A Cartesian product is the result of an unrestricted join of two or more tables. The
result set of a three table Cartesian product will have x * y * z number of rows
where x, y, z correspond to the number of rows in each table involved in the join.
11. You are joining a local and a remote table, the network manager complains
about the traffic involved, how can you reduce the network traffic Push the
processing of the remote data to the remote instance by using a view to pre-select
the information for the join. This will result in only the data required for the join
being sent across.
11.
What is the default ordering of an ORDER BY clause in a SELECT statement
Ascending
12.
What is tkprof and how is it used
The tkprof tool is a tuning tool used to determine cpu and execution times for SQL
statements. You use it by first setting timed_statistics to true in the initialization file
and then turning on tracing for either the entire database via the sql_trace
parameter or for the session using the ALTER SESSION command. Once the trace
file is generated you run the tkprof tool against the trace file and then look at the
output from the tkprof tool. This can also be used to generate explain plan output.
13.
What is explain plan and how is it used
The EXPLAIN PLAN command is a tool to tune SQL statements. To use it you must
have an explain_table generated in the user you are running the explain plan for.
This is created using the utlxplan.sql script. Once the explain plan table exists you
run the explain plan command giving as its argument the SQL statement to be
explained. The explain_plan table is then queried to see the execution plan of the
statement. Explain plans can also be run using tkprof.
14.
How do you set the number of lines on a page of output? The width
The SET command in SQLPLUS is used to control the number of lines generated per
page and the width of those lines, for example SET PAGESIZE 60 LINESIZE 80 will
generate reports that are 60 lines long with a line width of 80 characters. The
PAGESIZE and LINESIZE options can be shortened to PAGES and LINES.
15.
How do you prevent output from coming to the screen
The SET option TERMOUT controls output to the screen. Setting TERMOUT OFF turns
off screen output. This option can be shortened to TERM.
16.
How do you prevent Oracle from giving you informational messages during
and after a SQL statement execution
The SET options FEEDBACK and VERIFY can be set to OFF.
17.
How do you generate file output from SQL
By use of the SPOOL comm
1.
What is a CO-RELATED SUBQUERY
A CO-RELATED SUBQUERY is one that has a correlation name as table or view

designator in the FROM clause of the outer query and the same correlation name as
a qualifier of a search condition in the WHERE clause of the subquery. eg
SELECT field1 from table1 X
WHERE field2>(select avg(field2) from table1 Y
where
field1=X.field1);
(The subquery in a correlated subquery is revaluated for every row of the table or
view named in the outer query.)
2.
What are various joins used while writing SUBQUERIES
Self join-Its a join foreign key of a table references the same table.
Outer Join--Its a join condition used where One can query all the rows of one of the
tables in the join condition even though they don't satisfy the join condition.
Equi-join--Its a join condition that retrieves rows from one or more tables in which
one or more columns in one table are equal to one or more columns in the second
table.
3.
What are various constraints used in SQL
NULL NOT NULL CHECK DEFAULT
4.
What are different Oracle database objects
TABLES VIEWS INDEXES SYNONYMS SEQUENCES TABLESPACES etc
5.
What is difference between Rename and Alias
Rename is a permanent name given to a table or column whereas Alias is a
temporary name given to a table or column which do not exist once the SQL
statement is executed.
6.
What is a view
A view is stored procedure based on one or more tables, its a virtual table.
7.
What are various privileges that a user can grant to another user
SELECT CONNECT RESOURCE
8.
What is difference between UNIQUE and PRIMARY KEY constraints
A table can have only one PRIMARY KEY whereas there can be any number of
UNIQUE keys. The columns that compose PK are automatically define NOT NULL,
whereas a column that compose a UNIQUE is not automatically defined to be
mandatory must also specify the column is NOT NULL.
9.
Can a primary key contain more than one columns
Yes
10.
How you will avoid duplicating records in a query
By using DISTINCT
11.
What is difference between SQL and SQL*PLUS
SQL*PLUS is a command line tool where as SQL and PL/SQL language interface and
reporting tool. Its a command line tool that allows user to type SQL commands to be
executed directly against an Oracle database. SQL is a language used to query the
relational database(DML,DCL,DDL). SQL*PLUS commands are used to format query
result, Set options, Edit SQL commands and PL/SQL.
12.
Which datatype is used for storing graphics and images
LONG RAW data type is used for storing BLOB's (binary large objects).
13.
How will you delete duplicating rows from a base table
DELETE FROM table_name A WHERE rowid>(SELECT min(rowid) from table_name B
where B.table_no=A.table_no);
CREATE TABLE new_table AS SELECT DISTINCT * FROM old_table;
DROP old_table RENAME new_table TO old_table DELETE FROM table_name A
WHERE rowid NOT IN (SELECT MAX(ROWID) FROM table_name GROUP BY
column_name)
14.
What is difference between SUBSTR and INSTR
SUBSTR returns a specified portion of a string eg SUBSTR('BCDEF',4) output BCDE
INSTR provides character position in which a pattern is found in a string.
eg INSTR('ABC-DC-F','-',2) output 7 (2nd occurence of '-')
15.
There is a string '120000 12 0 .125' ,how you will find the position of the
decimal place
INSTR('120000 12 0 .125','.',1) output 13
16.
There is a '%' sign in one field of a column. What will be the query to find it.
'\' Should be used before '%'.
17.
When you use WHERE clause and when you use HAVING clause
HAVING clause is used when you want to specify a condition for a group function
and it is written after GROUP BY clause The WHERE clause is used when you want to
specify a condition for columns, single row functions except group functions and it is
written before GROUP BY clause if it is used.
18.
Which is more faster - IN or EXISTS
EXISTS is more faster than IN because EXISTS returns a Boolean value whereas IN
returns a value.
Appropriate answer will be....
Result of the subquery is small Then "IN" is typicaly more appropriate. and Result of
the subquery is big/large/long Then "EXIST" is more appropriate.
19.
What is a OUTER JOIN
Outer Join--Its a join condition used where you can query all the rows of one of the
tables in the join condition even though they dont satisfy the join condition.
20.
How you will avoid your query from using indexes
SELECT * FROM emp Where emp_no+' '=12345;
i.e you have to concatenate the column name with space within codes in the where
condition.
SELECT /*+ FULL(a) */ ename, emp_no from emp where emp_no=1234;
i.e using HINTS
1.
What is a pseudo column. Give some examples
It is a column that is not an actual column in the table.
eg USER, UID, SYSDATE, ROWNUM, ROWID, NULL, AND LEVEL.
Suppose customer table is there having different columns like customer no,
payments.What will be the query to select top three max payments.
For top N queries, see
http://www.orafaq.com/forum/mv/msg/160920/472554/102589/#msg_472554 post
2.
What is the purpose of a cluster.
Oracle does not allow a user to specifically locate tables, since that is a part of the
function of the RDBMS. However, for the purpose of increasing performance, oracle
allows a developer to create a CLUSTER. A CLUSTER provides a means for storing
data from different tables together for faster retrieval than if the table placement
were left to the RDBMS.
3.
What is a cursor.
Oracle uses work area to execute SQL statements and store processing information
PL/SQL construct called a cursor lets you name a work area and access its stored
information A cursor is a mechanism used to fetch more than one row in a Pl/SQl
block.
4.
Difference between an implicit & an explicit cursor.
PL/SQL declares a cursor implicitly for all SQL data manipulation statements,
including quries that return only one row. However,queries that return more than
one row you must declare an explicit cursor or use a cursor FOR loop.
Explicit cursor is a cursor in which the cursor name is explicitly assigned to a
SELECT statement via the CURSOR...IS statement. An implicit cursor is used for all
SQL statements Declare, Open, Fetch, Close. An explicit cursors are used to process
multirow SELECT statements An implicit cursor is used to process INSERT, UPDATE,
DELETE and single row SELECT. .INTO statements.
5.
What are cursor attributes
%ROWCOUNT %NOTFOUND %FOUND %ISOPEN
6.
What is a cursor for loop.
Cursor For Loop is a loop where oracle implicitly declares a loop variable, the loop
index that of the same record type as the cursor's record.
7.
Difference between NO DATA FOUND and %NOTFOUND
NO DATA FOUND is an exception raised only for the SELECT....INTO statements when
the where clause of the querydoes not match any rows. When the where clause of
the explicit cursor does not match any rows the %NOTFOUND attribute is set to
TRUE instead.
8.
What a SELECT FOR UPDATE cursor represent.
SELECT......FROM......FOR......UPDATE[OF column-reference][NOWAIT] The processing
done in a fetch loop modifies the rows that have been retrieved by the cursor. A
convenient way of modifying the rows is done by a method with two parts: the FOR
UPDATE clause in the cursor declaration, WHERE CURRENT OF CLAUSE in an UPDATE
or declaration statement.
9.
What 'WHERE CURRENT OF ' clause does in a cursor.
LOOP
SELECT num_credits INTO v_numcredits FROM classes
WHERE dept=123 and course=101;
UPDATE students
SET current_credits=current_credits+v_numcredits
WHERE CURRENT OF X;
END LOOP
COMMIT;
END;
10.
What is use of a cursor variable? How it is defined.
A cursor variable is associated with different statements at run time, which can hold
different values at run time. Static cursors can only be associated with one run time
query. A cursor variable is reference type(like a pointer in C). Declaring a cursor
variable: TYPE type_name IS REF CURSOR RETURN return_type type_name is the
name of the reference type,return_type is a record type indicating the types of the
select list that will eventually be returned by the cursor variable.
11.
What should be the return type for a cursor variable.Can we use a scalar data
type as return type.
The return type for a cursor must be a record type.It can be declared explicitly as a
user-defined or %ROWTYPE can be used. eg TYPE t_studentsref IS REF CURSOR
RETURN students%ROWTYPE
12.
How you open and close a cursor variable.Why it is required.
OPEN cursor variable FOR SELECT...Statement CLOSE cursor variable In order to
associate a cursor variable with a particular SELECT statement OPEN syntax is
used.In order to free the resources used for the query CLOSE statement is used.
13.
How you were passing cursor variables in PL/SQL 2.2.
In PL/SQL 2.2 cursor variables cannot be declared in a package.This is because the
storage for a cursor variable has to be allocated using Pro*C or OCI with version
2.2,the only means of passing a cursor variable to a PL/SQL block is via bind
variable or a procedure parameter.
14.
Can cursor variables be stored in PL/SQL tables.If yes how.If not why.
No, a cursor variable points a row which cannot be stored in a two-dimensional
PL/SQL table.
15.
Difference between procedure and function.
Functions are named PL/SQL blocks that return a value and can be called with
arguments procedure a named block that can be called with parameter. A procedure
all is a PL/SQL statement by itself, while a Function call is called as part of an
expression.
16.
What are different modes of parameters used in functions and procedures.
IN OUT INOUT
17.
What is difference between a formal and an actual parameter
The variables declared in the procedure and which are passed, as arguments are
called actual, the parameters in the procedure declaration. Actual parameters
contain the values that are passed to a procedure and receive results. Formal
parameters are the placeholders for the values of actual parameters
18.
Can the default values be assigned to actual parameters.
Yes
19.
Can a function take OUT parameters.If not why.
Yes. A function return a value, but can also have one or more OUT parameters. it is
best practice, however to use a procedure rather than a function if you have
multiple values to return.
20.
What is syntax for dropping a procedure and a function .Are these operations
possible.
Drop Procedure procedure_name
Drop Function function_name
21.
What are ORACLE PRECOMPILERS.
Using ORACLE PRECOMPILERS ,SQL statements and PL/SQL blocks can be contained
inside 3GL programs written in C,C++,COBOL,PASCAL, FORTRAN,PL/1 AND ADA. The
Precompilers are known as Pro*C,Pro*Cobol,... This form of PL/SQL is known as
embedded pl/sql,the language in which pl/sql is embedded is known as the host
language. The prcompiler translates the embedded SQL and pl/sql ststements into
calls to the precompiler runtime library.The output must be compiled and linked with
this library to creater an executable.
22.
What is OCI. What are its uses.
Oracle Call Interface is a method of accesing database from a 3GL program. Uses-No precompiler is required,PL/SQL blocks are executed like other DML statements.
The OCI library provides
-functions to parse SQL statemets
-bind input variables
-bind output variables
-execute statements
-fetch the results
23.
Difference between database triggers and form triggers.
a) Data base trigger(DBT) fires when a DML operation is performed on a data base
table.Form trigger(FT) Fires when user presses a key or navigates between fields on
the screen b) Can be row level or statement level No distinction between row level
and statement level. c) Can manipulate data stored in Oracle tables via SQL Can
manipulate data in Oracle tables as well as variables in forms. d) Can be fired from
any session executing the triggering DML statements. Can be fired only from the
form that define the trigger. e) Can cause other database triggers to fire.Can cause
other database triggers to fire,but not other form triggers.
24.
What is an UTL_FILE.What are different procedures and functions associated
with it. UTL_FILE is a package that adds the ability to read and write to operating
system files Procedures associated with it are FCLOSE, FCLOSE_ALL and 5
procedures to output data to a file PUT, PUT_LINE, NEW_LINE, PUTF, FFLUSH.PUT,
FFLUSH.PUT_LINE,FFLUSH.NEW_LINE. Functions associated with it are FOPEN,
ISOPEN.
25.
Can you use a commit statement within a database trigger.
No
26.
What is the maximum buffer size that can be specified using the
DBMS_OUTPUT.ENABLE function?
1,000,000
1.
When looking at the estat events report you see that you are getting busy
buffer waits. Is this bad? How can you find what is causing it
Buffer busy waits could indicate contention in redo, rollback or data blocks. You
need to check the v$waitstat view to see what areas are causing the problem. The
value of the "count" column tells where the problem is, the "class" column tells you
with what. UNDO is rollback segments, DATA is data base buffers.
2.
If you see contention for library caches how can you fix it
Increase the size of the shared pool.
3.
If you see statistics that deal with "undo" what are they really talking about
Rollback segments and associated structures.
4.
If a tablespace has a default pctincrease of zero what will this cause (in
relationship to the smon process)
The SMON process won?t automatically coalesce its free space fragments.
5.
If a tablespace shows excessive fragmentation what are some methods to
defragment the tablespace? (7.1,7.2 and 7.3 only)
In Oracle 7.0 to 7.2 The use of the 'alter session set events 'immediate trace name
coalesce level ts#';? command is the easiest way to defragment contiguous free
space fragmentation. The ts# parameter corresponds to the ts# value found in the
ts$ SYS table. In version 7.3 the ?alter tablespace coalesce;? is best. If the free
space isn?t contiguous then export, drop and import of the tablespace contents may
be the only way to reclaim non-contiguous free space.
6.
How can you tell if a tablespace has excessive fragmentation
If a select against the dba_free_space table shows that the count of a tablespaces
extents is greater than the count of its data files, then it is fragmented.
7.
You see the following on a status report: redo log space requests 23 redo log
space wait time 0 Is this something to worry about? What if redo log space wait time
is high? How can you fix this Since the wait time is zero, no. If the wait time was
high it might indicate a need for more or larger redo logs.
8.
What can cause a high value for recursive calls? How can this be fixed
A high value for recursive calls is cause by improper cursor usage, excessive
dynamic space management actions, and or excessive statement re-parses. You
need to determine the cause and correct it By either relinking applications to hold
cursors, use proper space management techniques (proper storage and sizing) or
ensure repeat queries are placed in packages for proper reuse.
9.
If you see a pin hit ratio of less than 0.8 in the estat library cache report is
this a problem? If so, how do you fix it
This indicate that the shared pool may be too small. Increase the shared pool size.
10.
If you see the value for reloads is high in the estat library cache report is this
a matter for concern
Yes, you should strive for zero reloads if possible. If you see excessive reloads then
increase the size of the shared pool.
11.
You look at the dba_rollback_segs view and see that there is a large number
of shrinks and they are of relatively small size, is this a problem? How can it be fixed
if it is a problem
A large number of small shrinks indicates a need to increase the size of the rollback
segment extents. Ideally you should have no shrinks or a small number of large
shrinks. To fix this just increase the size of the extents and adjust optimal
accordingly.
12.
You look at the dba_rollback_segs view and see that you have a large number
of wraps is this a problem
A large number of wraps indicates that your extent size for your rollback segments
are probably too small. Increase the size of your extents to reduce the number of
wraps. You can look at the average transaction size in the same view to get the
information on transaction size.
1.
You have just started a new instance with a large SGA on a busy existing
server. Performance is terrible, what should you check for
The first thing to check with a large SGA is that it isn?t being swapped out.
2.
What OS user should be used for the first part of an Oracle installation (on
UNIX)
You must use root first.
3.
When should the default values for Oracle initialization parameters be used
as is
Never
4.
How many control files should you have? Where should they be located
At least 2 on separate disk spindles. Be sure they say on separate disks, not just file
systems.
5.
How many redo logs should you have and how should they be configured for
maximum recoverability
You should have at least three groups of two redo logs with the two logs each on a
separate disk spindle (mirrored by Oracle). The redo logs should not be on raw
devices on UNIX if it can be avoided.
6.
You have a simple application with no "hot" tables (i.e. uniform IO and access
requirements). How many disks should you have assuming standard layout for
SYSTEM, USER, TEMP and ROLLBACK tablespaces
At least 7, see disk configuration answer above.
7.
Describe third normal form
Something like: In third normal form all attributes in an entity are related to the
primary key and only to the primary key
8.
Is the following statement true or false:
"All relational databases must be in third normal form" False. While 3NF is good for
logical design most databases, if they have more than just a few tables, will not
perform well using full 3NF. Usually some entities will be denormalized in the logical
to physical transfer process.
9.
What is an ERD
An ERD is an Entity-Relationship-Diagram. It is used to show the entities and
relationships for a database logical model.
10.
Why are recursive relationships bad? How do you resolve them
A recursive relationship (one where a table relates to itself) is bad when it is a hard
relationship (i.e. neither side is a "may" both are "must") as this can result in it not
being possible to put in a top or perhaps a bottom of the table (for example in the
EMPLOYEE table you couldn?t put in the PRESIDENT of the company because he has
no boss, or the junior janitor because he has no subordinates). These type of
relationships are usually resolved by adding a small intersection entity.
11.
What does a hard one-to-one relationship mean (one where the relationship
on both ends is "must")
Expected answer: This means the two entities should probably be made into one
entity.
12.
How should a many-to-many relationship be handled
By adding an intersection entity table

13.
What is an artificial (derived) primary key? When should an artificial (or
derived) primary key be used
A derived key comes from a sequence. Usually it is used when a concatenated key
becomes too cumbersome to use as a foreign key.
1.
When should you consider denormalization
Whenever performance analysis indicates it would be beneficial to do so without
compromising data integrity.
2.
How can you determine if an Oracle instance is up from the operating system
level
There are several base Oracle processes that will be running on multi-user operating
systems, these will be smon, pmon, dbwr and lgwr. Any answer that has them using
their operating system process showing feature to check for these is acceptable. For
example, on UNIX a ps -ef|grep dbwr will show what instances are up.
3.
Users from the PC clients are getting messages indicating : ORA-06114: (Cnct
err, can't get err txt. See Servr Msgs & Codes Manual)
What could the problem be The instance name is probably incorrect in their
connection string.
4.
Users from the PC clients are getting the following error stack: ERROR: ORA01034: ORACLE not available ORA-07318: smsget: open error when opening
sgadef.dbf file. HP-UX Error: 2: No such file or directory
What is the probable cause The Oracle instance is shutdown that they are trying to
access, restart the instance.
5.
How can you determine if the SQLNET process is running for SQLNET V1? How
about V2
For SQLNET V1 check for the existence of the orasrv process. You can use the
command "tcpctl status" to get a full status of the V1 TCPIP server, other protocols
have similar command formats. For SQLNET V2 check for the presence of the
LISTENER process(s) or you can issue the command "lsnrctl status".
6.
What file will give you Oracle instance status information? Where is it located
The alert.ora log. It is located in the directory specified by the
background_dump_dest parameter in the v$parameter table.
7.
Users aren?t being allowed on the system. The following message is received:
ORA-00257 archiver is stuck. Connect internal only, until freed What is the problem
The archive destination is probably full, backup the archive logs and remove them
and the archiver will re-start.
8.
Where would you look to find out if a redo log was corrupted assuming you
are using Oracle mirrored redo logs
There is no message that comes to the SQLDBA or SRVMGR programs during startup
in this situation, you must check the alert.log file for this information.
9.
You attempt to add a datafile and get: ORA-01118: cannot add anymore
datafiles: limit of 40 exceeded What is the problem and how can you fix it When the
database was created the db_files parameter in the initialization file was set to 40.
You can shutdown and reset this to a higher value, up to the value of
MAX_DATAFILES as specified at database creation. If the MAX_DATAFILES is set to
low, you will have to rebuild the control file to increase it before proceeding.
10.
You look at your fragmentation report and see that smon hasn?t coalesced
any of you tablespaces, even though you know several have large chunks of
contiguous free extents. What is the problem
Check the dba_tablespaces view for the value of pct_increase for the tablespaces. If
pct_increase is zero, smon will not coalesce their free space.
11.
Your users get the following error: ORA-00055 maximum number of DML locks
exceeded What is the problem and how do you fix it The number of DML Locks is set
by the initialization parameter DML_LOCKS. If this value is set to low (which it is by
default) you will get this error. Increase the value of DML_LOCKS. If you are sure that
this is just a temporary problem, you can have them wait and then try again later
and the error should clear.
12.
You get a call from you backup DBA while you are on vacation. He has
corrupted all of the control files while playing with the ALTER DATABASE BACKUP
CONTROLFILE command. What do you do
As long as all datafiles are safe and he was successful with the BACKUP controlfile
command you can do the following: CONNECT INTERNAL STARTUP MOUNT (Take any
read-only tablespaces offline before next step ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE ....
OFFLINE;) RECOVER DATABASE USING BACKUP CONTROLFILE ALTER DATABASE
OPEN RESETLOGS; (bring read-only tablespaces back online) Shutdown and backup
the system, then restart If they have a recent output file from the ALTER DATABASE
BACKUP CONTROL FILE TO TRACE; command, they can use that to recover as well. If
no backup of the control file is available then the following will be required:
CONNECT INTERNAL STARTUP NOMOUNT CREATE CONTROL FILE .....; However, they
will need to know all of the datafiles, logfiles, and settings for MAXLOGFILES,
MAXLOGMEMBERS, MAXLOGHISTORY, MAXDATAFILES for the database to use the

command.
1.
How would you determine the time zone under which a database was
operating? 2.
Explain the use of setting GLOBAL_NAMES equal to TRUE. 3.
What command would you use to encrypt a PL/SQL application? 4.
Explain the difference between a FUNCTION, PROCEDURE and PACKAGE. 5.
Explain the use of table functions. 6. Name three advisory statistics you can
collect. 7.
Where in the Oracle directory tree structure are audit traces placed? 8.
Explain materialized views and how they are used. 9.
When a user
process fails, what background process cleans up after it? 10.
What background
process refreshes materialized views? 11.
How would you determine what
sessions are connected and what resources they are waiting for? 12. Describe what
redo logs are. 13. How would you force a log switch? 14. Give two methods you
could use to determine what DDL changes have been made. 15. What does
coalescing a tablespace do? 16. What is the difference between a TEMPORARY
tablespace and a PERMANENT tablespace? 17.
Name a tablespace
automatically created when you create a database. 18.
When creating a user,
what permissions must you grant to allow them to connect to the database? 19.
How do you add a data file to a tablespace? 20.
How do you resize a data
file? 21. What view would you use to look at the size of a data file? 22. What view
would you use to determine free space in a tablespace? 23.
How would you
determine who has added a row to a table? 24.
How can you rebuild an index?
25.
Explain what partitioning is and what its benefit is. 26.
You have just
compiled a PL/SQL package but got errors, how would you view the errors? 27.
How can you gather statistics on a table? 28. How can you enable a trace for
a session? 29.
What is the difference between the SQL*Loader and IMPORT
utilities? 30. Name two files used for network connection to a database.
1. In a system with an average of 40 concurrent users you get the following from a
query on rollback extents:
ROLLBACK CUR EXTENTS
-------------------------R01 11
R02 8
R03 12
R04 9
SYSTEM 4
You have room for each to grow by 20 more extents each. Is there a problem?
Should you take any action
No there is not a problem. You have 40 extents showing and an average of 40

concurrent users. Since there is plenty of room to grow no action is needed.
2. You see multiple extents in the temporary tablespace. Is this a problem
As long as they are all the same size this isn?t a problem. In fact, it can even
improve performance since Oracle won?t have to create a new extent when a user
needs one.
3. Define OFA.
OFA stands for Optimal Flexible Architecture. It is a method of placing directories
and files in an Oracle system so that you get the maximum flexibility for future
tuning and file placement.
4. How do you set up your tablespace on installation
The answer here should show an understanding of separation of redo and rollback,
data and indexes and isolation os SYSTEM tables from other tables. An example
would be to specify that at least 7 disks should be used for an Oracle installation so
that you can place
SYSTEM tablespace on one
Redo logs on two (mirrored redo logs)
TEMPORARY tablespace on another,
ROLLBACK tablespace on another and
still have two for DATA and INDEXES.
They should indicate how they will handle archive logs and exports as well. As long
as they have a logical plan for combining or further separation more or less disks
can be specified.
5. What should be done prior to installing Oracle (for the OS and the disks)
adjust kernel parameters or OS tuning parameters in accordance with installation
guide. Be sure enough contiguous disk space is available.
6. You have installed Oracle and you are now setting up the actual instance. You
have been waiting an hour for the initialization script to finish, what should you
check first to determine if there is a problem
Check to make sure that the archiver isn?t stuck. If archive logging is turned on
during install a large number of logs will be created. This can fill up your archive log
destination causing Oracle to stop to wait for more space.
7. When configuring SQLNET on the server what files must be set up
INITIALIZATION file, TNSNAMES.ORA file, SQLNET.ORA file
8. When configuring SQLNET on the client what files need to be set up
SQLNET.ORA, TNSNAMES.ORA
9. What must be installed with ODBC on the client in order for it to work with Oracle
SQLNET and PROTOCOL (for example: TCPIP adapter) layers of the transport
programs.
General Oracle Questions
What Oracle products have you worked with?
What version of Oracle were you running?
Compare Oracle to any other database that you know. Why would you prefer to
work on one and not on the other?
Oracle DBA Questions
Typical DBA questions: 1. How many databases and what sizes?
2. Did you use online or off-line backups? Why?
used both based on business needs.
3. If you have to advise a backup strategy for a new application, how would you
approach it and what questions will you ask?
is down time allowed, and what is this being used for Prod,QA or Dev. how huge this
Db gonna be in few months .. what type of data is being used in this DB etc..
4. If a customer calls you about a hanging database session, what will you do to
resolve it?
first thing ...any errors , if not check for session status.. locks waits , disk io, explain
plan .. etc
5. How many control files and redo logs should a database have? atleast
2 ctl's and 3 logs
1. Explain: a.) Integrity Constraints

It can be called as a declarative way in order to define a business rule for a table's column
b.) Index
- It can be called as an optional structure which is associated with a table for direct access to the rows
- Index can be created for one or more columns in a table
c.) Extent
- It can be defined as a specific number of contiguous data blocks in single allocation.
- It is used to store a specific type of information.
2. What is ANALYZE command used for?

ANALYZE command is used to perform various functions on index, table, or cluster, as listed below:
- It helps in dentifying migrated and chained rows of the table or cluster.
- It helps in validating the structure of the object.

- It helps in collecting the statistics about object used by the optimizer. They are then stored in the data dictionary.
- It helps in deleting statistics used by object from the data dictionary.
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Oracle Transaction interview test (20 questions)
3. a.) List the types of joins used in writing SUBQUERIES.

- Self join
- Outer Join
- Equi-join
b.) List the various Oracle database objects.

- TABLES
- VIEWS
- INDEXES
- SYNONYMS
- SEQUENCES
- TABLESPACES
4. a.) Explain i.)Rename ii.)Alias.

- Rename - It is a permanent name provided to a table or column.
- Alias - It is a temporary name provided to a table or column which gets over after the execution of SQL statement.
b.) What is a view?

- It is virtual table which is defined as a stored procedure based on one or more tables.
5. a.) What are the varoius components of physical database structure of Oracle database?
Oracle database comprises of three kinds of files:
- Datafiles,
- Redo log files,
- Control files.
b.) List out the components of logical database structure of Oracle database.
- Tablespaces
- Database's schema objects.
6. a.) What do you mean by a tablespace?

- These are the Logical Storage Units into which a database is divided.
- It is used to group together the related logical structures.
b.) What is Control File used for?

Control File is used for:
- Database recovery.
- Whenever an instance of an ORACLE database begins, its control file is used to identify the database and redo log files that must
be opened for database operation to go ahead.
7. a.) What is a synonym? What are its various types?

A synonym can be called as an alias for a table, view, sequence or program unit. It is basically of two types:
- Private - Only the owner can access it.
- Public - Can be accessed by any database user.
b.) What are the uses of synonyms?

- Mask the real name and owner of an object.
- Provide public access to an object
- Provide location transparency for tables, views or program units of a remote database.
- Simplify the SQL statements for database users.
8.) What do you mean by a deadlock?

- When two processes are waiting to update the rows of a table which are locked by another process, the situation is called a
deadlock.
- The reasons for it to happen are:
- lack of proper row lock commands.
- Poor design of front-end application
- It reduces the performance of the server severely.
- These locks get automatically released automatically when a commit/rollback operation is performed or any process is killed
externally.
9.) a.) What suggestions do you have to reduce the network traffic?
Following are some of the actions which can be taken to reduce the network traffic:
- Use snapshots to replicate data.
- Use remote procedure calls.
- Replicate data in distributed environment.
b.) What are the various types of snapshots ?
There are two types of snapshots:

- Simple snapshots - Based on a query that does not contain GROUP BY clauses, CONNECT BY clauses, JOINs, sub-query or
snashot of operations.
- Complex snapshots- which contains atleast any one of the above.
10.) What is a sub query? What are its various types?

- Sub Query also termed as Nested Query or Inner Query is used to get data from multiple tables.
- A sub query is added in the where clause of the main query.
There can be two types of subqueries:
a.) Correlated sub query
- It can reference column in a table listed in the from list of the outer query but is not as independent as a query. .
b.) Non-Correlated sub query
- Results of this sub query are submitted to the main query or parent query.
- It is independent like a query
11.) Will you be able to store pictures in the database?Explain.

- Yes, pictures can be stored in the database using Long Raw Data type.
- This datatype is used to store binary data for 2 gigabytes of length.
- However, the table can have only one Long Raw data type.
12.) Explain: a.) Integrity constraint.

- It is a declaration defined in a business rule for a table column.
- Integrity constraint ensures the accuracy and consistency of data in a database.
- It is of three types - namely - Domain Integrity, Referential Integrity and Domain Integrity.
b.) COALESCE function

- This function is used to return the value which is set not to be null in the list.
- Incase all values in the list are null the coalesce function will return NULL.
- Its representation:
Coalesce(value1, value2, value3,)
13.) Explain the following: a.) BLOB datatype.

- It is a data type with varying length binary string, used to store two gigabytes memory.
- For BLOB, the length needs to be specified in bytes.
b.) DML.
- DML - it is also termed as Data Manipulation Language (DML).
- It is used to access and manipulate data in the existing objects.
- DML statements are insert, select, update and delete.
14.) Differentiate between: a.) TRANSLATE and REPLACE.

- Translate is used to substitute character by character.
- Replace is used to substitute a single character with a word.
b.) What is Merge Statement used for?

- Merge statement is used to select rows from one or more data source to updating and insert into a table or a view.
15.) What are the various Oracle Database objects?

Various database objects are as follows:
- Tables This is a set of elements organized in vertical and horizontal fashion.
- Tablespaces This is a logical storage unit in Oracle.
- Views It is virtual table derived from one or more tables.
- Indexes This is a performance tuning method to process the records.
- Synonyms This is a name for tables.
- Sequences.
16. What is the purpose of Save Points in Oracle database?

- Save Points are used to divide a transaction into smaller phases.
- It enables rolling back part of a transaction.
- Maximum 5 save points are allowed in Oracle Database.
- Whenever an error is encountered, it is possible to rollback from the point where the SAVEPOINT has been saved.
17. a.) What is an ALERT?

- It a window which appears on the screen overlaying a portion of the current display.
b.) Differentiate between post-database commit and post-form commit.

- The post-database commit trigger is fired after oracle forms issue the commit to finalized transactions.
- The post-form commit is fired during the post and commit transactions process, after the database commit occurs.
18. Differentiate between pre-select and pre-query.

- Once oracle forms construct the select statement to be issued Pre-select is fired during the execute query and count query
processing. All this happens before the statement is actually issued.
- The pre-query trigger is fired just before oracle forms issue the select statement to the database.
19. What is hot backup and logical backup?

Hot backup
- Backing up the archive log files when database is open is called Hot backup.
- To do this, the ARCHIVELOG mode is enabled.
- Following files are backed up - All data files, Archive log, redo log files and control files.
Logical backup
- Logical back ip is reading a set of database records and writing them into a file.
- An Export utility is required to take the backup while an Import utility is required to recover from the backup.
20. What do you mean by Redo Log file mirroring ?

- The process of having a copy of redo log files is called mirroring.
- It is done by creating group of log files together. This ensures that LGWR automatically writes them to all the members of the
current on-line redo log group.
- In case a group fails, the database automatically switches over to the next group. It diminishes the performance.
Download Oracle interview questions and answers pdf
Explain the difference between trigger and stored procedure.
Latest answer: Trigger in act which is performed automatically before or after a event occur. Stored procedure is a set of
functionality which is executed when it is explicitly invoked.................
Read answer
Explain Row level and statement level trigger.
Latest answer: Row Level Trigger is fired each time row is affected by Insert, Update or Delete command. If statement doesnt
affect any row, no trigger action happens................
Read answer
Oracle interview questions - Jan 04, 2011 at 05:16 PM by
Rahul
Write a PL/SQL program for a trigger.
Latest answer: PL/SQL program for tracking operation on a emp table

Create or Replace Trigger EmpTracking
Before Insert or Delete or Update on Emp..................
Read answer
Advantage of a stored procedure over a database trigger.
Latest answer: Stored procedure is a set of pre-compiled SQL statements, executed when it is called in the program. Triggers are
similar to stored procedure except it is executed automatically when any operations are occurred on the table..................
Read answer
What are cascading triggers?
Latest answer: A Trigger that contains statements which cause invoking of other Triggers are known as cascading triggers. Heres
the order of execution of statements in case of cascading triggers:................
Read answer
Oracle interview questions and answers for freshers and experienced

Relational database
What is Rational database? Flat database vs. Rational database

Features of Rational database
Dr. Codd defined thirteen standards which must be met before a database can be considered to be a relational database. What was
that?
Explain how data is arranged in a rational database with an example..............
Data manipulation language
Overview of Data Manipulation Language

Explain how to retrieve information using SELECT.
Add information using INSERT
Change information using UPDATE
Remove information using DELETE
Use Subqueries as your search condition............
Oracle displaying & aggregating data
What are aggregate functions in SQL? What are those functions?

Using ROLLUP to aggregate data in SQL
Define, syntax and an example with output for:SUM function, AVG (average) function, COUNT function, Max and Min
function..............
SQL number functions
Define, syntax and an example with output for: ABS(number), CEIL(number), FLOOR(number), MOD(number, divisor),
POWER(number, power), SIGN(number), ROUND(number, precision), SQRT(number), TRUNC(number, precision).....................
SQL single-row character
CONCAT(string1, string2), INITCAP(string), LENGTH(string), LPAD(string, #,padding_char), RPAD(string, #,padding_char),

LTRIM(string,searchString), RTRIM(string,searchString), REPLACE(string,searchString,replacement), SUBSTR(string,start,length),
UPPER(string), LOWER(string)...........
SQL single-row date functions
SYSDATE, ADD_MONTHS(Date, months_to_add), LAST_DAY(Date), MONTHS_BETWEEN(Date1, Date2)...........

Subqueries
Explain subqueries with an example - A subquery is a query within a query. The inner query is processed first. They are most
commonly used to return data from multiple tables when the exact value is not known...............
SQL*Plus
What is SQL*Plus? Explain its features

Explain how to use the SQL*Plus utility.
What are the basic SQL*Plus commands?
What is AFIEDT.BUF?
Difference between ? and HELP.
Explain how to enable the SQL*Plus HELP facility.
Difference between @ and @@.

Difference between & and &&.
Difference between ! and HOST
How can one prevent SQL*Plus connection warning messages?............
Oracle database tables
What is a Database Table?

How many types of tables supported by Oracle? Explain them.
Can you explain how to create a aew table in your schema?
Explain with an example how to create a new table by selecting rows from another table.
Depict a sample script for renaming an existing table.
Sample script to drop an existing table.
How to Add a new column to an existing table?...........
Oracle constraints
Oracle constraints - overview. What are the types of constraints avaialable in oracle
Explain Oracle "Check" constraint.
Explain Not Null constraint.
Explain primary key constraint.
Explain oracle foreign key constraint.
Explain unique Constraint.
Explain with an example how to alter oracle table constraint..........
Restricting and sorting data in oracle
Explain how to limit the rows that are retrieved by a query.

Explain how to sort the rows that are retrieved by a query.
What are the comparison operators in oracle. List them with description...............
Working with multiple tables joins
What are joins? Explain its characteristic features

Types of joins. Define, write syntax and an example for each type............
Working with multiple tables
Define subquery. Explain with an example

What is correlated query? Explain its uses.
What are Set Operators? Explain union and union all with an example for each...........
PL/SQL
Define PL/SQL. Explain its purpose

Advantages of PL/SQL
Main Features of PL/SQL
PL/SQL Architecture
Basic Structure of PL/SQL
Variables and Types............
PL/SQL control structures
Conditional control: IF and CASE Statements.

Iterative Control: LOOP and EXIT Statements.
GOTO statement takes the control to the labeled statement...........
PL/SQL collections
What is a Collection?
Nested Tables vs. Associative Arrays
Nested Tables vs. Varrays
Explain the methods exist for collections. - EXISTS , COUNT , LIMIT , FIRST and LAST , PRIOR and NEXT , EXTEND, TRIM ,
DELETE..............
PL/SQL record data type
What is a PL/SQL Record data type?

Define and declare Records
Different Types of Records - Table-based, Cursor-based, Programmer-defined
Benefits of using Records
Guidelines for using Records...........
PL/SQL cursors
What are Cursors?

Define cursor attributes: %FOUND, %NOTFOUND, %ROWCOUNT, and %ISOPEN
What are cursor variables? Explain with an example
Significance of SELECT FOR UPDATE clause. Write syntax
Significance of WHERE CURRENT OF clause. Write syntax.........
PL/SQL error handling
Overview of PL/SQL Error Handling

Advantages of PL/SQL Exceptions
Explain some of the commonly used Predefined PL/SQL Exceptions.
What is user-defined exception? Explain it with an example.
Explain how PL/SQL exceptions are raised.........
PL/SQL subprograms
What are PL/SQL Subprograms?

Advantages of PL/SQL Subprograms.
PL/SQL has two types of subprograms called procedures and functions. Explain them.
How does subprogram pass information? What are actual and formal subprogram parameters? Explain with an example
Define three parameter modes, IN (the default), OUT, and IN OUT that can be used with any subprogram............
PL/SQL packages
What is a PL/SQL package?

Advantages of PL/SQL Packages
What are the types and layers of Packages? Explain them

PL/SQL Packages features
Guidelines for writing packages........
PL/SQL triggers
What is a Trigger? Syntax of Triggers

Types of PL/SQL Triggers
How to obtain information about any trigger?
What is CYCLIC CASCADING in a TRIGGER?............
PL/SQL sequences
Define PL/SQL sequences and write syntax for a sequence

How do we set the LASTVALUE value in an Oracle Sequence?
What does cache and no cache options mean while creating a sequence?.........
Oracle/PLSQL indexes
What is an Index? Explain how to create an Index.

What is Function-Based Index? Create a Function-Based Index........
Users in oracle
Types of users - a local user, an external user, or a global user

Explain how to create users through Sql Plus.
How to delete an Oracle applications user?...........
Oracle database performance tuning
Explain the purpose of tuning oracle database.

Could you explain the areas where tuning of database is required?
What are the tools provided by oracle to assist performace tuning? Explain them in brief
What is cost based optimization? When is it triggered?
Explain the factor that can cause the execution plan of a query to change
What is index monitoring feature in oracle? Explain how to use it for index optimization...........
Oracle advanced replication
What is replication? Explain its purpose.

Oracle Server supports two different forms of replication: basic and advanced replication. Explain difference between these.
What is the difference between a snapshot and a materialized view?
Describe how to implement basic snapshot replication.
What object types can and cannot be replicated in oracle?
Describe how to monitor replication.............
Oracle forms
What is oracle forms and what is it used for?

Explain how to iterate through items and records in a specified block in oracle form.
How to bypass the oracle login screen.........
Oracle HTTP Server (Apache)
What is the Oracle HTTP Server? How does it work?

Explain how to start and stop the Oracle HTTP Server.
Explain how to publish static HTML pages on the Oracle HTTP Server.
Explain how to execute standard CGI-BIN programs from the Oracle HTTP Server.
Explain how to password protect certain directories...........
Oracle export and import utilities
What is import/export? Explain its usage.

Explain how to use the import/export utilities.
Can we export a subset of a table? Explain how
Can we monitor how fast a table is imported? How?
Explain how to import tables to a different tablespace?
Explain how to improve Import/Export performance?
Describe the common Import/Export problems...........
Oracle ODBC connectivity
What is ODBC? Explain its purposes

Difference between ODBC and Net8.
What do I need to get ODBC to work?
Explain how to create a Data Source.
Explain how to trace ODBC calls.
What is ODBC SQLPASSTHROUGH option?
How to attach an Oracle table in MS-Access?
Explain how to get Oracle data into MS-Excel...........
Personal oracle lite (POL)
How compatible is Oracle Lite with the standard oracle server?

What is personal oracle lite?
Explain how to connect to a POL database
Explain how to write Java Stored Procedures
Explain how to replicate data using Oracle Lite.............
Oracle database backup and recovery
Why and when should I backup my database?

What strategies are available for backing-up an Oracle database?
Difference between online and offline backups.
Difference between restoring and recovering
Explain how to backup a database using the export utility
Explain how to put a database into ARCHIVELOG mode
Explain how to do off-line database backups..........
Oracle database
Explain how to create a new database

Explain how to rename a database
Explain how to resize tablespaces and data files
Explain how to find the overall database size
Explain how to find used/free space in a TEMPORARY tablespace
What is ORADEBUG? Explain its uses?
Explain how to dump internal database structures...........
Oracle parallel query (OPQ)
What is Oracle Parallel Query?

Difference between Parallel Query and Parallel Server
Explain how to invoke Parallel Query
Explain how to disable Parallel Query
Can single-processor systems benefit from Parallel Query? Explain..........
Oracle web cache
What is the Oracle Web Cache?

Difference between the Database and Web Cache
Explain how to install and configure the Web Cache
Explain how to stop and start the Web Cache..............
Oracle spatial
What is Oracle Spatial?

Difference between Oracle Spatial and Locator
Difference between the Relational and Object Spatial model
Explain how to install Oracle Spatial...........
Oracle real application clusters
What is RAC and how is it different from non RAC databases?

Can any application be deployed on RAC? Explain
Explain how to convert a single instance database to RAC
How do we stop and start RAC instances?
Can we test if a database is running in RAC mode? How?
How can we keep track of active instances?.........
Peoplesoft on oracle
What is a PeopleSoft database?

How does the PeopleSoft database interact with the Oracle database?
What is the order of installing PeopleSoft on Oracle?
How can the client workstation connect to a PeopleSoft database?
What is the sizing of a generic PeopleSoft HRMS database?..........
What is a JOIN? Explain types of JOIN in oracle.
Latest answer: A JOIN is used to match/equate different fields from 2 or more tables using primary/foreign keys. Output is based
on type of Join and what is tobe queries......................
Read answer
What is a join, explain the types of joins?
Latest answer: A join is a query that extracts data from two or more tables, views or snapshots...........
Read answer
Explain the types of joins.
Latest answer: Types of joins are: Equijoins, Non-equijoins, self join, outer join. A Join is used to create query using two or more
tables and views..........
Read answer
What is object data type in oracle?
Latest answer: Object data type is created using object type in oracle. The object data type can only be created using SQL data
type such as Number, Varchar 2, Date etc.................
Read answer
What is composite data type?
Latest answer: Collections are usually referred to as Composite Data types. Composite type is one that has components in it. A
variable of a composite type contains one or more scalar types................
Read answer
Differences between CHAR and NCHAR in Oracle.
Latest answer: CHAR and NCHAR are character data types which and have a fixed length. However, CHAR has a specified size in
bytes by default and NCHAR has a size specified in characters by default................
Read answer
Differences between CHAR and VARCHAR2 in Oracle.
Latest answer: CHAR values have a fixed length. They are padded with space characters to match the specified length...........
Read answer
Differences between DATE and TIMESTAMP in Oracle
Latest answer: TIMESTAMP and DATE vary in formats as follows: DATE stores values as century, year, month, date, hour, minute,
and second............
Read answer
Define CLOB and NCLOB datatypes.
Latest answer: Both CLOB and NCLOB are used to store huge character data in the database, CLOBs store single-byte character
set data............
Read answer
What is the BFILE datatypes?
Latest answer: The BFILE datatype is used to store unstructured binary data outside the database. The column of BFILE type
stores file locator that points the OS file which actually stores data...........
Read answer
What is Varrays?
Latest answer: Varrays, variable length array is quite similar to array of C++ or Java. It has fixed upper-bound size that has to be
specified while it is declared..........
Read answer
What are LOB datatypes?
Latest answer: The LOB datatypes such as BLOB, CLOB, NCLOB and BFile can store large blocks of unstructured data such as
graphics, image, video clips etc............
Read answer
What is a cursor? What are its types?
Latest answer: Oracle engine uses private working area to process queries. This work area is called as cursor. The data that is
stored in the cursor is called as Active Data Set.............
Read answer
Explain the attributes of implicit cursor
Latest answer: There are four attributes of implicit cursor in oracle: SQL%IsOPEN - Implicit cursor always returns FALSE as it gets
closed automatically...........
Read answer
Explain the attributes of explicit cursor.
Latest answer: There are four attributes of explicit cursor in oracle. %IsOPEN - This evaluates TRUE when cursor is open else
FALSE..........
Read answer
What is the ref cursor in Oracle?
Latest answer: Cursor is a reference type in oracle. We can allocate different storage locations to the cursor when the program
runs............
Read answer
What are the drawbacks of a cursor?
Latest answer: Implicit cursors are less efficient than explicit cursors, Implicit cursors are more vulnerable to data errors..................
Read answer
What is a cursor variable?
Latest answer: A cursor variable is capable to get associated with different SELECT statements at run time. It is a reference type
which is quite similar to pointer in C. In order to use cursor variable...........
Read answer
Business object interview questions
Latest answer: Differentiate between Data Mining and Data warehousing. What is Data purging? What are CUBES? What are
OLAP and OLTP? What are the different problems that Data mining can solve? What are different stages of Data
mining?..................... .
Read answer
OLAP interview questions
Latest answer: Explain the concepts and capabilities of OLAP. Explain the functionality of OLAP. What are MOLAP and ROLAP?
Explain the role of bitmap indexes to solve aggregation problems. Explain the encoding technique used in bitmaps indexes. What is
Binning? What is candidate check?..................
Read answer
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Write your comment - Share Knowledge and Experience

Discussion Board
pls provide a sql get the below result.
ID_NO, MARKS, YR
1 30 2010
1 40 2013
1 50 2014
2 30 2009
2 40 2010
is the input table.
pls let me the know the sql to get the following o/p
id_no year previous yr
1 2014 2013
1 2013 2010
1 2010 null
2 2010 2009
2 2009 null
i should not get more rows than the no of rows input table . year 2014 has two previous years one 2013 and 2010 but i should get only 2013 in o/p
the following sql gives below o/p but its not giving expected result
select a.id_no,a.yr,b.yr from student a left outer join student b on a.id_no = b.id_no
and b.yr < a.yr order by a.id_no,a.yr desc
ID_NO YR YR
---------- ---------- ---------1 2014 2010
1 2014 2013
1 2013 2010
1 2010
2 2010 2009
2 2009
prasanth 10-25-2014 01:47 PM

Oracle Interview questions and answers
What are triggers? What are the events a trigger includes?
The procedures are called as triggers in oracle and it run implicitly when an insert, update or delete statement is being performed on a table. They are
same as store procedures but it can include SQL, PL/SQL or Java statements. Triggers are implicit to the application.
It includes the following events such as:
- DML statements for modification of data like INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE
- DDL statements
- System related messages like startup, shutdown, and error messages
- User events like logon or logoff
Rohit Sharma 12-7-2011 07:12 AM

Oracle interview questions and answers
Does the After report trigger get fired if report execution fails?
Yes.
Explain PGA.
PGA - Program Global Area - area in memory used by a single Oracle user process.
Ramakutty 12-6-2011 04:09 AM
List various levels of Auditing ?
- Statement Auditing,
- Privilege Auditing
- Object Auditing.
List the types of snapshots.
- Simple
- Complex
Ankur 12-6-2011 04:08 AM

List the characterstics of data files.
- Data file can be associated with only one database.
- Once it is created, it can't change size.
- One or more database files together form a table space.
When does a Transaction finish ?
- When it is committed
- OR When it is Rolled back.
What is the function of ROLLBACK?
- It retracts the changes occuring from the execution of SQL statements in the transaction.
Rajat 12-6-2011 04:08 AM

Explain tablespace.
Logical Storage Unit into which a database is divided.
What is Oracle View?
Oracle View - A virtual table which has a query attached to it.
Do views contain/store data?
No. Views do not contain/ store any data.
Sakshi 12-6-2011 04:07 AM
Test your oracle knowledge with our multiple choice questions!
Oracle interview questions

Hot backup vs. cold backup
A database backup while it is still up and running is a Hot backup and it must be in archive log mode.
A cold backup is a backup while it is shut down. The database does not require being in archive log mode in this mode.
The benefit of a hot backup is that the database is still available for use while the backup is occurring.
A cold backup is easier to administer the backup and recovery process.
Cold backups does not require being in archive log mode and thus slight performance gain as the database is not writing archive
logs to disk.
What are actual and formal parameters?

Actual Parameters
The variables or expressions referenced in the parameter list of a subprogram call are actual parameters.
Following procedure call lists two actual parameters named empno and amt:
raise_sal(empno, amt);
Formal Parameters
The variables declared in a subprogram specification and referenced in the subprogram body are formal parameters.
Following procedure declares two formal parameters named empid and amt:
PROCEDURE raise_sal(empid INTEGER, amt REAL) IS current_salary REAL;
Oracle interview questions

Can we protect our PL/SQL source code?
Yes, we can protect. PL/SQL V2.2 implements a binary wrapper for PL/SQL programs to protect the source code.
The utility available in this version transforms the PL/SQL source code into portable binary object code and thus protect from
exposing your proprietary algorithms and methods.
Explain an Exception and its types.

Exception is the error handling part of PL/SQL block.
Exception is of two types: Predefined and user defined.
Some of Predefined exceptions are
ZERO_DIVIDE
NO_DATA_FOUND
TOO_MANY_ROWS
LOGON_DENIED
CURSOR_ALREADY_OPEN
INVALID_NUMBER
NOT_LOGGED_ON
STORAGE_ERROR
PROGRAM-ERROR
TIMEOUT_ON_RESOURCE
VALUE_ERROR
DUP_VAL_ON_INDEX
INVALID_CURSOR.

Oracle Interview Questions

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Oracle Interview Questions

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Oracle Interview Questions

How can you call a PL/SQL procedure from SQL

By use of the EXECUTE (short form EXEC) command.

What is a CO-RELATED SUBQUERY

A CO-RELATED SUBQUERY is one that has a correlation name as table or view

How should a many-to-many relationship be handled

By adding an intersection entity table

MAXLOGMEMBERS, MAXLOGHISTORY, MAXDATAFILES for the database to use the

No there is not a problem. You have 40 extents showing and an average of 40

1. Explain: a.) Integrity Constraints

2. What is ANALYZE command used for?

- It helps in validating the structure of the object.

Oracle 11g dba interview questions and answers - 50 questions

Test your Oracle skills:

3. a.) List the types of joins used in writing SUBQUERIES.

b.) List the various Oracle database objects.

4. a.) Explain i.)Rename ii.)Alias.

b.) What is a view?

6. a.) What do you mean by a tablespace?

b.) What is Control File used for?

7. a.) What is a synonym? What are its various types?

b.) What are the uses of synonyms?

8.) What do you mean by a deadlock?

b.) What are the various types of snapshots ?

There are two types of snapshots:

10.) What is a sub query? What are its various types?

11.) Will you be able to store pictures in the database?Explain.

12.) Explain: a.) Integrity constraint.

b.) COALESCE function

13.) Explain the following: a.) BLOB datatype.

14.) Differentiate between: a.) TRANSLATE and REPLACE.

b.) What is Merge Statement used for?

15.) What are the various Oracle Database objects?

16. What is the purpose of Save Points in Oracle database?

17. a.) What is an ALERT?

b.) Differentiate between post-database commit and post-form commit.

18. Differentiate between pre-select and pre-query.

19. What is hot backup and logical backup?

20. What do you mean by Redo Log file mirroring ?

Explain Row level and statement level trigger.

Oracle interview questions - Jan 04, 2011 at 05:16 PM by

Write a PL/SQL program for a trigger.

Latest answer: PL/SQL program for tracking operation on a emp table

Advantage of a stored procedure over a database trigger.

What are cascading triggers?

Oracle interview questions and answers for freshers and experienced

What is Rational database? Flat database vs. Rational database

Overview of Data Manipulation Language

What are aggregate functions in SQL? What are those functions?

CONCAT(string1, string2), INITCAP(string), LENGTH(string), LPAD(string, #,padding_char), RPAD(string, #,padding_char),

SYSDATE, ADD_MONTHS(Date, months_to_add), LAST_DAY(Date), MONTHS_BETWEEN(Date1, Date2)...........

What is SQL*Plus? Explain its features

Difference between @ and @@.

What is a Database Table?

Explain how to limit the rows that are retrieved by a query.

What are joins? Explain its characteristic features

Define subquery. Explain with an example

Define PL/SQL. Explain its purpose

PL/SQL control structures

Conditional control: IF and CASE Statements.

What is a PL/SQL Record data type?

What are Cursors?

Overview of PL/SQL Error Handling