Top 100 SQL Server Interview Questions

The smart world runs on data. Almost every single business, whether it’s an aspiring new startup or a seasoned multinational enterprise, relies on data for their everyday operations. The way this data is organized and interacted with comes down to a specific programming language is called SQL. Most of the established organizations are hiring professionals as a Data Analyst where SQL is the important Tool. With the high demand of these professionals, Data Analyst are the good-paid professionals. Here are the SQL Server interview questions for fresher as well as experienced candidates to get their dream job:

1. What is SQL Server and its use?
2. What is the difference between a clustered and a non-clustered index?
3. How do you optimize a slow running query?
4. How would you handle transaction management in SQL Server?
5. Can you explain the architecture of SQL Server?
6. What is the purpose of the SQL Server transaction log?
7. What is a stored procedure and how do you create and call it?
8. Can you explain normalization and its levels?
9. Can you discuss the use of temporary tables in SQL Server?
10. How would you implement error handling in a SQL Server stored procedure?
11. What is a database schema?
12. What is the difference between a unique constraint and a unique index?
13. How do you manage security in SQL Server?
14. Can you explain the purpose of the DDL, DML and DCL commands in SQL Server?
15. How would you monitor the performance of a SQL Server instance?
16. What is the use of the COALESCE function in SQL Server?
17. Can you explain the difference between a left join and a right join?
18. How would you implement data backup and recovery in SQL Server?
19. Can you discuss the use of triggers in SQL Server?
20. Can you explain the use of indexes in SQL Server and how they improve query performance?
21. Can you discuss the role of the SQL Server buffer pool in memory management?
22. What is a deadlock and how can you detect and resolve them in SQL Server?
23. Can you explain the difference between a subquery and a derived table in SQL Server?
24. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL Try-Catch block for error handling?
25. What is the difference between a primary key and a foreign key in SQL Server?
26. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL WITH clause?
27. Can you explain the difference between a truncate and a delete statement in SQL Server?
28. Can you explain the difference between a static and a dynamic cursor in SQL Server?
29. Can you explain the difference between a DELETE and a TRUNCATE statement in SQL Server?
30. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL UPDATE statement for modifying data in SQL Server?
31. What is a database table and how do you create one in SQL Server?
32. Can you explain the difference between a clustered index and a non-clustered index in SQL Server?
33. How would you migrate a database from one server to another in SQL Server?
34. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL SELECT statement for retrieving data in SQL Server?
35. What is a view in SQL Server and how do you create one?
36. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL WHERE clause for filtering data in SQL Server?
37. How would you implement data partitioning in SQL Server?
38. Can you explain the difference between a null value and an empty string in SQL Server?
39. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL GROUP BY clause for aggregating data in SQL Server?
40. How would you use SQL Server to generate reports for business intelligence purposes?
41. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL HAVING clause for filtering aggregated data in SQL Server?
42. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server database backup and a database transaction log backup?
43. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL UNION operator for combining data from multiple tables in SQL Server?
44. What is the purpose of the SQL Server transaction log and how does it function?
45. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL INTERSECT operator for returning matching data from multiple tables in SQL Server?
46. How would you use SQL Server to automate repetitive tasks such as data imports and exports?
47. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL EXCEPT operator for returning non-matching data from multiple tables in SQL Server?
48. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server database and a SQL Server instance?
49. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL INNER JOIN operator for combining data from multiple tables in SQL Server?
50. How would you optimize SQL Server performance using the SQL Server Management Studio toolset?
51. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server index and a SQL Server constraint?
52. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL LEFT JOIN operator for combining data from multiple tables in SQL Server?
53. How would you use SQL Server to enforce data integrity through the use of constraints and triggers?
54. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL RIGHT JOIN operator for combining data from multiple tables in SQL Server?
55. How would you use SQL Server to perform data analysis and generate insights for business purposes?
56. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server stored procedure and a SQL Server function?
57. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL FULL OUTER JOIN operator for combining data from multiple tables in SQL Server?
58. How would you use SQL Server to implement data security and protect sensitive information?
59. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL CROSS JOIN operator for combining data from multiple tables in SQL Server?
60. How would you use SQL Server to implement data warehousing and business intelligence solutions?
61. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server trigger and a SQL Server constraint?
62. How would you use SQL Server to implement data mining and machine learning algorithms?
63. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL aggregate functions such as SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, and COUNT in SQL Server?
64. How would you use SQL Server to implement real-time data processing and analytics solutions?
65. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL DISTINCT keyword for removing duplicates from query results in SQL Server?
66. How would you use SQL Server to implement data backup and disaster recovery solutions?
67. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server view and a SQL Server stored procedure?
68. How would you use SQL Server to implement data archiving and retention solutions?
69. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL CASE statement for implementing conditional logic in SQL Server?
70. How would you use SQL Server to implement data governance and management solutions?
71. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server temporary table and a SQL Server table variable?
72. How would you use SQL Server to implement data integration and synchronization solutions?
73. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL COALESCE function for handling NULL values in SQL Server?
74. How would you use SQL Server to implement data quality and data cleansing solutions?
75. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server subquery and a SQL Server join?
76. How would you use SQL Server to implement data warehousing and business intelligence solutions?
77. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL ISNULL function for handling NULL values in SQL Server?
78. How would you use SQL Server to implement big data and data lake solutions?
79. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server transaction and a SQL Server lock?
80. How would you use SQL Server to implement data virtualization and data federation solutions?
81. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL LEN function for returning the length of a string in SQL Server?
82. How would you use SQL Server to implement data cataloging and metadata management solutions?
83. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server cursor and a SQL Server loop?
84. How would you use SQL Server to implement data lineage and data provenance solutions?
85. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL CHARINDEX function for searching for a string within another string in SQL Server?
86. How would you use SQL Server to implement data governance and data privacy solutions?
87. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server trigger and a SQL Server job?
88. How would you use SQL Server to implement data security and data encryption solutions?
89. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL STUFF function for replacing parts of a string in SQL Server?
90. How would you use SQL Server to implement data compression and data deduplication solutions?
91. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server clustered index and a SQL Server non-clustered index?
92. How would you use SQL Server to implement data migration and data conversion solutions?
93. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL RTRIM function for removing trailing spaces from a string in SQL Server?
94. How would you use SQL Server to implement data quality and data validation solutions?
95. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server inner join and a SQL Server outer join?
96. How would you use SQL Server to implement data classification and data labeling solutions?
97. Can you discuss the use of the T-SQL REPLICATE function for repeating a string multiple times in SQL Server?
98. How would you use SQL Server to implement data modeling and data architecture solutions?
99. Can you explain the difference between a SQL Server stored procedure and a SQL Server dynamic SQL statement?
100. How would you use SQL Server to implement data monitoring and data auditing solutions?

In this tutorial, I tried to incorporate Top 100 interview questions in SQL Server. Hope you have enjoyed the tutorial. If you want to get updated, like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LearningBigDataAnalytics and stay connected.