Sql Server Questions

1. Why are you not allowed to refer to a column alias defined by the SELECT clause in the WHERE clause?
2. Why are you not allowed to refer to a column alias defined by the SELECT clause in the same SELECT clause?

Quick Check Answer

1. Because the WHERE clause is logically evaluated in a phase earlier to the one that evaluates the SELECT clause.
2. Because all expressions that appear in the same logical query processing phase are evaluated conceptually at the same point in time.

• What is the difference between the WHERE and HAVING clauses?

Quick Check Answer

• The WHERE clause is evaluated before rows are grouped, and therefore is evaluated per row. The HAVING clause is evaluated after rows are grouped, and therefore is evaluated per group.

1. Can you give an example for an element from set theory that can improve your understanding of T-SQL?
2. Can you explain why understanding the relational model is important for people who write T-SQL code?

1. Is it important to use standard code when possible, and why?
2. We have many queries that use ordinal positions in the ORDER BY clause. Is that a bad practice, and if so why?
3. If a query doesn’t have an ORDER BY clause, what is the order in which the records are returned?
4. Would you recommend putting a DISTINCT clause in every query?

1. What’s the difference between the ON clause and the WHERE clause?

2. Is there a guarantee that the expressions in the WHERE clause will be evaluated in a specific order; in other words, can you rely on a short-circuit?

3. What’s the purpose of NULLs, and what kind of complexities do they add to the language?

4. When you join a table with a derived table, can the derived table query refer to columns from the other table in the join, and why?

5. Can you use a column alias that you define in the SELECT clause in the WHERE clause, and why?

6. Can you use an alias that you define in the SELECT clause in other expressions in the SELECT clause, and why?

7. Can you use an alias that you define in the SELECT clause in the ORDER BY clause, and why?

8. How do you make a column alias available to clauses like WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING, SELECT?

9. What’s the difference between the nature of a query result when you have a presentation ORDER BY clause in the query and when you don’t?
10. What’s the difference between a group aggregate function and a window aggregate function?

11. If you have an ORDER BY clause in an inner query, is the presentation order of the outer query guaranteed?

12. If you don’t have a presentation ORDER BY clause in the query, are there any circumstances where the query presentation order is guaranteed?

Which TCP/IP port does the SQL Server run on? How can it be Changed?

SQL Server runs on port 1433. It can be changed from the Network Utility TCP/IP properties –> Port number, both on client and the server.

What are the Difference between Clustered and a Non-clustered Index?

A clustered index is a special type of index that reorders the way records in the table are physically stored. Therefore, the table can have only one clustered index. The leaf nodes of a clustered index contain the data pages.

A non-clustered index is a special type of index in which the logical order of the index does not match the physical stored order of the rows on disk. The leaf node of a non-clustered index does not consist of the data pages. Instead, the leaf nodes contain index rows. (Read more here)

What are the Different Index Configurations a Table can have?

A table can have one of the following index configurations:

• No indexes
• A clustered index
• A clustered index and many non-clustered indexes
• A non-clustered index
• Many non-clustered indexes

What are Different Types of Collation Sensitivity?

Case sensitivity – A and a, B and b, etc.

Accent sensitivity – a and á, o and ó, etc.

Kana Sensitivity – When Japanese Kana characters Hiragana and Katakana are treated differently, it is called Kana sensitive.

Width sensitivity – When a single-byte character (half-width) and the same character represented as a double-byte character (full-width) are treated differently, it is width sensitive. (Read more here)

What is OLTP (Online Transaction Processing)?

In OLTP –(online transaction processing) systems, relational database design uses the discipline of data modeling and generally follows the Codd rules of data normalization in order to ensure absolute data integrity. Using these rules, complex information is broken down into its most simple structures (a table) where all of the individual atomic level elements relate to each other and satisfy the normalization rules.

What’s the Difference between a Primary Key and a Unique Key?

Both primary key and unique key enforce uniqueness of the column on which they are defined. But by default, the primary key creates a clustered index on the column, whereas unique key creates a non-clustered index by default. Another major difference is that primary key doesn’t allow NULLs, but unique key allows one NULL only. (Read more here)

What is Difference between DELETE  and TRUNCATE Commands?

Delete command removes the rows from a table on the basis of the condition that we provide with a WHERE clause. Truncate will actually remove all the rows from a table, and there will be no data in the table after we run the truncate command.

TRUNCATE

• TRUNCATE is faster and uses fewer system and transaction log resources than DELETE. (Read all the points below)
• TRUNCATE removes the data by deallocating the data pages used to store the table’s data, and only the page deallocations are recorded in the transaction log.
• TRUNCATE removes all the rows from a table, but the table structure, its columns, constraints, indexes and so on remains. The counter used by an identity for new rows is reset to the seed for the column.
• You cannot use TRUNCATE TABLE on a table referenced by a FOREIGN KEY constraint.
• Using T-SQL – TRUNCATE cannot be rolled back unless it is used in TRANSACTION. OR TRUNCATE can be rolled back when used with BEGIN … END TRANSACTION using T-SQL.
• TRUNCATE is a DDL Command.
• TRUNCATE resets the identity of the table.

DELETE

• DELETE removes rows one at a time and records an entry in the transaction log for each deleted row.
• DELETE does not reset Identity property of the table.
• DELETE can be used with or without a WHERE clause
• DELETE activates Triggers if defined on table.
• DELETE can be rolled back.
• DELETE is DML Command.
• DELETE does not reset the identity of the table.

You might have listened and read either of following sentence many many times.

“DELETE can be rolled back and TRUNCATE can not be rolled back”.

OR

“DELETE can be rolled back as well as TRUNCATE can be rolled back”.

As soon as above sentence is completed, someone will object it saying either TRUNCATE can be or can not be rolled back. Let us make sure that we understand this today, in simple words without talking about theory in depth.

While database is in full recovery mode, it can rollback any changes done by DELETE using Log files. TRUNCATE can not be rolled back using log files in full recovery mode.

DELETE and TRUNCATE both can be rolled back when surrounded by TRANSACTION if the current session is not closed. If TRUNCATE is written in Query Editor surrounded by TRANSACTION and if session is closed, it can not be rolled back but DELETE can be rolled back.

Let us understand this concept in detail.

In case of DELETE, SQL Server removes all the rows from table and records them in Log file in case it is needed to rollback in future. Due to that reason it is slow.

In case of TRUNCATE, SQL Server deallocates the data files in the table and records deallocation of the data files in the log files. If deallocated data files are overwritten by other data it can be recovered using rollback. There is no guarantee of the rollback in case of TRUNCATE. However, while using T-SQL following code demonstrates that TRUNCATE can be rolled back for that particular session.

First create test table which some data. Afterwards run following T-SQL code in Query Editor and test the effect of TRUNCATE on created test table.
BEGIN TRAN
TRUNCATE TABLE TestTable-- Following SELECT will return TestTable emptySELECT *FROM TestTable-- Following SELECT will return TestTable with original dataROLLBACK
SELECT *FROM TestTable
Summary : DELETE can be recovered from log file always if full recovery mode is set for database. TRUNCATE may or may not be recovered always from log files.

SQL SERVER – Primary Key Constraints and Unique Key Constraints

Primary Key:
Primary Key enforces uniqueness of the column on which they are defined. Primary Key creates a clustered index on the column. Primary Key does not allow Nulls.

Create table with Primary Key:
CREATE TABLE Authors (AuthorID INT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,Name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL
)GO
Alter table with Primary Key:
ALTER TABLE AuthorsADD CONSTRAINT pk_authors PRIMARY KEY (AuthorID)GO
Unique Key:
Unique Key enforces uniqueness of the column on which they are defined. Unique Key creates a non-clustered index on the column. Unique Key allows only one NULL Value.

Alter table to add unique constraint to column:
ALTER TABLE Authors ADD CONSTRAINT IX_Authors_Name UNIQUE(Name)GO

SQL SERVER – Collate – Case Sensitive SQL Query Search

Case Sensitive SQL Query Search

If Column1 of Table1 has following values ‘CaseSearch, casesearch, CASESEARCH, CaSeSeArCh’, following statement will return you all the four records.

SELECT Column1FROM Table1WHERE Column1 = 'casesearch'

To make the query case sensitive and retrieve only one record (“casesearch”) from above query, the collation of the query needs to be changed as follows.

SELECT Column1FROM Table1WHERE Column1 COLLATE Latin1_General_CS_AS = 'casesearch'

Adding COLLATE Latin1_General_CS_AS makes the search case sensitive.

Default Collation of the SQL Server installation SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS is not case sensitive.

To change the collation of the any column for any table permanently run following query.

ALTER TABLE Table1ALTER COLUMN Column1 VARCHAR(20)COLLATE Latin1_General_CS_AS

To know the collation of the column for any table run following Stored Procedure.

EXEC sp_help DatabaseName

Second results set above script will return you collation of database DatabaseName.

SQL SERVER – Understanding new Index Type of SQL Server 2005 Included Column Index along with Clustered Index and Non-clustered Index

Clustered Index
Only 1 allowed per table
Physically rearranges the data in the table to conform to the index constraints
For use on columns that are frequently searched for ranges of data
For use on columns with low selectivity

Non-Clustered Index
Up to 249 allowed per table
Creates a separate list of key values with pointers to the location of the data in the data pages
For use on columns that are searched for single values
For use on columns with high selectivity

A clustered index is a special type of index that reorders the way records in the table are physically stored. Therefore table can have only one clustered index. The leaf nodes of a clustered index contain the data pages. A non-clustered index is a special type of index in which the logical order of the index does not match the physical stored order of the rows on disk. The leaf node of a non-clustered index does not consist of the data pages. Instead, the leaf nodes contain index rows

Included Column Index (New in SQL Server 2005) 
In SQL Server 2005, the functionality of non-clustered indexes is extended by adding non-key columns to the leaf level of the non-clustered index. Non-key columns, can help to create cover indexes.By including non-key columns, you can create non-clustered indexes that cover more queries. The Database Engine does not consider non-key columns when calculating the number of index key columns or index key size. Non-key columns can be included in non-clustered index to avoid exceeding the current index size limitations of a maximum of 16 key columns and a maximum index key size of 900 bytes. Another advantage is that using non-key column in index we can have index data types not allowed as index key columns generally.

In following example column FileName is varchar(400), which will increase the size of the index key bigger than it is allowed. If we still want to include in our cover index to gain performance we can do it by using the Keyword INCLUDE.

USE AdventureWorks
GOCREATE INDEX IX_Document_TitleON Production.Document (Title, Revision)INCLUDE (FileName)

Non-key columns can be included only in non-clustered indexes. Columns can’t be defined in both the key column and the INCLUDE list. Column names can’t be repeated in the INCLUDE list. Non-key columns can be dropped from a table only after the non-key index is dropped first. For Included Column Index to exist there must be at least one key column defined with a maximum of 16 key columns and 1023 included columns.

Avoid adding unnecessary columns. Adding too many index columns, key or non-key as they will affect negatively on performance. Fewer index rows will fit on a page. This could create I/O increases and reduced cache efficiency. More disk space will be required to store the index. Index maintenance may increase the time that it takes to perform modifications, inserts, updates, or deletes, to the underlying table or indexed view.

Another example to test:
Create following Index on Database AdventureWorks in SQL SERVER 2005

USE AdventureWorks
GOCREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX IX_Address_PostalCodeON Person.Address (PostalCode)INCLUDE (AddressLine1, AddressLine2, City, StateProvinceID)GO 

Test the performance of following query before and after creating Index. The performance improvement is significant.

SELECT AddressLine1, AddressLine2, City, StateProvinceID, PostalCodeFROM Person.AddressWHERE PostalCode BETWEEN '98000'AND '99999';GO

When do we use the UPDATE_STATISTICS command?

- UPDATE_STATISTICS updates the indexes on the tables when there is large processing of data.

- If we do a large amount of deletions any modification or Bulk Copy into the tables, we need to basically update the indexes to take these changes into an account.

- It ensures that queries, compile with up-to-date statistics.

- It causes queries to recompile.

- It can be used 'tempdb' to sort the sample of rows for building the statistics.

What is the use UPDATE_STATISTICS command?

We add statistics on the columns that don't have statistics in order to boost query performance. UPDATE_STATISTICS Updates query optimization statistics on a table or indexed view. By default, the query optimizer already updates statistics as necessary to improve the query plan but in some cases you can improve query performance by using UPDATE_STATISTICS or the stored procedure sp_updatestats to update statistics more frequently than the default updates.

UPDATE_STATISTICS command is basically used when a large processing of data has occurred. If a large amount of deletions any modification or Bulk Copy into the tables has occurred, it has to update the indexes to take these changes into account. UPDATE_STATISTICS updates the indexes on these tables accordingly.

Here is T-SQL Command:
1. Updating All Statistics with sp_updatestats
EXEC sp_updatestats

2. Update all statistics on a table
UPDATE STATISTICS TableName

3. Update the statistics for an index
UPDATE STATISTICS TableName, IndexName

For more information, click here

The SQL Server Query Optimizer has the ability to use statistics on columns that are not indexed in order to create more optimal execution plans. Doing so can increase performance without having the overhead of indexes. Column statistics are generated automatically by SQL Server when queries are being optimized by the Query Optimizer. For example, column statistics are automatically created when there are currently no statistics available for the column being used as a search argument in a WHERE clause or a JOIN clause. There are two cases when SQL Server will not automatically create column statistics, even when they fit the criteria described above. These include: when the costs needed to create the column statistics are larger than the costs of the query plan; and when SQL Server is too busy.

If you want to find out if an index has had its indexes updated or not, you can use the DBCC SHOW_STATISTICS command, like this:

DBCC SHOW_STATISTICS(table_name, index_name)

This command will not only tell you when statistics were last updated, but also provide you information on the kind of statistics that has been collected for the index you are examining

Properties and Different Types of Sub-Queries in SQL Server

Many times in interview ,interviewer asked the question what are properties and different Types of Sub-Queries in sql server,at that time freshers or any experienced candidate may be confuse how to give answer, so by considering above requirement i have decided to write this blog to help job seeker and who wants to know  what are properties and different Types of Sub-Queries in sql server , so let us see.

Properties of Sub-Query

1. A sub-query must be enclosed in the parenthesis.
2. A sub-query must be put in the right hand of the comparison operator, and
3. A sub-query cannot contain an ORDER-BY clause.
4. A query can contain more than one sub-query.

Types of Sub-Query

1. Single-row sub-query, where the sub-query returns only one row.
2. Multiple-row sub-query, where the sub-query returns multiple rows,. and
3. Multiple column sub-query, where the sub-query returns multiple columns.

Summary

I hope this small blog is helpful for all job seeker and other readers, if you have any suggestion then please contact me.

Can a stored procedure call itself or recursive stored procedure? How much level SP nesting is possible?

Yes. Because Transact-SQL supports recursion, you can write stored procedures that call themselves. Recursion can be defined as a method of problem solving wherein the solution is arrived at by repetitively applying it to subsets of the problem. A common application of recursive logic is to perform numeric computations that lend themselves to repetitive evaluation by the same processing steps. Stored procedures are nested when one stored procedure calls another or executes managed code by referencing a CLR routine, type, or aggregate. You can nest stored procedures and managed code references up to 32 levels.

Which command using Query Analyzer will give you the version of SQL server and operating system?

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY ('productversion'), SERVERPROPERTY ('productlevel'), SERVERPROPERTY('edition')

What is SQL Server Agent?

SQL Server agent plays an important role in the day-to-day tasks of a database administrator (DBA). It is often overlooked as one of the main tools for SQL Server management. Its purpose is to ease the implementation of tasks for the DBA, with its full-function scheduling engine, which allows you to schedule your own jobs and scripts. (Read More Here)

Can a stored procedure call itself or recursive stored procedure? How much level SP nesting is possible?

Yes. Because Transact-SQL supports recursion, you can write stored procedures that call themselves. Recursion can be defined as a method of problem solving wherein the solution is arrived at by repetitively applying it to subsets of the problem. A common application of recursive logic is to perform numeric computations that lend themselves to repetitive evaluation by the same processing steps. Stored procedures are nested when one stored procedure calls another or executes managed code by referencing a CLR routine, type, or aggregate. You can nest stored procedures and managed code references up to 32 levels.

What is Log Shipping?

Log shipping is the process of automating the backup of database and transaction log files on a production SQL server, and then restoring them onto a standby server. Enterprise Editions only supports log shipping. In log shipping the transactional log file from one server is automatically updated into the backup database on the other server. If one server fails, the other server will have the same db and can be used this as the Disaster Recovery plan. The key feature of log shipping is that it will automatically backup transaction logs throughout the day and automatically restore them on the standby server at defined interval.

Name 3 ways to get an accurate count of the number of records in a table?

SELECT * FROM table1

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table1

SELECT rows FROM sysindexes WHERE id = OBJECT_ID(table1) AND indid < 2




What does it mean to have QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON? What are the implications of having it OFF?

When SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER is ON, identifiers can be delimited by double quotation marks, and literals must be delimited by single quotation marks. When SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER is OFF, identifiers cannot be quoted and must follow all Transact-SQL rules for identifiers. (Read More Here)

What is the difference between a Local and a Global temporary table?

A local temporary table exists only for the duration of a connection or, if defined inside a compound statement, for the duration of the compound statement.

A global temporary table remains in the database permanently, but the rows exist only within a given connection. When connection is closed, the data in the global temporary table disappears. However, the table definition remains with the database for access when database is opened next time.

What is the STUFF function and how does it differ from the REPLACE function?

STUFF function is used to overwrite existing characters. Using this syntax, STUFF (string_expression, start, length, replacement_characters), string_expression is the string that will have characters substituted, start is the starting position, length is the number of characters in the string that are substituted, and replacement_characters are the new characters interjected into the string. REPLACE function to replace existing characters of all occurrences. Using the syntax REPLACE (string_expression, search_string, replacement_string), where every incidence of search_string found in the string_expression will be replaced with replacement_string.

What is PRIMARY KEY?

A PRIMARY KEY constraint is a unique identifier for a row within a database table. Every table should have a primary key constraint to uniquely identify each row and only one primary key constraint can be created for each table. The primary key constraints are used to enforce entity integrity.

What is UNIQUE KEY constraint?

A UNIQUE constraint enforces the uniqueness of the values in a set of columns, so no duplicate values are entered. The unique key constraints are used to enforce entity integrity as the primary key constraints.

What is FOREIGN KEY?

A FOREIGN KEY constraint prevents any actions that would destroy links between tables with the corresponding data values. A foreign key in one table points to a primary key in another table. Foreign keys prevent actions that would leave rows with foreign key values when there are no primary keys with that value. The foreign key constraints are used to enforce referential integrity.

What is CHECK Constraint?

A CHECK constraint is used to limit the values that can be placed in a column. The check constraints are used to enforce domain integrity. (Read More Here)

What is NOT NULL Constraint?

A NOT NULL constraint enforces that the column will not accept null values. The not null constraints are used to enforce domain integrity, as the check constraints.

(Read More Here)

How to get @@ERROR and @@ROWCOUNT at the same time?

If @@Rowcount is checked after Error checking statement then it will have 0 as the value of @@Recordcount as it would have been reset. And if @@Recordcount is checked before the error-checking statement then @@Error would get reset. To get @@error and @@rowcount at the same time do both in same statement and store them in local variable. SELECT @RC = @@ROWCOUNT, @ER = @@ERROR

What is a Scheduled Jobs or What is a Scheduled Tasks?

Scheduled tasks let user automate processes that run on regular or predictable cycles. User can schedule administrative tasks, such as cube processing, to run during times of slow business activity. User can also determine the order in which tasks run by creating job steps within a SQL Server Agent job. E.g. back up database, Update Stats of Tables. Job steps give user control over flow of execution. If one job fails, user can configure SQL Server Agent to continue to run the remaining tasks or to stop execution.

What are the advantages of using Stored Procedures?

• Stored procedure can reduced network traffic and latency, boosting application performance.
• Stored procedure execution plans can be reused, staying cached in SQL Server’s memory, reducing server overhead.
• Stored procedures help promote code reuse.
• Stored procedures can encapsulate logic. You can change stored procedure code without affecting clients.
• Stored procedures provide better security to your data.

What is a table called, if it has neither Cluster nor Non-cluster Index? What is it used for?

Unindexed table or Heap. Microsoft Press Books and Book on Line (BOL) refers it as Heap. A heap is a table that does not have a clustered index and, therefore, the pages are not linked by pointers. The IAM pages are the only structures that link the pages in a table together. Unindexed tables are good for fast storing of data. Many times it is better to drop all indexes from table and then do bulk of inserts and to restore those indexes after that.

Can SQL Servers linked to other servers like Oracle?

SQL Server can be linked to any server provided it has OLE-DB provider from Microsoft to allow a link. E.g. Oracle has an OLE-DB provider for oracle that Microsoft provides to add it as linked server to SQL Server group

What is BCP? When does it used?

BulkCopy is a tool used to copy huge amount of data from tables and views. BCP does not copy the structures same as source to destination. BULK INSERT command helps to import a data file into a database table or view in a user-specified format.

List out 3 ways to get an accurate count of the number of records in a table?

1. select COUNT(1) from Table 

2. select COUNT(*) from Table 

3. select * from Table 

4.select SUM (row_count) FROM sys.dm_db_partition_stats WHERE object_id=OBJECT_ID('table') AND (index_id=0 or index_id=1); 

5.SELECT rows FROM sysindexes WHERE id = OBJECT_ID('Table') AND indid < 2 

6. SELECT CAST(p.rows AS float) FROM sys.tables AS tbl INNER JOIN sys.indexes AS idx ON idx.object_id = tbl.object_id and idx.index_id < 2 INNER JOIN sys.partitions AS p ON p.object_id=CAST(tbl.object_id AS int) AND p.index_id=idx.index_id WHERE ((tbl.name=N'Table' AND SCHEMA_NAME(tbl.schema_id)='dbo'))

1.  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table1   
2.  SELECT * FROM table1
3.  SELECT rows FROM sysindexes WHERE id = OBJECT_ID(table1) AND indid < 2

a. Select count(*) from table1
b. SELECT object_name(id) ,rowcnt FROM sysindexes WHERE indid IN (1,0) AND OBJECTPROPERTY(id, ?IsUserTable?) = 1
c. exec sp_table_validation @table = ?authors?

Answer2.
SELECT count( * ) as totalrecords FROM employee
This will display total records under the name totalrecords in the table employee

use COUNT_BIG
Returns the number of items in a group.

@@ROWCOUNT
Returns the number of rows affected by the last statement.
Use this statement after an SQL select * statement, to retrieve the total number of rows in the table

What are the properties of the Relational tables?
Relational tables have six properties:

• Values are atomic.
• Column values are of the same kind.
• Each row is unique.
• The sequence of columns is insignificant.
• The sequence of rows is insignificant.
• Each column must have a unique name.

What is De-normalization?
De-normalization is the process of attempting to optimize the performance of a database by adding redundant data. It is sometimes necessary because current DBMSs implement the relational model poorly. A true relational DBMS would allow for a fully normalized database at the logical level, while providing physical storage of data that is tuned for high performance. De-normalization is a technique to move from higher to lower normal forms of database modeling in order to speed up database access.

How to get @@error and @@rowcount at the same time?If @@Rowcount is checked after Error checking statement then it will have 0 as the value of @@Recordcount as it would have been reset.
And if @@Recordcount is checked before the error-checking statement then @@Error would get reset. To get @@error and @@rowcount at the same time do both in same statement and store them in local variable. SELECT @RC = @@ROWCOUNT, @ER = @@ERROR

What is Identity?
Identity (or AutoNumber) is a column that automatically generates numeric values. A start and increment value can be set, but most DBA leave these at 1. A GUID column also generates numbers, the value of this cannot be controled. Identity/GUID columns do not need to be indexed.

What is a Scheduled Jobs or What is a Scheduled Tasks? 
Scheduled tasks let user automate processes that run on regular or predictable cycles. User can schedule administrative tasks, such as cube processing, to run during times of slow business activity. User can also determine the order in which tasks run by creating job steps within a SQL Server Agent job. E.g. Back up database, Update Stats of Tables. Job steps give user control over flow of execution.  If one job fails, user can configure SQL Server Agent to continue to run the remaining tasks or to stop execution.

What is a table called, if it does not have neither Cluster nor Non-cluster Index? What is it used for?Unindexed table or Heap. Microsoft Press Books and Book On Line (BOL) refers it as Heap.
A heap is a table that does not have a clustered index and, therefore, the pages are not linked by pointers. The IAM pages are the only structures that link the pages in a table together.
Unindexed tables are good for fast storing of data. Many times it is better to drop all indexes from table and than do bulk of inserts and to restore those indexes after that.

What is BCP? When does it used? 
BulkCopy is a tool used to copy huge amount of data from tables and views. BCP does not copy the structures same as source to destination.

How do you load large data to the SQL server database?BulkCopy is a tool used to copy huge amount of data from tables. BULK INSERT command helps to Imports a data file into a database table or view in a user-specified format.

Can we rewrite subqueries into simple select statements or with joins? 
Subqueries can often be re-written to use a standard outer join, resulting in faster performance. As we may know, an outer join uses the plus sign (+) operator to tell the database to return all non-matching rows with NULL values. Hence we combine the outer join with a NULL test in the WHERE clause to reproduce the result set without using a sub-query.

Can SQL Servers linked to other servers like Oracle?
SQL Server can be lined to any server provided it has OLE-DB provider from Microsoft to allow a link. E.g. Oracle has a OLE-DB provider for oracle that Microsoft provides to add it as linked server to SQL Server group.

How to know which index a table is using? 
SELECT table_name,index_name FROM user_constraints

How to copy the tables, schema and views from one SQL server to another?
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Data Transformation Services (DTS) is a set of graphical tools and programmable objects that lets user extract, transform, and consolidate data from disparate sources into single or multiple destinations.

What is Self Join?
This is a particular case when one table joins to itself, with one or two aliases to avoid confusion. A self join can be of any type, as long as the joined tables are the same. A self join is rather unique in that it involves a relationship with only one table. The common example is when company have a hierarchal reporting structure whereby one member of staff reports to another.

What is Cross Join?
A cross join that does not have a WHERE clause produces the Cartesian product of the tables involved in the join. The size of a Cartesian product result set is the number of rows in the first table multiplied by the number of rows in the second table. The common example is when company wants to combine each product with a pricing table to analyze each product at each price.

Which virtual table does a trigger use?
Inserted and Deleted.

List few advantages of Stored Procedure.

• Stored procedure can reduced network traffic and latency, boosting application performance.
• Stored procedure execution plans can be reused, staying cached in SQL Server’s memory, reducing server overhead.
• Stored procedures help promote code reuse.
• Stored procedures can encapsulate logic. You can change stored procedure code without affecting clients.
• Stored procedures provide better security to your data.

What is DataWarehousing?

• Subject-oriented, meaning that the data in the database is organized so that all the data elements relating to the same real-world event or object are linked together;
• Time-variant, meaning that the changes to the data in the database are tracked and recorded so that reports can be produced showing changes over time;
• Non-volatile, meaning that data in the database is never over-written or deleted, once committed, the data is static, read-only, but retained for future reporting;
• Integrated, meaning that the database contains data from most or all of an organization’s operational applications, and that this data is made consistent.

What is OLTP(OnLine Transaction Processing)?
In OLTP – online transaction processing systems relational database design use the discipline of data modeling and generally follow the Codd rules of data normalization in order to ensure absolute data integrity. Using these rules complex information is broken down into its most simple structures (a table) where all of the individual atomic level elements relate to each other and satisfy the normalization rules.

How do SQL server 2000 and XML linked? Can XML be used to access data?
FOR XML (ROW, AUTO, EXPLICIT)
You can execute SQL queries against existing relational databases to return results as XML rather than standard rowsets. These queries can be executed directly or from within stored procedures. To retrieve XML results, use the FOR XML clause of the SELECT statement and specify an XML mode of RAW, AUTO, or EXPLICIT.

OPENXML
OPENXML is a Transact-SQL keyword that provides a relational/rowset view over an in-memory XML document. OPENXML is a rowset provider similar to a table or a view. OPENXML provides a way to access XML data within the Transact-SQL context by transferring data from an XML document into the relational tables. Thus, OPENXML allows you to manage an XML document and its interaction with the relational environment.

What is an execution plan? When would you use it? How would you view the execution plan?
An execution plan is basically a road map that graphically or textually shows the data retrieval methods chosen by the SQL Server query optimizer for a stored procedure or ad-hoc query and is a very useful tool for a developer to understand the performance characteristics of a query or stored procedure since the plan is the one that SQL Server will place in its cache and use to execute the stored procedure or query. From within Query Analyzer is an option called “Show Execution Plan” (located on the Query drop-down menu). If this option is turned on it will display query execution plan in separate window when query is ran again.