Top T SQL Interview Questions You Should Prepare

The importance of knowing what type of T SQL interview questions to expect for a SQL developer preparing for a T SQL interview cannot be overstated. T SQL, or Transact Structured Query Language, is a SQL extension supported by Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase ASE. This article includes sample T SQL interview questions that will assist and direct you in your T SQL interview preparation.

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In this article, we’ll learn:

• T SQL Interview Questions and Answers
• Sample Interview Questions on T SQL
• FAQs on T SQL Interview Questions

T SQL Interview Questions and Answers

Let us look at some sample T SQL interview questions and answers for fresher and experienced developers to get you started:

T SQL Interview Questions and Answers for Beginners

Q1. What is the max number of rows we can construct by inserting rows directly in the VALUE list?

The maximum number of rows we can construct by inserting rows directly in the VALUE list is 1000.

Q2. What are all the indexes we can have in a table?

We can have a single Clustered Index, one or more nonclustered indexes, unique index, filtered, XML, spatial, etc.

Q3. What is the maximum number of nonclustered indexes we can have in a table?

We can create, at max, 249 nonclustered indexes in a table.

Q4. Define the Scope Of A Temporary Table.

The Scope Of A Temporary Table is only limited to its session.

T SQL Interview Questions and Answers for Experienced Developers

Q1. State the default isolation level along with the highest and the lowest.

The highest isolation level is SERIALIZABLE, the lowest isolation level is READ UNCOMMITTED, and the default isolation level is READ COMMITTED.

Q2. Name the types of temporary tables in SQL Server.

Temporary tables are of three types: Local temp tables (#), Global temp tables (##), and Table variables (@).

Q3. Name the necessary parameters that must be passed with a raiseerror statement?

The necessary parameters that must be passed with a raiseerror statement are message _id/message_str, severity, and state.

Sample Interview Questions on T SQL

Here are some frequently asked T SQL interview questions to help you prepare for your tech interview:

SQL Server T SQL Interview Questions

1. Define and describe the usage of:

• A table
• Primary key
• Query
• GO
• A DML statement
• A subquery in T SQL
• A join
• An index
• A view
• A trigger
• A page
• Acid Properties
• Synonym
• A DDL statement
• Patindex
• No-lock
• De-normalization
• Integrity Constraints
• Collation
• Row Constructors
• Rename A Table
• Cube & Rollup Sets
• Virtual Tables In Triggers
• Colasce Function
• OFFSET-FETCH filter
• T SQL Window functions
• Sub-query
• TOP
• Dynamic queries
• XML indexes
• Uncommittable transactions
• Sp_pkeys
• SET statement
• Bitwise operators

1. Differentiate between:

• UNION and UNION ALL
• Char and Varchar Data Type
• SQL Server 2000 and 2005 features
• Coalesce() and Isnull()
• Varchar and Varchar2
• Primary Key and Unique Index
• SQL and T SQL
• PARTITION BY and GROUP BY
• T SQL linked server and a synonym
• COALESCE() and ISNULL(,”)
• TRUNCATE and DELETE
• EXEC and sp_executeSQL

1. What is the name and scope of the table that has ## before its name?
2. Describe some ways to issue Dynamic SQL.
3. When would you use the primary key or primary index?
4. Should the transaction be inside the TRY block, or should the TRY/CATCH block be inside the transaction?
5. Which statement can be rollbacked?

T SQL Interview Questions For Experienced Professionals

1. How would you:

• Use SQL query to copy the only structure
• Query a string contains %
• Update ‘yes’ to ‘no’ and viceversa
• Create temporary table
• Apply noncluster index
• Execute an SQL query from the command prompt
• Delete & Truncate statement
• Prevent T SQL code from running on a production SQL Server
• Execute a DOS command through SQL query using xp_cmdshell or from SQL
• Handle exceptions in SQL Server Programming
• Load large data in SQL Server
• Copy schema from one SQL Server to a different one
• Know whether a cursor is open or closed
• Know index usage on tables
• Deploy an SSIS package in staging, testing, and production environments
• Manipulate text in T SQL code
• Remove all data from a table
• Delete duplicate records in a table that has no primary key
• Get the length of a column when it is an NText, a text, or an image data type

1. Name and describe all the types of:

• Functions (UDF)
• Replication
• Recovery Models
• Temporary Tables
• Internal Joins
• Pages
• DML Triggers
• Views
• Indexes
• Tables
• Joins
• SSIS Logging Mechanisms
• Data Sources Are Available In SSIS
• T String functions

1. What is the syntax for and use of the following:

• Partition
• using SQL_Variant_Property
• IDENT_CURRENT
• IDENT_INCR

1. State the limitations of the IDENTITY column
2. Give an example of Left Outer Join with Exclusions
3. Can we import data directly using T SQL commands without the help of SQL?
4. Describe performance best practices when using a GUID as a primary key.
5. What are the commands if it’s possible to import data directly from T SQL commands without using SQL Server Integration Services?
6. What would you use for Performance Tuning?
7. What Are the Alternatives to a cursor, and why should we not use a cursor?
8. Describe some ways to Execute A Dynamic Query?

FAQs on T SQL Interview Questions

Q1. What is T SQL?

T SQL, or Transact Structured Query Language, refers to a set of extensions to SQL that add features like transaction control, exception handling, error handling, row processing, etc., supported by Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase ASE.

Q2. Differentiate between SQL and T SQL.

SQL, or Structured Query Language, operates on sets. At the same time, Transact SQL or TSQL is a proprietary procedural language used by MS SQL Server and implements UPDATE and DELETE differently compared to SQL.

Q3. Differentiate between PL SQL and T SQL.

PL SQL has SQL embedded and is a procedural programming language. T SQL is a set of procedural extensions for SQL used by MS SQL Server.

Q4. Is T SQL difficult?

No! T SQL is easy to learn. For developers, learning the syntax is most of the battle.

Q5. Is T SQL ANSI compliant?

No. As a proprietary form of SQL used by Microsoft SQL Server, T SQL includes special functions like date, cast, convert, etc., which are not included in the ANSI standard.

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