Answer SQL MCQs with reasoning
Company: Akuna Capital
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
Difficulty: Medium
Interview Round: Take-home Project
Answer multiple-choice questions covering SQL topics: INNER vs LEFT vs RIGHT JOIN semantics; GROUP BY and HAVING; NULL handling in comparisons and aggregates; window functions such as ROW_NUMBER and RANK; and logical query processing order. For each selected answer, briefly justify why it is correct and why at least one alternative is not.
Quick Answer: This question evaluates proficiency in SQL query semantics and reasoning about relational operations—specifically INNER, LEFT, and RIGHT JOIN behavior; GROUP BY and HAVING usage; NULL handling in comparisons and aggregates; window functions such as ROW_NUMBER and RANK; and the logical query processing order—within the Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) domain. It is commonly asked to assess the ability to interpret and justify query outcomes versus alternative answers, testing both conceptual understanding of relational theory and practical application of SQL query behavior.