Explain MySQL to MS SQL Server query syntax differences.
Company: Amazon
Role: Data Scientist
Category: Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
Difficulty: Medium
Interview Round: Onsite
transactions
| id | user_id | amount | txn_date |
|----|---------|--------|----------|
| 1 | 1001 | 25.00 | 2023-07-01 |
| 2 | 1002 | 40.00 | 2023-07-02 |
| 3 | 1001 | 15.00 | 2023-07-03 |
| 4 | 1003 | 60.00 | 2023-07-03 |
| 5 | 1001 | 30.00 | 2023-07-04 |
##### Scenario
You are migrating analytics queries from MySQL to MS SQL Server and need to verify candidates understand subtle syntax differences, CTE structure, aliases, ordering and equivalence of filtering clauses.
##### Question
In MySQL the query
SELECT id, COUNT(*) AS transactions
FROM transactions
GROUP BY id
HAVING transactions > 10;
runs, but the same fails in MS SQL Server. Explain why and rewrite a version portable to both engines.
What does the statement "SELECT * FROM A B;" do and why can it be legal SQL?
Given ORDER BY id, ORDER BY id ASC and ORDER BY id DESC, which one produces a different ordering and why?
Provide the correct multi-CTE skeleton that defines two CTEs, A and B, then queries them.
Will the following three predicates return identical rows for a char column containing only upper-case letters? Justify.
a) col IN ('A','B','C')
b) col BETWEEN 'A' AND 'C'
c) col >= 'A' AND col <= 'C'
##### Hints
Focus on alias scope rules, default sort order, comma vs alias syntax, WITH clause commas, and lexical range comparisons.
Quick Answer: This question evaluates a candidate's understanding of SQL dialect differences between MySQL and MS SQL Server — including alias scope, CTE structure, ordering semantics, and lexical range comparisons that affect query portability and correctness.