List Of Top Oracle Interview Questions

Q #1) What is Oracle and what are its different editions?

Answer: Oracle is one of the popular databases provided by Oracle
Corporation, which works on relational management concepts, and hence
it is referred to as Oracle RDBMS as well. It is widely used for online
transaction processing, data warehousing, and enterprise grid computing.
Q #2) How will you identify Oracle Database Software Release?
Answer: Oracle follows a number of formats for every release.
For Example,
Release 10.1.0.1.1 can be referred to as:
10: Major DB Release Number
1: DB Maintenance Release Number
0: Application Server Release Number
1: Component Specific Release Number
1: Platform Specific Release Number
Q #3) How will you differentiate between VARCHAR & VARCHAR2?
Answer: Both VARCHAR & VARCHAR2 are Oracle data types that are used
to store character strings of variable length. Their differences are:
 VARCHAR can store characters up to 2000 bytes while
VARCHAR2 can store up to 4000 bytes.
 VARCHAR will hold the space for characters defined during
declaration even if all of them are not used whereas
VARCHAR2 will release the unused space.
Q #4) What is the difference between TRUNCATE & DELETE
commands?
Answer: Both commands are used to remove data from the database.
The difference between the two include:
 TRUNCATE is a DDL operation while DELETE is a DML
operation.
 TRUNCATE removes all the rows but leaves the table
structure intact. It can not be rolled back as it issues COMMIT
before and after the command execution while the DELETE
command can be rolled back.
 The TRUNCATE command will free the object storage space
while the DELETE command does not.
 TRUNCATE is faster compared to DELETE.
Q #5) What is meant by RAW datatype?
Answer: RAW datatype is used to store variable-length binary data or
byte strings.
The difference between RAW & VARCHAR2 datatype is that PL/SQL does
not recognize this data type and hence, cannot do any conversions when
RAW data is transferred to different systems. This data type can only be
queried or inserted in a table.

Syntax: RAW (precision)

Q #6) What is meant by Joins? List the types of Joins.
Answer: Joins are used to extract data from multiple tables using some
common columns or conditions.
There are various types of Joins as listed below:
 INNER JOIN
 OUTER JOIN
 CROSS JOINS or CARTESIAN PRODUCT
 EQUI JOIN
 ANTI JOIN
 SEMI JOIN
Q #7) What is the difference between SUBSTR & INSTR functions?
Answer:
 SUBSTR function returns the sub-part identified by numeric
values from the provided string.
 For Example, [SELECT SUBSTR (‘India is my country,
1, 4) from dual] will return “Indi”.
 INSTR will return the position number of the sub-string within
the string.
 For Example, [SELECT INSTR (‘India is my country,
‘a’) from dual] will return 5.
Q #8) How can we find out the duplicate values in an Oracle
table?
Answer: We can use the below example query to fetch the
duplicate records.
SELECT EMP_NAME, COUNT (EMP_NAME)
FROM EMP
GROUP BY EMP_NAME
HAVING COUNT (EMP_NAME) > 1;
Q #9) How does the ON-DELETE-CASCADE statement work?
Answer: Using ON DELETE CASCADE will automatically delete a record in
the child table when the same is deleted from the parent table. This
statement can be used with Foreign Keys.
We can add the ON DELETE CASCADE option to an existing table using the
below set of commands.

Syntax:
ALTER TABLE CHILD_T1 ADD CONSTRAINT CHILD_PARENT_FK REFERENCES
PARENT_T1 (COLUMN1) ON DELETE CASCADE;
Q #10) What is an NVL function? How can it be used?
Answer: NVL is a function that helps the user to substitute value if null is
encountered for an expression.
It can be used as the below syntax.
NVL (Value_In, Replace_With)
Q #11) What is the difference between a Primary Key & a Unique
Key?
Answer: Primary Key is used to identify each table row uniquely, while a
Unique Key prevents duplicate values in a table column.
Given below are a few differences:
 The primary key can be only one on the table while unique
keys can be multiple.
 The primary key cannot hold a null value at all while the
unique key allows multiple null values.
  The primary key is a clustered index while a unique key is a
non-clustered index.
Q #12) How TRANSLATE command is different from REPLACE?
Answer: TRANSLATE command translates characters one by one in the
provided string with the substitution character. REPLACE command will
replace a character or a set of characters with a complete substitution
string.
For Example:
TRANSLATE (‘Missisippi’,’is’,’15) => M155151pp1
REPLACE (‘Missisippi’,’is’,’15) =>  M15s15ippi
Q #13) How can we find out the current date and time in Oracle?
Answer: We can find the current date & time using SYSDATE command in
Oracle.
Syntax:
SELECT SYSDATE into CURRENT_DATE from dual;
Q #14) Why do we use COALESCE function in Oracle?
Answer: COALESCE function is used to return the first non-null expression
from the list of arguments provided in the expression. There must be a
minimum of two arguments in an expression.
Syntax:
COALESCE (expr 1, expr 2, expr 3…expr n)
Q #15) How will you write a query to get 5th RANK students from
the table STUDENT_REPORT?
Answer: The query will be as follows:
SELECT TOP 1 RANK
FROM (SELECT TOP 5 RANK
FROM STUDENT_REPORT
ORDER BY RANK DESC) AS STUDENT
ORDER BY RANK ASC;
Q #16) When do we use the GROUP BY clause in SQL Query?
Answer: GROUP BY clause is used to identify and group the data by one
or more columns in the query results. This clause is often used with
aggregate functions like COUNT, MAX, MIN, SUM, AVG, etc.
Syntax:
SELECT COLUMN_1, COLUMN_2
FROM TABLENAME
WHERE [condition]
GROUP BY COLUMN_1, COLUMN_2
Q #17) What is the quickest way to fetch the data from a table?
Answer: The quickest way to fetch the data would be to use ROWID in
the SQL query.
Q #18) Where do we use DECODE and CASE Statements?
Answer: Both DECODE & CASE statements will function like IF-THEN-ELSE
statements and they are the alternatives for each other. These functions
are used in Oracle to transform the data values.
For Example:
DECODE Function
Select ORDERNUM,
DECODE (STATUS,'O', ‘ORDERED’,'P', ‘PACKED,’S’,’SHIPPED’,’A’,’ARRIVED’)
FROM ORDERS;
CASE Function
Select ORDERNUM
, CASE (WHEN STATUS ='O' then ‘ORDERED’
WHEN STATUS ='P' then PACKED
WHEN STATUS ='S' then ’SHIPPED’
ELSE ’ARRIVED’) END
FROM ORDERS;
Both the commands will display order numbers with their
respective status as,
If,

Status O= Ordered
Status P= Packed
Status S= Shipped
Status A= Arrived

Q #19) Why do we need integrity constraints in a database?

Answer: Integrity constraints are required to enforce business rules so as
to maintain the integrity of the database and prevent the entry of invalid
data into the tables. With the help of the below-mentioned constraints,
relationships can be maintained between the tables.
Various integrity constraints are available which include Primary Key,
Foreign Key, UNIQUE KEY, NOT NULL & CHECK.

Q #20) What do you mean by MERGE in Oracle and how can we

merge two tables?
Answer: The MERGE statement is used to merge the data from two
tables. It selects the data from the source table and inserts/updates it in
the other table based on the condition provided in the MERGE query.
Syntax:
MERGE INTO TARGET_TABLE_1
USING SOURCE_TABLE_1
ON SEARCH_CONDITION
WHEN MATCHED THEN
INSERT (COL_1, COL_2…)
VALUES (VAL_1, VAL_2…)
WHERE <CONDITION>
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
UPDATE SET COL_1=VAL_1, COL_2=VAL_2…
WHEN <CONDITION>
Q #21) What is the use of Aggregate functions in Oracle?
Answer: Aggregate functions perform summary operations on a set of
values to provide a single value. There are several aggregate functions
that we use in our code to perform calculations. These are:
 AVG
 MIN
 MAX
 COUNT
 SUM
 STDEV
Q #22) What are the set operators UNION, UNION ALL, MINUS &
INTERSECT meant to do?
Answer: The set operator facilitates the user to fetch the data from two
or more than two tables at once if the columns and relative data types are
the same in the source tables.
 UNION operator returns all the rows from both tables except
the duplicate rows.
 UNION ALL returns all the rows from both the tables along
with the duplicate rows.
 MINUS returns rows from the first table, which does not exist
in the second table.
 INTERSECT returns only the common rows in both tables.
Q #23) Can we convert a date to char in Oracle and if so, what
would be the syntax?
Answer: We can use the TO_CHAR function to do the above conversion.
Syntax:
SELECT to_char (to_date ('30-01-2018', 'DD-MM-YYYY'), 'YYYY-MM
Q #24) What do you mean by a database transaction & what all
TCL statements are available in Oracle?
Answer: Transaction occurs when a set of SQL statements are executed
in one go. To control the execution of these statements, Oracle has
introduced TCL i.e. Transaction Control Statements that use a set of
statements.
The set of statements includes:
 COMMIT: Used to make a transaction permanent.
 ROLLBACK: Used to roll back the state of DB to last the
commit point.
 SAVEPOINT: Helps to specify a transaction point to which
rollback can be done later.
Q #25) What do you understand by a database object? Can you
list a few of them?
Answer: The object used to store the data or references of the data in a
database is known as a database object. The database consists of various
types of DB objects such as tables, views, indexes, constraints, stored
procedures, triggers, etc.
Q #26) What is a nested table and how is it different from a
normal table?
Answer: A nested table is a database collection object, which can be
stored as a column in a table. While creating a normal table, an entire
nested table can be referenced in a single column. Nested tables have
only one column with no restriction of rows.
For Example:
CREATE TABLE EMP (
EMP_ID NUMBER,
EMP_NAME  TYPE_NAME)
Here, we are creating a normal table as EMP and referring to a nested
table TYPE_NAME as a column.

Q #27) Can we save images in a database and if yes, how?

Answer: BLOB stands for Binary Large Object, which is a data type that is
generally used to hold images, audio & video files, or some binary
executables. This datatype has the capacity of holding data up to 4 GB.
Q #28) What do you understand by database schema and what
does it hold?
Answer: Schema is a collection of database objects owned by a database
user who can create or manipulate new objects within this schema. The
schema can contain any DB objects like table, view, indexes, clusters,
stored procs, functions, etc.
Q #29) What is a data dictionary and how can it be created?
Answer: Whenever a new database is created, a database-specific data
dictionary gets created by the system. This dictionary is owned by the SYS
user and maintains all the metadata related to the database. It has a set
of read-only tables and views and it is physically stored in the SYSTEM
tablespace.
Q #30) What is a View and how is it different from a table?
Answer: View is a user-defined database object that is used to store the
results of an SQL query, which can be referenced later. Views do not store
this data physically but as a virtual table, hence it can be referred to as a
logical table.
The view is different from the table:
 A table can hold data but not SQL query results whereas View
can save the query results, which can be used in another SQL
query as a whole.
 The table can be updated or deleted while Views cannot be
done so.
Q #31) What is meant by a deadlock situation?
Answer: A deadlock is a situation when two or more users are
simultaneously waiting for the data, which is locked by each other. Hence
it results in all blocked user sessions.
Q #32) What is meant by an index?
Answer: An index is a schema object, which is created to search the data
efficiently within the table. Indexes are usually created on certain columns
of the table, which are accessed the most. Indexes can be clustered or
non-clustered.
Q#33) What is a ROLE in the Oracle database?
Answer: Giving access to individual objects to individual users is a tough
administrative task. In order to make this job easy, a group of common
privileges is created in a database, which is known as ROLE. The ROLE,
once created can be assigned to or revoked from the users by using
GRANT & REVOKE command.
Syntax:
CREATE ROLE READ_TABLE_ROLE;
GRANT SELECT ON EMP TO READ_TABLE_ROLE;
GRANT READ_TABLE_ROLE TO USER1;
REVOKE READ_TABLE_ROLE FROM USER1;
Q #34) What are the attributes that are found in a CURSOR?
Answer: A CURSOR has various attributes as mentioned below:
(i) %FOUND:
  Returns INVALID_CURSOR if the cursor has been declared but
closed.
 Returns NULL if fetch has not happened but the cursor is open
only.
 Returns TRUE, if the rows are fetched successfully and FALSE
if no rows are returned.
(ii) NOT FOUND:
 Returns INVALID_CURSOR if the cursor has been declared but
closed.
 Returns NULL if fetch has not happened but the cursor is open
only.
 Returns FALSE, if rows are fetched successfully and TRUE if no
rows are returned
(iii) %ISOPEN: Returns TRUE, if the cursor is OPEN else FALSE
(iv) %ROWCOUNT: Returns the count of fetched rows.
Q #35) Why do we use %ROWTYPE & %TYPE in PLSQL?
Answer: %ROWTYPE & %TYPE are the attributes in PL/SQL that can
inherit the datatypes of a table defined in a database. The purpose of
using these attributes is to provide data independence and integrity.
If any of the datatypes or precision gets changed in the database, PL/SQL
code gets updated automatically with the changed data type.

%TYPE is used for declaring a variable that needs to have the same data
type as of a table column.

While %ROWTYPE will be used to define a complete row of records having

a structure similar to the structure of a table.

Q #36) Why do we create Stored Procedures & Functions in

PL/SQL and how are they different?
Answer: A stored procedure is a set of SQL statements that are written to
perform a specific task. These statements can be saved as a group in the
database with an assigned name and can be shared with different
programs if permissions are there to access the same.
Functions are again subprograms that are written to perform specific
tasks but there are differences between both of them.

Stored Procedures Functions

Stored Procedures may or may not return a value and can return multiple values as
Function will always retu
well. value.
Stored Procedures can include DML statements like insert, update & delete.
We cannot use DML sta
function.
Stored Procedures can call functions. Functions cannot call sto
Stored Procedures support exception handling using Try/Catch block. Functions does not supp
block.
Q #37) What are the parameters that we can pass through a
stored procedure?
Answer: We can pass IN, OUT & INOUT parameters through a stored
procedure and they should be defined while declaring the procedure itself.
Q #38) What is a trigger and what are its types?
Answer: A trigger is a stored program that is written in such a way that it
gets executed automatically when some event occurs. This event can be
any DML or a DDL operation.
PL/SQL supports two types of triggers:
 Row Level
 Statement Level
Q #39) How will you distinguish a global variable from a local
variable in PL/SQL?
Answer: Global variable is the one, which is defined at the beginning of
the program and survives until the end. It can be accessed by any
methods or procedures within the program, while the access to the local
variable is limited to the procedure or method where it is declared.
Q #40) What are the packages in PL SQL?
Answer: A package is a group of related database objects like stored
procs, functions, types, triggers, cursors, etc. that are stored in the Oracle
database. It is a kind of library of related objects which can be accessed
by multiple applications if permitted.
PL/SQL Package structure consists of 2 parts: package specification &
package body.