Creating databases: This skill involves the creation of databases, which are organized collections of data that can be accessed, managed, and manipulated. It is crucial to assess this skill as it forms the foundation of any database-related tasks and ensures that the test taker has a strong understanding of database concepts and can effectively work with data in a structured manner.
Creating and deleting tables: This skill assesses the ability to create and delete tables, which are structures used to store organized data in a database. Evaluating this skill helps determine if the test taker can design and manage the structure of a database effectively, ensuring data is stored in the appropriate format and can be retrieved efficiently.
CRUD operations on tables: CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations refer to the basic actions performed on data in a database table. Testing this skill allows recruiters to see if the test taker is proficient in managing data by creating, reading, updating, and deleting records in a database, which is vital for effectively working with data.
Joins & Subqueries: Join operations combine rows from different tables based on specified conditions, while subqueries are queries nested within another query. Measuring this skill is important to evaluate the test taker's ability to retrieve and combine data from multiple tables using joins, as well as their proficiency in utilizing subqueries for more complex queries.
Conditional expressions and procedures: This skill involves using conditional expressions and procedures to control the flow of data and perform actions based on specific conditions. It is crucial to assess this skill as it determines the test taker's ability to implement logical operations, automate tasks, and handle complex data manipulations based on conditions.
Views: Views are virtual tables derived from the result set of a query. Testing this skill ensures that the test taker can create and utilize views effectively, which provide a simplified and structured way to access and analyze data, helping to improve performance and simplify query writing.
Indexes: Indexes are data structures that improve the speed of data retrieval operations on database tables. Evaluating this skill allows recruiters to see if the test taker understands the importance of creating and managing indexes, which can significantly enhance query performance and optimize the overall efficiency of a database.
String functions: This skill involves the usage of various functions to manipulate and analyze text data within the database. Measuring this skill is important to assess the ability of the test taker to work with string data, perform string manipulations, and apply string functions for tasks such as searching, formatting, and parsing text.
Mathematical functions & Timestamps: This skill assesses the ability to use mathematical functions and work with timestamps (date and time data) within the database. Evaluating this skill is crucial as it ensures the test taker can perform calculations, aggregations, and comparisons using mathematical functions, as well as effectively handle temporal data in database operations.
Locks and Transactions: Locks and transactions are mechanisms used to manage concurrent access and ensure data consistency in multi-user database environments. Measuring this skill is important to determine if the test taker understands the concepts of locks and transactions, and can effectively utilize them to control data integrity, isolation, and concurrency within a database system.
Scale and Security: This skill involves understanding how to design and implement databases that can handle large volumes of data and ensuring the security of sensitive information. Testing this skill allows recruiters to assess the test taker's knowledge and ability to design scalable databases and implement robust security measures, which are critical for managing data in real-world scenarios.