Oracle Updated 1z0-071 Exam Questions and Answers by kaleb

Substitution variables in Oracle are used to replace a value dynamically during the execution of SQL statements. The behavior of these variables is well-documented:

C. A substitution variable prefixed with & always prompts only once for a value in a session: This is true. In a session, when you use a single ampersand (&), SQL*Plus or SQL Developer will prompt for the value the first time the variable is encountered. The value for this variable will then be reused for the remainder of the session unless it is redefined.

D. A substitution variable can be used with any clause in a SELECT statement: Substitution variables can be placed in any part of a SQL statement, including the SELECT, WHERE, GROUP BY, ORDER BY, etc. They are not limited to any specific clause.

References:

Oracle SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference, which discusses substitution variables.

When comparing the performance of different SQL join types and conditions, Oracle SQL optimizations generally ensure that performance is consistent across different syntactical forms of expressing the same logic:

Option A: False. The BETWEEN condition does not inherently perform worse than using >= and <=. Oracle's optimizer typically evaluates these conditions similarly, optimizing the underlying execution based on the data distribution and available indexes.

Option B: False. Oracle's optimizer is designed to handle both Oracle-specific join syntax and ANSI join syntax with equal competence. Performance differences would typically be negligible because the optimizer translates both into an optimal execution plan based on the same underlying mechanisms.

Option C: True. The join syntax used (whether Oracle's traditional syntax or ANSI standard syntax) generally does not affect the performance. Oracle's query optimizer is adept at translating different syntaxes into efficient execution plans.

Option D: False. The assertion that BETWEEN always performs better than >= and <= is incorrect. Performance depends more on factors like indexing, the specific data and distribution, and the Oracle optimizer's capabilities than on the mere choice of syntax.

Option E: False. While table aliases help improve query readability and can prevent ambiguity in SQL queries, they do not inherently improve performance. Their use is a best practice for code clarity and maintenance, not performance enhancement.

The CHECK constraint is generally used to limit the range of values that can be placed in a column. If a CHECK constraint exists on the department_id to only allow values such as 80 (assuming from the context provided):

A. UPDATE emp80 SET department_id=90 WHERE department_id=80: This UPDATE statement attempts to set the department_id to 90 for rows where it is currently 80. If there is a CHECK constraint preventing department_id from being anything other than 80, this statement would violate that constraint.

Incorrect options:

B: DELETE operations do not affect CHECK constraints as they do not involve modifying or setting column values.

C and D: SELECT statements do not modify data and thus cannot violate data integrity constraints like CHECK constraints.

B: True. The Oracle Database MERGE statement can use a subquery that involves views to generate the source data for the merge operation. This allows for greater flexibility in specifying the data to be merged.

C: True. MERGE can conditionally combine rows from one or more source tables (or views, or the results of a subquery) to insert or update rows in a single target table based on whether or not a match exists.

D: True. MERGE can indeed use subqueries to produce source rows. The source data for a merge operation can be a table, view, or the result of a subquery.

The MERGE statement is a powerful SQL operation in Oracle that allows for conditional INSERT or UPDATE operations in one statement, often referred to as an "upsert" operation. It can handle complex scenarios where the decision to insert or update is based on whether the data matches between the target and source datasets.

References:Oracle SQL documentation on the MERGE statement provides information on how it can use different data sources, including subqueries and views, and perform conditional operations on the target table.