Complex Queries in SQL ( Oracle )

These questions are the most frequently asked in interviews.

1. To fetch ALTERNATE records from a table. (EVEN NUMBERED)

select * from emp where rowid in (select decode(mod(rownum,2),0,rowid, null) from
emp);
2. To select ALTERNATE records from a table. (ODD NUMBERED)
select * from emp where rowid in (select decode(mod(rownum,2),0,null ,rowid) from
emp);
3. Find the 3rd MAX salary in the emp table.
select distinct sal from emp e1 where 3 = (select count(distinct sal) from emp e2 where
e1.sal <= e2.sal);
4. Find the 3rd MIN salary in the emp table.
select distinct sal from emp e1 where 3 = (select count(distinct sal) from emp e2where
e1.sal >= e2.sal);
5. Select FIRST n records from a table.
select * from emp where rownum <= &n;
6. Select LAST n records from a table
select * from emp minus select * from emp where rownum <= (select count(*) - &n from
emp);
7. List dept no., Dept name for all the departments in which there are no employees in
the department.
select * from dept where deptno not in (select deptno from emp);  
alternate solution:  select * from dept a where not exists (select * from emp b where
a.deptno = b.deptno);
altertnate solution:  select empno,ename,b.deptno,dname from emp a, dept b where
a.deptno(+) = b.deptno and empno is null;
8. How to get 3 Max salaries ?
select distinct sal from emp a where 3 >= (select count(distinct sal) from emp b where
a.sal <= b.sal) order by a.sal desc;
9. How to get 3 Min salaries ?
select distinct sal from emp a  where 3 >= (select count(distinct sal) from emp b  where
a.sal >= b.sal);
10. How to get nth max salaries ?
select distinct hiredate from emp a where &n =  (select count(distinct sal) from emp b
where a.sal >= b.sal);
11. Select DISTINCT RECORDS from emp table.
select * from emp a where  rowid = (select max(rowid) from emp b where 
a.empno=b.empno);
12. How to delete duplicate rows in a table?
delete from emp a where rowid != (select max(rowid) from emp b where 
a.empno=b.empno);
13. Count of number of employees in  department  wise.
select count(EMPNO), b.deptno, dname from emp a, dept b  where
a.deptno(+)=b.deptno  group by b.deptno,dname;
14.  Suppose there is annual salary information provided by emp table. How to fetch
monthly salary of each and every employee?

select ename,sal/12 as monthlysal from emp;

15. Select all record from emp table where deptno =10 or 40.

select * from emp where deptno=30 or deptno=10;

16. Select all record from emp table where deptno=30 and sal>1500.

select * from emp where deptno=30 and sal>1500;

17. Select  all record  from emp where job not in SALESMAN  or CLERK.

select * from emp where job not in ('SALESMAN','CLERK');

18. Select all record from emp where ename in 'BLAKE','SCOTT','KING'and'FORD'.

select * from emp where ename in('JONES','BLAKE','SCOTT','KING','FORD');

19. Select all records where ename starts with ‘S’ and its lenth is 6 char.

select * from emp where ename like'S____';

20. Select all records where ename may be any no of  character but it should end with
‘R’.

select * from emp where ename like'%R';

21. Count  MGR and their salary in emp table.

select count(MGR),count(sal) from emp;

22. In emp table add comm+sal as total sal  .

select ename,(sal+nvl(comm,0)) as totalsal from emp;

23. Select  any salary <3000 from emp table. 

select * from emp  where sal> any(select sal from emp where sal<3000);

24. Select  all salary <3000 from emp table. 

 select * from emp  where sal> all(select sal from emp where sal<3000);

25. Select all the employee  group by deptno and sal in descending order.

select ename,deptno,sal from emp order by deptno,sal desc;

26. How can I create an empty table emp1 with same structure as emp?

Create table emp1 as select * from emp where 1=2;

27. How to retrive record where sal between 1000 to 2000?

Select * from emp where sal>=1000 And  sal<2000
28. Select all records where dept no of both emp and dept table matches.
select * from emp where exists(select * from dept where emp.deptno=dept.deptno)
29. If there are two tables emp1 and emp2, and both have common record. How can I
fetch all the recods but common records only once?
(Select * from emp) Union (Select * from emp1)
30. How to fetch only common records from two tables emp and emp1?
(Select * from emp) Intersect (Select * from emp1)
31.  How can I retrive all records of emp1 those should not present in emp2?
(Select * from emp) Minus (Select * from emp1)
32. Count the totalsa  deptno wise where more than 2 employees exist.
SELECT deptno, sum(sal) As totalsal
FROM emp
GROUP BY deptno
HAVING COUNT(empno) > 2

DDL
Data Definition Language (DDL) statements are used to define the database structure or schema. Some examples:

o CREATE - to create objects in the database

o ALTER - alters the structure of the database
o DROP - delete objects from the database
o TRUNCATE - remove all records from a table, including all spaces allocated for the records are removed
o COMMENT - add comments to the data dictionary
o RENAME - rename an object

DML
Data Manipulation Language (DML) statements are used for managing data within schema objects. Some examples:

o SELECT - retrieve data from the a database

o INSERT - insert data into a table
o UPDATE - updates existing data within a table
 o DELETE - deletes all records from a table, the space for the records remain
o MERGE - UPSERT operation (insert or update)
o CALL - call a PL/SQL or Java subprogram
o EXPLAIN PLAN - explain access path to data
o LOCK TABLE - control concurrency

DCL
Data Control Language (DCL) statements. Some examples:

o GRANT - gives user's access privileges to database

o REVOKE - withdraw access privileges given with the GRANT command

TCL
Transaction Control (TCL) statements are used to manage the changes made by DML statements. It allows statements to be
grouped together into logical transactions.

o COMMIT - save work done

o SAVEPOINT - identify a point in a transaction to which you can later roll back
o ROLLBACK - restore database to original since the last COMMIT
o SET TRANSACTION - Change transaction options like isolation level and what rollback segment to use