Data Science & ML

BigQuery & Cloud Data

BigQuery, large-scale SQL queries, partitioning, public datasets, costs, optimization

18 interview questionsยท
Mid-Level
1

What is Google BigQuery?

Answer

BigQuery is a serverless, highly scalable, and cost-effective data warehouse offered by Google Cloud Platform. It allows running analytical SQL queries on petabytes of data in seconds thanks to its distributed architecture. Unlike traditional databases, BigQuery separates storage from compute, enabling pay-per-use billing and nearly unlimited scalability.

2

What is the main advantage of BigQuery's serverless architecture?

Answer

BigQuery's serverless architecture means there is no infrastructure to manage: no server provisioning, no cluster configuration, no maintenance. Google automatically manages resources based on demand. This allows focusing on queries and analysis rather than system administration, while benefiting from automatic scalability.

3

How does BigQuery charge for queries in on-demand mode?

Answer

In on-demand mode, BigQuery charges based on the amount of data scanned by the query, not execution time or rows returned. The first terabyte scanned per month is free. It is therefore crucial to optimize queries by selecting only necessary columns and using partitioning to reduce costs.

4

What is a dataset in BigQuery?

5

What is table partitioning in BigQuery and what is its main advantage?

+15 interview questions

Master Data Science & ML for your next interview

Access all questions, flashcards, technical tests, code review exercises and interview simulators.

Start for free