Data Engineering Associate with Databricks Practice Exam

Which type of table is more appropriate for data that needs to be migrated easily to other databases?

1. Managed tables

2. External tables

3. Temporary tables

4. Materialized views

The correct answer is: External tables

External tables are the most appropriate choice for data that needs to be migrated easily to other databases. This is because external tables store data outside of the database itself, typically in a format like CSV or Parquet in a location like a cloud storage service (e.g., AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage). Since the data is not tied directly to the database instance, it can be accessed and moved independently, making migration straightforward. External tables allow users to manage the schema while maintaining flexibility in accessing the data from various platforms or systems. This characteristic is particularly useful in scenarios where organizations need to share or transfer data without altering the underlying dataset. On the other hand, managed tables are stored entirely within the database system, making data migration more complex, as it would involve exporting the data out of the database. Temporary tables are designed for short-lived use within a session, and their data does not persist beyond that session, which makes them unsuitable for migration. Materialized views store query results and require specific management and refresh processes, complicating the data migration process as well. Therefore, the ease of data migration is a distinctive advantage of using external tables.