Snowflake SnowPro Core: key terms

Flashcards for this exam Snowflake SnowPro Core guide Class dates

• ACCOUNT_USAGE SchemaA schema in the shared SNOWFLAKE database with account-wide metadata and usage views such as QUERY_HISTORY, WAREHOUSE_METERING_HISTORY and ACCESS_HISTORY.Advanced
• Apache AvroA row-based binary file format with an embedded JSON schema, well suited to streaming, write-heavy workloads and schema evolution.Intermediate
• Apache IcebergAn open table format for huge analytic datasets that provides ACID commits, hidden partitioning, schema and partition evolution, and time travel.Advanced
• Apache ORCOptimized Row Columnar: a columnar file format from the Hive ecosystem with lightweight indexes, compression and ACID support in Hive.Advanced
• Apache ParquetAn open-source columnar file format with efficient compression, encoding and predicate pushdown, widely used for analytics.Intermediate
• Auto-SuspendA setting that suspends a Snowflake warehouse after a set idle period so it stops using credits; auto-resume restarts it when queries arrive.Foundational
• Cloud Services LayerThe Snowflake layer that coordinates authentication, infrastructure, metadata, query parsing and optimization, access control and the result cache.Intermediate
• Clustering DepthThe average number of overlapping micro-partitions for given column values; lower depth means better clustering.Advanced
• Clustering KeyOne or more columns or expressions designated to co-locate similar rows in the same micro-partitions of a large Snowflake table, improving pruning.Advanced
• Column CardinalityThe number of distinct values in a column; high cardinality means many unique values.Intermediate
• Column-Level SecurityRestricting access to specific columns, for example through column GRANTs, masking policies or object-level security.Intermediate
• Columnar StorageStoring each column's values together on disk rather than storing whole rows, which speeds analytic scans and improves compression.Intermediate
• COPY INTOThe command that bulk-loads staged files into a table (COPY INTO <table>) or unloads query results to a stage (COPY INTO <location>).Intermediate
• CREATE TABLE AS SELECT (CTAS)A statement that creates a new table and fills it with the results of a query in one step.Intermediate
• CREATE TABLE StatementThe DDL statement that defines a new table with its columns, data types and constraints.Foundational
• Data Clean RoomA secure environment where multiple parties can run approved joint analyses on combined data without exposing raw records to each other.Advanced
• Data SkippingUsing per-file min/max statistics to skip files that cannot contain rows matching a query filter.Advanced
• Data Warehouse (DW)A central repository of integrated, cleaned, historical data from multiple sources, structured for analytics and reporting.Foundational
• Database SchemaThe structure of a database (its tables, columns, types, keys and relationships), or a named namespace that groups database objects.Foundational
• Delimited Text FileA plain-text file, such as CSV or TSV, in which fields are separated by a delimiter and records by line breaks.Foundational
• DROP StatementThe DDL command that permanently removes a database object, such as a table, view, index or schema, together with its data.Foundational
• Dynamic Data Masking (DDM)Masking sensitive column values in query results for unauthorized users at run time without changing the stored data.Intermediate
• Dynamic TableA Snowflake table defined by a query that Snowflake keeps refreshed automatically to meet a declared target lag.Advanced
• External TableA table whose data files reside in external storage and are queried in place, with only metadata kept in the database.Intermediate
• Extract, Load, Transform (ELT)A pattern that loads raw data into the target platform first and transforms it there using the platform's own compute.Foundational
• File Format ObjectA named Snowflake object that stores parsing options (type, delimiter, compression, header skipping, NULL handling) for loading and unloading files.Intermediate
• FLATTEN FunctionA Snowflake table function that explodes arrays or objects in VARIANT columns into one row per element.Intermediate
• Full Table ScanReading every row of a table to answer a query, typically because no usable index exists or most rows are needed.Intermediate
• GRANT StatementThe DCL statement that gives privileges on database objects to users or roles.Foundational
• Identity ColumnA column whose values the database generates automatically, typically incrementing integers, often used as a surrogate key.Intermediate
• LATERAL JoinA join in which the right-hand table expression can reference columns from preceding tables in the FROM clause.Advanced
• Lazy EvaluationDeferring execution of transformations until an action requires a result, which lets the engine optimize the whole plan.Intermediate
• Masking PolicyA Snowflake Enterprise schema-level object that dynamically masks column values at query time based on conditions such as the current role.Intermediate
• Materialized ViewA database object that stores the precomputed result of a query and refreshes it as base data changes.Intermediate
• MERGE StatementA single DML statement that inserts, updates or deletes target rows based on whether they match rows in a source.Intermediate
• Micro-PartitionSnowflake's immutable, automatically created columnar storage units, each holding 50-500 MB of uncompressed data with min/max metadata per column.Intermediate
• Multi-Cluster WarehouseA Snowflake Enterprise Edition warehouse that automatically adds or removes clusters, between a minimum and maximum, to handle concurrent users.Intermediate
• Object TaggingAttaching key-value tags to Snowflake objects (accounts, warehouses, tables, columns) to track sensitive data, cost centers and ownership.Advanced
• Partition PruningSkipping partitions whose data cannot satisfy a query's filter, which reduces the data scanned.Intermediate
• PIVOT and UNPIVOTSQL operators that rotate data: PIVOT turns row values into columns, and UNPIVOT turns columns into rows.Intermediate
• Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR)Restoring a database to its exact state at a specific moment, for example just before an accidental delete.Intermediate
• QUALIFY ClauseA clause in Snowflake, Databricks SQL, BigQuery and Teradata that filters rows on the result of window functions.Intermediate
• Query Acceleration Service (QAS)A Snowflake warehouse feature that offloads parts of eligible large scans and filters to shared serverless compute, helping outlier queries.Advanced
• Query Execution PlanThe sequence of physical operations (scans, seeks, joins, sorts) that the database chooses to run a query.Intermediate
• Query OptimizerThe database component that evaluates possible ways to run a query and picks the lowest-cost plan.Intermediate
• Query ProfileSnowsight's graphical breakdown of a Snowflake query's execution plan, operator statistics, pruning and spilling.Intermediate
• Reader AccountA Snowflake account created and paid for by a data provider so consumers without their own Snowflake account can query shared data.Advanced
• Result CacheSnowflake's cloud-services cache of query results, reused for identical queries for 24 hours (extendable to 31 days) if the underlying data has not changed.Intermediate
• Row Access PolicyA Snowflake Enterprise object that filters which rows a query returns based on the user's role or a mapping table.Advanced
• Row-Level Security (RLS)Restricting which rows a user can see based on their identity or role, enforced by the data platform or semantic model.Intermediate
• Scaling PolicyThe multi-cluster warehouse setting (Standard or Economy) that controls how eagerly Snowflake starts additional clusters.Advanced
• Search Optimization ServiceA Snowflake Enterprise feature that builds a persistent search access path to speed selective point lookups, substring searches and VARIANT field searches.Advanced
• Secure Data SharingSnowflake's capability to share live, read-only database objects with other accounts without copying or moving data.Intermediate
• Secure ViewA Snowflake view whose definition is hidden from unauthorized users and whose optimizations cannot expose underlying data.Intermediate
• Semi-Structured DataData with self-describing tags or keys but no rigid tabular schema, such as JSON, XML, Avro or Parquet with nested fields.Foundational
• Separation of Storage and ComputeAn architecture in which data lives in independent storage and compute resources scale, start and stop separately.Intermediate
• SequenceA standalone database object that generates unique numbers on request, independent of any one table.Intermediate
• Shared-Disk ArchitectureA distributed design in which all compute nodes access a common storage layer.Advanced
• Shared-Nothing ArchitectureA distributed design in which each node has its own CPU, memory and disk, sharing nothing with other nodes.Advanced
• Snowflake ArchitectureSnowflake's three independent layers: database storage, query processing (virtual warehouses) and cloud services.Foundational
• Snowflake CreditThe unit of Snowflake compute consumption, charged for warehouses, serverless features and cloud services above the daily threshold.Foundational
• Snowflake EditionsSnowflake service tiers (Standard, Enterprise, Business Critical, Virtual Private Snowflake) that unlock progressively more features and security.Foundational
• Snowflake Fail-safeA non-configurable 7-day period after Time Travel during which Snowflake can recover permanent table data for disaster recovery.Intermediate
• Snowflake Iceberg TableA Snowflake table that stores data and metadata in the Apache Iceberg format in customer-managed cloud storage, using Snowflake or an external catalog.Advanced
• Snowflake MarketplaceSnowflake's marketplace of free and paid listings of live datasets, data services and Native Apps from third-party providers.Intermediate
• Snowflake Resource MonitorA Snowflake object that tracks credit usage by warehouses against a quota and can notify, suspend, or suspend immediately at thresholds.Intermediate
• Snowflake StageA named or implicit location of data files used for loading and unloading: internal (Snowflake-managed) or external (S3, Azure Blob, GCS).Intermediate
• Snowflake StreamA Snowflake object that records DML changes (inserts, updates, deletes) to a table since an offset, enabling CDC processing.Intermediate
• Snowflake System-Defined RolesSnowflake's built-in roles: ORGADMIN, ACCOUNTADMIN, SECURITYADMIN, USERADMIN, SYSADMIN and PUBLIC.Intermediate
• Snowflake TaskA Snowflake object that runs a SQL statement, procedure call or Snowflake Scripting block on a schedule or after a predecessor task, forming DAGs.Intermediate
• SnowparkSnowflake's developer framework with Python, Java and Scala DataFrame APIs whose operations are pushed down and executed inside Snowflake.Intermediate
• SnowpipeSnowflake's serverless continuous ingestion service that loads staged files soon after arrival, triggered by cloud event notifications or REST calls.Intermediate
• SnowsightSnowflake's web interface for worksheets, notebooks, dashboards, data browsing, administration and monitoring.Foundational
• SnowSQLSnowflake's legacy command-line client for executing SQL and PUT/GET file transfers; the newer Snowflake CLI is its successor.Intermediate
• SpillingWriting intermediate query data to local disk, or remote cloud storage, when warehouse or executor memory is insufficient.Advanced
• Staging Area (Data Warehousing)An intermediate storage location where extracted data lands before being cleansed, transformed and loaded into target tables.Foundational
• Stored ProcedureA named, precompiled set of SQL (and procedural) statements stored in the database and executed with CALL or EXEC.Intermediate
• Streamlit in SnowflakeA feature for building and hosting interactive Python Streamlit data apps directly inside Snowflake, governed by Snowflake roles.Intermediate
• Table PartitioningDividing a large table into smaller physical pieces by a key such as date, while queries still see a single table.Intermediate
• Temporary TableA table that exists only for the duration of the user's session and is visible only to that session.Intermediate
• Three-Level NamespaceAddressing tables as catalog.schema.table in Unity Catalog, or database.schema.object in Snowflake.Intermediate
• Time TravelA Snowflake feature for querying, cloning or restoring data as it existed at any point within a retention period.Intermediate
• Transient TableA Snowflake table that persists until dropped but has no Fail-safe and at most 1 day of Time Travel, which lowers storage cost.Intermediate
• TRY_CAST FunctionA conversion function that returns NULL instead of raising an error when the value cannot be converted.Intermediate
• UNDROPA Snowflake command that restores a dropped table, schema or database within its Time Travel retention period.Intermediate
• User-Defined Function (UDF)A custom function created in the database that returns a scalar value or a table and can be called inside SQL statements.Intermediate
• User-Defined Table Function (UDTF)A function that returns zero or more rows (a table) for each input, used in the FROM clause.Advanced
• VARIANT Data TypeA Snowflake data type that stores semi-structured data such as JSON, Avro, ORC, Parquet or XML, with a maximum size of 128 MB per value.Intermediate
• ViewA named stored query that behaves like a virtual table; it stores no data and runs its query when referenced.Foundational
• Virtual WarehouseA named cluster of Snowflake compute resources that executes queries and DML; it can be started, stopped and resized independently.Foundational
• Warehouse CacheThe local SSD cache in a running Snowflake warehouse that keeps recently read table data to speed later queries.Intermediate
• Warehouse SizeThe T-shirt size of a Snowflake virtual warehouse (XS, S, M, L, XL up to 6XL), where each step doubles compute and credit consumption.Intermediate
• Zero-Copy CloningCreating an instant copy of a Snowflake database, schema or table that shares the original micro-partitions until either side changes.Intermediate