PART 1: SQL BASICS – Understand the Core Building Blocks

What is SQL?

SQL (Structured Query Language) is used to store, retrieve, update, and manage data in relational databases (like MySQL, PostgreSQL,
Oracle, SQLite).

Key Concepts:

SQL Concept What It Means

Table Like an Excel sheet (rows & columns)

Row A single record (one entry)

Column A field (e.g., name, age, date)

Primary Key Unique ID for each row

Foreign Key Links to another table’s key

Basic SQL Syntax Examples:

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-- Create a table

CREATE TABLE students (

id INT PRIMARY KEY,

name VARCHAR(100),

age INT

);

-- Insert data

INSERT INTO students (id, name, age) VALUES (1, 'Rakshith', 22);

-- Read data

SELECT * FROM students;

-- Update data

UPDATE students SET age = 23 WHERE id = 1;

-- Delete data

DELETE FROM students WHERE id = 1;

PART 2: FREQUENTLY ASKED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (Basic to Mid-Level)

 Q1: What is the difference between WHERE and HAVING?

Answer:

• WHERE filters rows before grouping

• HAVING filters groups after aggregation

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-- WHERE Example

SELECT * FROM students WHERE age > 20;

-- HAVING Example

SELECT age, COUNT(*) FROM students GROUP BY age HAVING COUNT(*) > 2;

Q2: What is the difference between INNER JOIN and LEFT JOIN?

Answer:

JOIN Type Result

INNER JOIN Returns only matching records in both tables

LEFT JOIN Returns all records from the left table + matching records from right

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-- Example

SELECT a.name, b.course

FROM students a

LEFT JOIN enrollments b ON a.id = b.student_id;

Q3: What is a Primary Key vs Foreign Key?

Primary Key: Uniquely identifies each record in a table

Foreign Key: Links to a Primary Key in another table (for relational integrity)

Q4: What are aggregate functions in SQL?

Used to perform calculations on multiple rows:

Function Use

COUNT() Number of rows

SUM() Total of a numeric column

AVG() Average value

MAX() Highest value

Function Use

MIN() Lowest value

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SELECT AVG(age) FROM students;

Q5: How do you find duplicate records?

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SELECT name, COUNT(*)

FROM students

GROUP BY name

HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;

Q6: What is a subquery?

A query inside another query (nested query):

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SELECT name

FROM students

WHERE id IN (SELECT student_id FROM enrollments WHERE course = 'SQL');

Q7: What are indexes and why are they used?

Indexes speed up searching in large tables — like an index in a book.

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CREATE INDEX idx_name ON students(name);

PART 3: ADVANCED & PRACTICAL USES

Q8: How would you retrieve the 2nd highest salary from a table?

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SELECT MAX(salary)

FROM employees

WHERE salary < (SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employees);

 Q9: What is normalization?

Process of organizing data to avoid redundancy and maintain integrity.

Normal Form Meaning

1NF Atomic values only (no repeating groups)

2NF All non-key columns depend on full key

3NF No transitive dependency

Q10: What are transactions in SQL?

Set of SQL commands that are treated as a single unit.

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BEGIN TRANSACTION;

UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance - 500 WHERE id = 1;

UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance + 500 WHERE id = 2;

COMMIT;

How to Practice SQL (Hands-On)

1. Use https://sqlfiddle.com/ (No installation needed)

2. Install DB Browser for SQLite or use MySQL Workbench

3. Create tables, insert mock data, try the queries

4. Practice with real scenarios like:

o Track student enrollments

o Employee database

o Sensor data logs (simulate GE Healthcare use)

Pro Interview Tips

• Don’t memorize — understand how to think with data

• Show how you'd write queries and optimize them

• Know when to use JOINs vs Subqueries

• Talk about data integrity, accuracy, and performance

SQL Scenario-Based Questions & System Design (Real-World + Interview Style)

Scenario 1: Design a Database for a Hospital Patient Management System

 Tables You Might Create:

Table Name Fields

patients patient_id, name, age, gender, contact, address

doctors doctor_id, name, specialization, contact, dept_id

appointments appointment_id, patient_id, doctor_id, date, status

departments dept_id, dept_name, floor

diagnosis diagnosis_id, patient_id, disease, notes, date

medications med_id, diagnosis_id, medicine_name, dosage

Table Relationships:

• patients ⟶ appointments (1-to-many)

• doctors ⟶ appointments (1-to-many)

• appointments ⟶ diagnosis (1-to-1 or 1-to-many)

• diagnosis ⟶ medications (1-to-many)

• doctors ⟶ departments (many-to-1)

Interview Q: How would you retrieve all appointments for a patient named "Rakshith"?

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SELECT a.date, d.name AS doctor, a.status

FROM appointments a

JOIN patients p ON a.patient_id = p.patient_id

JOIN doctors d ON a.doctor_id = d.doctor_id

WHERE p.name = 'Rakshith';

Q: How would you get all doctors working in 'Cardiology'?

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SELECT d.name

FROM doctors d

JOIN departments dept ON d.dept_id = dept.dept_id

WHERE dept.dept_name = 'Cardiology';

Q: How would you find patients diagnosed with 'Diabetes'?

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SELECT p.name, dg.notes

FROM diagnosis dg

JOIN patients p ON dg.patient_id = p.patient_id

WHERE dg.disease = 'Diabetes';

Scenario 2: Blood Bank Management System (Like your Internship Project)

Tables:

Table Name Fields

donors donor_id, name, blood_group, contact, last_donation

blood_stock blood_id, blood_group, units_available, last_updated

requests request_id, patient_name, blood_group, units, status

hospitals hospital_id, name, location, contact

Relationships:

• donors update → blood_stock increases

• requests by hospital → blood_stock decreases

Q: Find total units available of 'O+' blood group:

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SELECT units_available

FROM blood_stock

WHERE blood_group = 'O+';

Q: Get names of donors who haven't donated in 6 months:

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SELECT name

FROM donors

WHERE last_donation < DATE_SUB(CURDATE(), INTERVAL 6 MONTH);

Q: List pending blood requests from hospitals in 'Bengaluru':

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SELECT r.patient_name, r.blood_group, h.name AS hospital

FROM requests r

JOIN hospitals h ON r.hospital_id = h.hospital_id

WHERE h.location = 'Bengaluru' AND r.status = 'Pending';

Scenario 3: Sensor Data Logging (Relates to Your Safety Jacket Project)

Tables:

Table Name Fields

devices device_id, location, status

sensor_data data_id, device_id, timestamp, sensor_type, value

alerts alert_id, data_id, alert_type, triggered_at, status

Q: How would you fetch all gas readings > 50 ppm?

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SELECT timestamp, value

FROM sensor_data

WHERE sensor_type = 'Gas' AND value > 50;

Q: Get all alerts triggered for device in “Mine-Sector-3”

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SELECT a.alert_type, a.triggered_at

FROM alerts a

JOIN sensor_data s ON a.data_id = s.data_id

JOIN devices d ON s.device_id = d.device_id

WHERE d.location = 'Mine-Sector-3';

Pro Interview Tip:

Whenever asked scenario-based SQL questions:

• First define the tables and relationships

• Then explain your thinking and structure

• Finally write the query if asked, or explain how you'd write it

 SQL Mini Tasks & Mock Query Round

Instructions:
Each task mimics real-life use. After reading the task, try to mentally structure the query. I’ll then give you the solution + bonus
explanation.

Task 1: Retrieve Data Based on a Condition

You have a table called employees with:

• emp_id, name, department, salary

Question:
Get names of employees from the “Quality” department earning more than ₹30,000.

Expected Query:

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SELECT name

FROM employees

WHERE department = 'Quality' AND salary > 30000;

Why it’s asked:

Tests filtering logic with multiple conditions using AND.

Task 2: Use Aggregate Function

Table: orders

• order_id, customer_id, amount

Question:
Find the total revenue generated from all orders.

Expected Query:

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SELECT SUM(amount) AS total_revenue FROM orders;

Why it’s asked:

Tests your knowledge of aggregate functions.

Task 3: JOIN Two Tables

Tables:

• students(student_id, name)

• marks(student_id, subject, score)

Question:
Get student names with their subject and score.
 Expected Query:

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SELECT s.name, m.subject, m.score

FROM students s

JOIN marks m ON s.student_id = m.student_id;

Why it’s asked:

Tests INNER JOIN, understanding of primary/foreign keys.

Task 4: Grouping + Filtering

Table: blood_donors

• donor_id, blood_group, city

Question:
Show number of donors in each city, only if that city has more than 3 donors.

Expected Query:

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SELECT city, COUNT(*) AS donor_count

FROM blood_donors

GROUP BY city

HAVING COUNT(*) > 3;

Why it’s asked:

Tests GROUP BY + HAVING (very common in interviews!)

Task 5: Subquery (Nested)

Table: patients(patient_id, name, age)

Question:
Get the names of patients older than the average age.

Expected Query:

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SELECT name

FROM patients

WHERE age > (SELECT AVG(age) FROM patients);

Why it’s asked:

Tests use of subqueries inside WHERE.
 Task 6: Top N Records

Table: engineers(name, experience_years)

Question:
Get the top 3 most experienced engineers.

Query (MySQL syntax):

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SELECT name

FROM engineers

ORDER BY experience_years DESC

LIMIT 3;

Tip: Use LIMIT in MySQL/Postgres, TOP in SQL Server.

Want to Try Some on Your Own?

Here are 3 self-attempt questions you can try and ping me back with your answer (I’ll correct/help if needed):

Task 7:

Table: inventory(item_id, item_name, quantity, price)

Question:
Find the total value (quantity × price) of each item.

Task 8:

Table: attendance(emp_id, date, status)

Statuses = 'Present', 'Absent'

Question:
Find how many days each employee was present.

Task 9:

Table: feedback(user_id, rating) (rating is 1–5)

Question:
Get average rating given by each user.

1. What is Traceability?

Definition:

Traceability is the ability to track the history, location, and movement of a product or component throughout its lifecycle — from raw
material to delivery and even service.

In simpler terms:
If something fails, traceability helps you trace back:

• Where it came from

• When and how it was made

• Which supplier or batch it belonged to

• Which customers received it

Why it’s important in GE HealthCare:

• Helps quickly isolate and fix issues

• Ensures regulatory compliance (like FDA/ISO)

• Supports root cause analysis

• Prevents mass product recalls by narrowing down to faulty batches

Real Example:

If a sensor in a patient monitor fails, traceability helps you find:

• The supplier of the sensor

• The batch number of the components

• The manufacturing line and date

• All the devices built using the same sensor

2. What is a Non-Conformance Report (NCR)?

Definition:

A Non-Conformance Report (NCR) is a formal record raised when a product, part, process, or supplier does not meet required standards
(quality, design, safety, etc.).

When is NCR raised?

• A part doesn’t meet specifications

• A supplier delivers defective items

• A process deviation is observed during audit

• Incorrect or missing documentation is found

What an NCR includes:

Field Description

Date When issue was found

Non-conformance Type Material, process, documentation, etc.

Field Description

Description What went wrong and how it was discovered

Part/Batch Info Item number, lot number, supplier, etc.

Immediate Action Containment — stop use, quarantine parts

Disposition Rework, reject, scrap, return, etc.

Root Cause Found through RCA/5 Whys

CAPA Reference If corrective action was taken

Why NCR is important in GE:

• Documents and tracks quality issues

• Enables transparency and accountability

• Provides a base for RCA & CAPA implementation

• Required for audit trails by regulatory bodies

Interview Style Summary:

“Traceability ensures that every component, process, and product can be traced backward and forward through the supply chain. This
helps in effective root cause analysis, batch recalls, and process validation.”

“When a product or process deviates from expected quality standards, a Non-Conformance Report (NCR) is raised. It formally
documents the issue, its scope, containment actions, and leads to RCA and CAPA if needed.”