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Data Ingestion and TransformationhardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question

A company ingests JSON data from an S3 bucket into a Glue ETL job. The data contains nested structures and arrays. The team wants to flatten the data into a tabular format for analysis in Athena. Which Glue transformation is appropriate?

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

Relationalize

The Relationalize transformation is specifically designed to flatten nested JSON and arrays into a tabular format suitable for Athena. Option A (Map) applies a function to each record but does not flatten structures. Option C (Filter) selects rows based on a condition. Option D (DropNullFields) removes null fields but does not address nested structures.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • Map

    Why it's wrong here

    Map applies a function to each record, not for flattening.

  • Relationalize

    Why this is correct

    Relationalize transforms nested JSON into relational tables suitable for querying.

  • Filter

    Why it's wrong here

    Filter selects records based on a condition, does not transform structure.

  • DropNullFields

    Why it's wrong here

    DropNullFields removes fields with null values, does not flatten nested structures.

Quick reference

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Storage ClassMin DurationRetrievalUse Case
S3 StandardNoneImmediateFrequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA30 daysImmediateInfrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA30 daysImmediateNon-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-TieringNoneImmediate–hoursUnknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant90 daysMillisecondsArchive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible90 daysMinutes–hoursArchive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive180 daysHoursLong-term compliance archive

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Same concept, more angles

1 more way this is tested on DEA-C01

These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.

Variation 1. A data engineer needs to transform JSON data from an S3 bucket using AWS Glue. The JSON contains nested arrays and objects. Which Glue transform is best suited for flattening nested structures?

easy
  • A.Unnest
  • B.ResolveChoice
  • C.Relationalize
  • D.Map

Why C: The Relationalize transform is specifically designed to flatten nested JSON structures (arrays and objects) into a set of related tables, making it ideal for this use case. It automatically handles complex nesting by creating separate DataFrames for each nested level and linking them via foreign keys, which is exactly what is needed when ingesting JSON with nested arrays and objects into a relational format.

JA

Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security

Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva

This DEA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DEA-C01 exam.