DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Exhibit
CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE IF NOT EXISTS my_database.sales (
order_id INT,
customer_name STRING,
product STRING,
amount DECIMAL(10,2),
order_date STRING
)
ROW FORMAT SERDE 'org.apache.hadoop.hive.serde2.lazy.LazySimpleSerDe'
WITH SERDEPROPERTIES (
'field.delim' = ','
)
LOCATION 's3://my-bucket/sales/'
Refer to the exhibit. A data engineer runs this AWS Glue Data Catalog DDL statement to create a table. The CSV files in 's3://my-bucket/sales/' use a pipe delimiter (|) instead of a comma. What change is needed to correctly read the data?
Exhibit
CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE IF NOT EXISTS my_database.sales (
order_id INT,
customer_name STRING,
product STRING,
amount DECIMAL(10,2),
order_date STRING
)
ROW FORMAT SERDE 'org.apache.hadoop.hive.serde2.lazy.LazySimpleSerDe'
WITH SERDEPROPERTIES (
'field.delim' = ','
)
LOCATION 's3://my-bucket/sales/'
A
Change the 'field.delim' property to '|'.
The delimiter must match the actual file format.
B
Change the LOCATION to read from a subfolder.
Why wrong: Location is not the issue.
C
Add a partition projection configuration.
Why wrong: Partition projection is for optimizing queries, not for delimiter issues.
D
Run a crawler to detect the schema automatically.
Why wrong: The schema is already defined; the issue is the delimiter.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Change the 'field.delim' property to '|'.
The AWS Glue Data Catalog DDL statement uses the default 'field.delim' property, which expects comma-separated values. Since the CSV files use a pipe delimiter (|), the table will not parse rows correctly. Setting 'field.delim' to '|' in the SerDe properties tells the Hive-compatible SerDe to split on pipes instead of commas, enabling correct data ingestion.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Change the 'field.delim' property to '|'.
Why this is correct
The delimiter must match the actual file format.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Change the LOCATION to read from a subfolder.
Why it's wrong here
Location is not the issue.
✗
Add a partition projection configuration.
Why it's wrong here
Partition projection is for optimizing queries, not for delimiter issues.
✗
Run a crawler to detect the schema automatically.
Why it's wrong here
The schema is already defined; the issue is the delimiter.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The DEA-C01 exam often tests the misconception that changing the LOCATION or adding partition projection will fix parsing issues, when in fact the core problem is the SerDe delimiter property not matching the actual file format.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, AWS Glue uses Hive-compatible SerDes (e.g., LazySimpleSerDe) that rely on the 'field.delim' property to split each line into columns. Without this property, the default delimiter is a comma (\x2C). In real-world scenarios, data from legacy systems or non-standard exports often uses pipes or other delimiters, and failing to set 'field.delim' results in all data being read as a single column or misaligned columns. The property can also be set via the 'CREATE TABLE' statement's 'ROW FORMAT SERDE' clause or the 'TBLPROPERTIES' map.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
Storage Class
Min Duration
Retrieval
Use Case
S3 Standard
None
Immediate
Frequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA
30 days
Immediate
Infrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA
30 days
Immediate
Non-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
None
Immediate–hours
Unknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant
90 days
Milliseconds
Archive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible
90 days
Minutes–hours
Archive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
180 days
Hours
Long-term compliance archive
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Change the 'field.delim' property to '|'. — The AWS Glue Data Catalog DDL statement uses the default 'field.delim' property, which expects comma-separated values. Since the CSV files use a pipe delimiter (|), the table will not parse rows correctly. Setting 'field.delim' to '|' in the SerDe properties tells the Hive-compatible SerDe to split on pipes instead of commas, enabling correct data ingestion.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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