DA0-002 Data Concepts and Environments Practice Question
A company has a large data warehouse running on Snowflake. They receive daily CSV files from multiple sources and load them directly into the warehouse, then run SQL transformations to clean and aggregate the data. Which data integration approach does this describe?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse ELT with ETL because both involve transformations, but the key distinction is the order of loading versus transforming; CompTIA often tests this by describing the sequence of operations to see if you recognize that loading raw data first is the hallmark of ELT.
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
✓
ELT
This describes ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) because the raw CSV files are first loaded directly into Snowflake, and then SQL transformations are applied within the warehouse. Unlike ETL, where data is transformed before loading, ELT leverages Snowflake's compute power to perform transformations after ingestion, which is efficient for large-scale batch processing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
ELT
Why this is correct
ELT fits because raw CSV files load straight into Snowflake before any cleansing, letting the warehouse's own compute run the SQL transformations. This satisfies the stem's constraint of loading directly, then transforming in place — the defining reversal of extract-load-transform order versus ETL, where transformation precedes loading.
- ✗
Data streaming
Why it's wrong here
Streaming processes continuous event flows with low latency; the scenario is discrete daily CSV files loaded in batches. Streaming is tempting because it is the modern real-time ingestion pattern, but it applies when data arrives continuously and must be processed within seconds, not once per day.
- ✗
ETL
Why it's wrong here
The stem loads raw CSVs into Snowflake first, then transforms with SQL inside the warehouse, which is ELT, not ETL. ETL is tempting because it is the classic integration pattern, but it extracts, transforms on a separate engine, then loads — the transformation order here is reversed.
- ✗
CDC
Why it's wrong here
CDC replicates only rows changed since the last capture using logs or timestamps; the scenario describes full daily CSV batches, not incremental change tracking. CDC is tempting because it is the standard technique for keeping a warehouse synchronised with a source, but it requires a change-capture mechanism the stem never mentions.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,004 original DA0-002 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 DA0-002 exam.