DA0-002 Data Concepts and Environments Practice Question
A data analyst needs to retrieve current weather data from a third-party service. The service provides an endpoint that returns data in JSON format over HTTP. Which data source type is being used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'web scraping' (Option C) with API consumption because both involve HTTP, but scraping parses unstructured HTML while an API returns structured JSON, and CompTIA often tests this distinction by describing a direct JSON endpoint to lure test-takers into selecting web scraping.
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
✓
API
The data analyst is retrieving data from a third-party service via an HTTP endpoint that returns JSON. This is the classic definition of an API (Application Programming Interface) — specifically a RESTful web API — which allows programmatic access to structured data over HTTP using standard methods like GET. The JSON format confirms it is an API response, not a file or stream.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Streaming data
Why it's wrong here
Streaming data arrives continuously as events pushed to a consumer, whereas this endpoint is polled on demand and returns a discrete JSON response. Streaming is tempting because weather updates are continuous, but the correct type here is an API (web service) data source.
- ✗
Flat file
Why it's wrong here
A flat file is a static file such as CSV or JSON stored on disk, whereas this data is retrieved live over HTTP from a service. Flat files are tempting because the payload is JSON, but the correct type here is an API (web service) data source.
- ✗
Web scraping
Why it's wrong here
Web scraping extracts data by parsing rendered HTML pages, whereas this service exposes a documented JSON endpoint intended for programmatic consumption. Scraping is tempting when no API exists, but the correct type here is an API (web service) data source.
- ✓
API
Why this is correct
An HTTP endpoint returning JSON is a REST API, which the analyst queries programmatically to retrieve current weather data. Unlike a flat file or database extract, the API delivers structured, on-demand responses, satisfying the requirement for live third-party weather retrieval.
About these practice questions
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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.