DA0-002 Data Acquisition and Preparation Practice Question
In a table 'employee_hierarchy' with columns 'employee_id', 'manager_id', and 'employee_name', an analyst needs to generate a list of all employees under a specific manager, including multiple levels of subordinates. Which SQL construct is most appropriate for querying this hierarchical data efficiently?
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
✓
Recursive CTE
Recursive CTEs are designed to handle hierarchical data by repeatedly joining a CTE to itself until all levels are included.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Recursive CTE
Why this is correct
Recursive CTEs iterate through levels, ideal for hierarchies.
- ✗
Window function with PARTITION BY
Why it's wrong here
Window functions operate on rows within partitions, not hierarchical traversal.
- ✗
Subquery in WHERE clause
Why it's wrong here
Subqueries are static and cannot iterate through multiple levels dynamically.
- ✗
Self-JOIN with WHERE clause
Why it's wrong here
A self-JOIN can only handle one level of hierarchy per join; multiple levels require many joins.
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