PCDE Migrate data solutions Practice Question
Which TWO data type mappings are correct when converting Oracle data types to PostgreSQL?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common pitfall in database migration exams is the assumption that Oracle's DATE and PostgreSQL's DATE are equivalent. In reality, Oracle's DATE includes time components, so it should typically map to PostgreSQL's TIMESTAMP, not DATE. Candidates may incorrectly mark this mapping as correct.
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
✓
Oracle CLOB → PostgreSQL TEXT
Oracle's CLOB stores large variable-length character data, and PostgreSQL's TEXT type is the direct equivalent, supporting up to 1 GB of character data without length limitations. Option D is correct because Oracle's NUMBER(10) without scale defaults to a whole number that fits into PostgreSQL's INTEGER (32-bit range). Options B, C, and E are incorrect: VARCHAR2(100) maps to PostgreSQL VARCHAR(100) or TEXT, not CHAR(100) (fixed-length); NUMBER(10,2) requires DECIMAL or NUMERIC to preserve precision; Oracle's DATE includes time components and maps to TIMESTAMP, not DATE.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Oracle CLOB → PostgreSQL TEXT
Why this is correct
Correct mapping for large character objects.
- ✗
Oracle VARCHAR2(100) → PostgreSQL CHAR(100)
Why it's wrong here
VARCHAR2 maps to VARCHAR, not CHAR (fixed-length).
- ✗
Oracle NUMBER(10,2) → PostgreSQL INTEGER
Why it's wrong here
Should be NUMERIC(10,2) to preserve decimal places.
- ✓
Oracle NUMBER(10) → PostgreSQL INTEGER
Why this is correct
Correct mapping for a 10-digit integer without decimal.
- ✗
Oracle DATE → PostgreSQL DATE
Why it's wrong here
Oracle DATE includes time, so it should map to TIMESTAMP.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PCDE
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 team is migrating an Oracle database to Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL. They have used Ora2Pg to convert the schema. After conversion, they notice several issues with data type mappings. Which THREE Oracle-to-PostgreSQL mappings are correct? (Choose 3)
hard- A.VARCHAR2(10) -> TEXT
- B.DATE -> DATE
- ✓ C.NUMBER(10,2) -> NUMERIC(10,2)
- ✓ D.DATE -> TIMESTAMP
- ✓ E.NUMBER(10) -> INTEGER
Why C: NUMBER(10) -> INTEGER, NUMBER(10,2) -> NUMERIC(10,2), DATE -> TIMESTAMP are correct. CLOB -> TEXT is also correct but only three needed.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCDE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud 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 PCDE exam.