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Question 734 of 1,446

PCDE Practice Question: Manage a solution that can span multiple database technologies

Which TWO statements about Cloud Spanner schema changes are correct? (Choose 2)

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

Schema changes are applied asynchronously and may take minutes to hours to complete.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • Schema changes are applied asynchronously and may take minutes to hours to complete.

    Why this is correct

    Schema changes are applied in the background and can take time depending on data size.

  • Schema changes require the instance to be restarted.

    Why it's wrong here

    No restart needed.

  • ALTER TABLE statements are non-blocking and can be executed while the database is in use.

    Why this is correct

    Spanner supports online schema changes.

  • You can only add columns, not drop them.

    Why it's wrong here

    Spanner supports dropping columns.

  • Creating a secondary index requires taking the table offline.

    Why it's wrong here

    Index creation is online and non-blocking.

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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

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