PDE Maintaining and Automating Data Workloads Practice Question
A data engineer needs to share a large BigQuery table with a different team, but wants to minimize storage costs. The table is 1 TB in size and is updated daily. The other team only needs read access to the data as of a specific point in time (e.g., end of each day). Which BigQuery feature should be used to provide a read-only copy without duplicating the entire table?
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
✓
Table snapshot
BigQuery table clones provide a lightweight, writable copy of a table that initially shares storage with the base table and only incurs costs for changes made to the clone. Snapshots are read-only and also share storage but require the base table to be preserved until snapshot expires. For read-only point-in-time access, a snapshot is more appropriate because it is immutable and cost-effective.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Table clone
Why it's wrong here
Clones are writable; if the team only needs read access, a snapshot is better.
- ✗
Authorized views
Why it's wrong here
Views do not create copies; they query the live table, so the other team's queries would scan the full table.
- ✗
Time travel using FOR SYSTEM_TIME AS OF
Why it's wrong here
Time travel is limited to 7 days and requires the base table; it's not a persistent copy.
- ✓
Table snapshot
Why this is correct
Snapshots provide point-in-time read-only copies and share storage with the base table, minimizing cost.
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