- A
Cloud Bigtable
Why wrong: Bigtable is not involved in capturing Spanner changes.
- B
Pub/Sub
Change Streams can publish to Pub/Sub for downstream consumption.
- C
Change Streams
Change Streams capture DML changes in Spanner tables.
- D
Cloud Spanner API
Why wrong: The API is used for general database operations, not specifically for capturing changes; Change Streams are the correct feature.
- E
Dataflow
Dataflow can read from Pub/Sub and process the change stream events.
Question 941 of 1,000
PCDOE Manage Database Solutions Practice Question
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of manage database solutions. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company uses Cloud Spanner and needs to capture real-time changes from a table for downstream processing. They want to avoid writing custom application code to track changes. Which THREE components should they use? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Pub/Sub
Spanner Change Streams capture real-time data changes (inserts, updates, deletes) and publish them to a Pub/Sub topic. The engineer can then create a Pub/Sub subscription to receive the changes. Dataflow can be used to process the change stream messages for further transformations or loading into other systems. The Cloud Spanner API is not needed for this purpose; Change Streams already leverage the API. Bigtable is not involved. Dataflow is optional but commonly used.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cloud Bigtable
Why it's wrong here
Bigtable is not involved in capturing Spanner changes.
- ✓
Pub/Sub
Why this is correct
Change Streams can publish to Pub/Sub for downstream consumption.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Change Streams
Why this is correct
Change Streams capture DML changes in Spanner tables.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Cloud Spanner API
Why it's wrong here
The API is used for general database operations, not specifically for capturing changes; Change Streams are the correct feature.
- ✓
Dataflow
Why this is correct
Dataflow can read from Pub/Sub and process the change stream events.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PCDOE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
- →
Manage Database Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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Manage Database Solutions practice questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCDOE question test?
Manage Database Solutions — This question tests Manage Database Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Pub/Sub — Spanner Change Streams capture real-time data changes (inserts, updates, deletes) and publish them to a Pub/Sub topic. The engineer can then create a Pub/Sub subscription to receive the changes. Dataflow can be used to process the change stream messages for further transformations or loading into other systems. The Cloud Spanner API is not needed for this purpose; Change Streams already leverage the API. Bigtable is not involved. Dataflow is optional but commonly used.
What should I do if I get this PCDOE question wrong?
Identify which PCDOE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This PCDOE 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 PCDOE exam.
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