A company stores customer orders in a database. Each order has an OrderID (integer), CustomerName (text), OrderDate (date), and a JSON column for order details that contains varying fields such as discount codes or gift messages. Which statement best describes the data types in this table?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Distractor review
The table stores only structured data.
Incorrect because the JSON column allows varying fields, making it semi-structured, not purely structured.
Best answer
The table stores both structured and semi-structured data.
Correct. The fixed columns (OrderID, CustomerName, OrderDate) are structured, while the JSON column is semi-structured due to its flexible schema.
Distractor review
The table stores only unstructured data.
Incorrect because the table has defined columns with data types, which is not characteristic of unstructured data.
Distractor review
The table stores only semi-structured data.
Incorrect because the fixed-schema columns are structured, not semi-structured.
Common exam trap
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.
Technical deep dive
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.
Related practice questions
Related DP-900 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
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Question 2
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Question 3
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Question 4
A data engineer is designing a data lake architecture in Azure. They plan to first ingest raw data from various sources into a landing zone in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. Then they will clean, validate, and deduplicate that data in a second zone. Finally, they will create aggregated, business-ready datasets in a third zone for analysts. This layered approach is known as which architecture?
Question 5
A data engineer needs to transform large datasets stored in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 using Python and Apache Spark. They want a serverless compute option that automatically scales and requires no cluster management. Which Azure service should they use?
Question 6
A company collects customer feedback forms. Each form contains always-present fields like CustomerID and SubmissionDate, but also a free-text Comments field and optional fields like Rating or ProductCategory that vary between forms. How should this data be classified?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-900 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The table stores both structured and semi-structured data. — The table contains both structured data (OrderID, CustomerName, OrderDate with fixed schema) and semi-structured data (JSON column with flexible schema). Structured data adheres to a rigid schema, while semi-structured data has some organizational properties but does not require a fixed schema. Unstructured data (e.g., images, videos) has no predefined structure.
What should I do if I get this DP-900 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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