External Table vs Internal table

Question

Accepted Answer

External tables store data outside the database while internal tables store data within the database.

External tables reference data stored outside the database, such as in HDFS or S3, while internal tables store data within the database itself.
External tables are typically used for data that is not managed by the database system, while internal tables are used for data that is managed by the database system.
External tables are often used for data that needs to be shared across multiple systems or accessed by external applications, while internal tables are used for more traditional database operations.
Examples of external table formats include ORC, Parquet, and Avro, while internal tables are typically stored in formats like ORC or Parquet within the database.
External tables require additional metadata to be defined, such as location and format, while internal tables do not require this additional metadata.

Top Capgemini Data Engineer interview questions & answers