Top 250 Big Data Interview Questions and Answers

Updated 5 Jul 2025

Asked in KPMG India

5d ago

Q. How do you initiate SparkContext?

Ans.

To initiate Sparkcontext, create a SparkConf object and pass it to SparkContext constructor.

  • Create a SparkConf object with app name and master URL

  • Pass the SparkConf object to SparkContext constructor

  • Example: conf = SparkConf().setAppName('myApp').set...read more

Asked in KPMG India

2d ago

Q. Write PySpark code to read a CSV file and display the top 10 records.

Ans.

Pyspark code to read csv file and show top 10 records.

  • Import the necessary libraries

  • Create a SparkSession

  • Read the CSV file using the SparkSession

  • Display the top 10 records using the show() method

2d ago

Q. What is troubleshooting in Hadoop?

Ans.

Troubleshooting in Hadoop involves identifying and resolving issues related to data processing and storage in a Hadoop cluster.

  • Identify and resolve issues with data ingestion, processing, and storage in Hadoop

  • Check for errors in log files and analyze...read more

Asked in Accenture and 2 others

6d ago

Q. Explain Databricks.

Ans.

Databricks is a unified analytics platform that combines data engineering, data science, and business analytics.

  • Databricks provides a collaborative workspace for data engineers, data scientists, and business analysts to work together on big data proj...read more

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Asked in Birlasoft

1d ago

Q. What are the features of Apache Spark?

Ans.

Apache Spark is a fast and general-purpose cluster computing system.

  • Distributed computing engine

  • In-memory processing

  • Supports multiple languages

  • Machine learning and graph processing libraries

  • Real-time stream processing

  • Fault-tolerant

  • Scalable

Asked in Quess

3d ago
Q. What are Kafka Streams?
Ans.

Kafka Streams is a client library for building real-time, highly scalable, fault-tolerant stream processing applications.

  • Kafka Streams allows developers to process and analyze data in real-time as it flows through Kafka topics.

  • It provides a high-leve...read more

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Asked in Birlasoft

2d ago

Q. What are RDDs in PySpark?

Ans.

RDD stands for Resilient Distributed Datasets in Pyspark, which are fault-tolerant collections of elements that can be processed in parallel.

  • RDDs are the fundamental data structure in Pyspark.

  • They are immutable and can be cached in memory for faster ...read more

Asked in LTIMindtree

4d ago

Q. Do you have hands-on experience with big data tools?

Ans.

Yes, I have hands-on experience with big data tools.

  • I have worked extensively with Hadoop, Spark, and Kafka.

  • I have experience with data ingestion, processing, and storage using these tools.

  • I have also worked with NoSQL databases like Cassandra and Mo...read more

Asked in PubMatic

6d ago

Q. What is Apache Kafka?

Ans.

Apache Kafka is a distributed streaming platform used for building real-time data pipelines and streaming applications.

  • Apache Kafka is designed to handle high-throughput, fault-tolerant, and scalable real-time data streams.

  • It allows for the publishin...read more

Q. What is Delta Lake and what is its architecture?

Ans.

Delta Lake is an open-source storage layer that brings ACID transactions to Apache Spark and big data workloads.

  • Delta Lake provides ACID transactions, scalable metadata handling, and unifies streaming and batch data processing.

  • It stores data in Parqu...read more

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Q. What is the main advantage of Delta Lake?

Ans.

Delta Lake provides ACID transactions, schema enforcement, and time travel capabilities for data lakes.

  • ACID transactions ensure data consistency and reliability.

  • Schema enforcement helps maintain data quality and prevent data corruption.

  • Time travel al...read more

Asked in AVEVA

4d ago

Q. What do you mean by big data?

Ans.

Big data refers to large and complex data sets that cannot be processed using traditional data processing methods.

  • Big data is characterized by the 3Vs - volume, velocity, and variety.

  • It requires specialized tools and techniques for processing and ana...read more

Q. How much big data have you handled?

Ans.

I have handled big data in various projects and have experience in analyzing and extracting insights from large datasets.

  • Managed and analyzed large datasets from multiple sources

  • Used tools like Hadoop, Spark, and SQL to process and analyze big data

  • De...read more

Asked in Birlasoft

6d ago

Q. How is Spark different from MapReduce?

Ans.

Spark is faster than MapReduce due to in-memory processing and DAG execution model.

  • Spark uses in-memory processing while MapReduce uses disk-based processing.

  • Spark has DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) execution model while MapReduce has Map and Reduce ph...read more

Asked in Capgemini

5d ago

Q. What is EMR?

Ans.

EMR stands for Electronic Medical Record, a digital version of a patient's paper chart.

  • EMRs contain patient medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, and test results.

  • They improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery by allowing easy...read more

Asked in LTIMindtree

3d ago

Q. Explain Spark Architecture in detail.

Ans.

Spark Architecture is a distributed computing framework that provides high-level APIs for in-memory computing.

  • Spark Architecture consists of a cluster manager, worker nodes, and a driver program.

  • It uses Resilient Distributed Datasets (RDDs) for fault...read more

Asked in Accenture

5d ago

Q. What is the Delta Table concept?

Ans.

Delta Table is a type of table in Delta Lake that supports ACID transactions and time travel capabilities.

  • Delta Table is a type of table in Delta Lake that supports ACID transactions.

  • It allows users to read and write data in an Apache Spark environme...read more

Asked in CGI Group

5d ago
Q. Can you explain Hadoop and list its core components?
Ans.

Hadoop is an open-source framework for distributed storage and processing of large data sets.

  • Core components include Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), Yet Another Resource Negotiator (YARN), and MapReduce.

  • HDFS is responsible for storing data acr...read more

4d ago

Q. Write a word count program in PySpark.

Ans.

A program to count the number of words in a text file using PySpark.

  • Read the text file using SparkContext

  • Split the lines into words using flatMap

  • Map each word to a tuple of (word, 1)

  • Reduce by key to count the occurrences of each word

  • Save the output t...read more

Asked in Deloitte

1d ago

Q. Using PySpark, how would you find the products with sales for three consecutive years?

Ans.

Use window function to find products with 3 consecutive years sales in Pyspark

  • Use window function to partition by product and order by year

  • Filter the results where the count of consecutive years is 3

Asked in Deloitte

1d ago

Q. Tell me about Azure Databricks.

Ans.

Azure Databricks is a unified analytics platform that provides collaborative environment for big data and machine learning.

  • Azure Databricks is built on Apache Spark and provides a collaborative workspace for data engineers, data scientists, and machi...read more

Asked in Nielsen

6d ago

Q. Write a query to remove duplicate rows in PySpark based on the primary key.

Ans.

Use dropDuplicates() function in pyspark to remove duplicate rows based on primary key.

  • Use dropDuplicates() function on the DataFrame with the primary key column specified.

  • Specify the subset parameter in dropDuplicates() to specify the primary key co...read more

Asked in SRF

3d ago

Q. How can you check Spark testing?

Ans.

Spark testing can be checked by using a spark tester to measure the strength and consistency of the spark.

  • Use a spark tester to check the strength and consistency of the spark

  • Ensure that the spark is strong and consistent across all cylinders

  • Check fo...read more

Asked in LTIMindtree

3d ago

Q. How much experience do you have in Big Data Administration?

Ans.

I have 3 years of experience in Big Data Administration.

  • I have worked with Hadoop, Spark, and Hive.

  • I have experience in setting up and maintaining Hadoop clusters.

  • I have worked with various Big Data tools and technologies.

  • I have experience in trouble...read more

3d ago

Q. How do you handle Spark memory management?

Ans.

Spark Memory management involves configuring memory allocation, monitoring memory usage, and optimizing performance.

  • Set memory allocation parameters in Spark configuration (e.g. spark.executor.memory, spark.driver.memory)

  • Monitor memory usage using Sp...read more

Q. What are technology related to big data

Ans.

Technologies related to big data include Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, and NoSQL databases.

  • Hadoop - Distributed storage and processing framework for big data

  • Spark - In-memory data processing engine for big data analytics

  • Kafka - Distributed streaming platform...read more

Asked in Luxoft

5d ago

Q. How do you create a Spark DataFrame?

Ans.

To create a Spark DataFrame, use the createDataFrame() method.

  • Import the necessary libraries

  • Create a list of tuples or a dictionary containing the data

  • Create a schema for the DataFrame

  • Use the createDataFrame() method to create the DataFrame

Asked in S&P Global

4d ago

Q. Explain your day-to-day activities related to Spark applications.

Ans.

My day to day activities related to Spark application involve writing and optimizing Spark jobs, troubleshooting issues, and collaborating with team members.

  • Writing and optimizing Spark jobs to process large volumes of data efficiently

  • Troubleshooting...read more

6d ago

Q. How do you handle large amounts of data using interfaces like Hadoop?

Ans.

Hadoop can handle big data by distributing it across multiple nodes and processing it in parallel.

  • Hadoop uses HDFS to store data across multiple nodes

  • MapReduce is used to process data in parallel

  • Hadoop ecosystem includes tools like Hive, Pig, and Spa...read more

Asked in PwC

4d ago

Q. If we have streaming data coming from Kafka and Spark, how will you handle fault tolerance?

Ans.

Implement fault tolerance by using checkpointing, replication, and monitoring mechanisms.

  • Enable checkpointing in Spark Streaming to save the state of the computation periodically to a reliable storage like HDFS or S3.

  • Use replication in Kafka to ensur...read more

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