BigQuery SQL and pricing model in GCP - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is BigQuery in Google Cloud Platform?

BigQuery is a fully managed data warehouse service that lets you run fast SQL queries on large datasets without managing infrastructure.

beginner

How does BigQuery charge for queries?

BigQuery charges based on the amount of data processed by your SQL queries, measured in bytes scanned. You pay only for the data your queries scan.

intermediate

What is the difference between on-demand and flat-rate pricing in BigQuery?

On-demand pricing charges per query based on data scanned. Flat-rate pricing lets you buy dedicated query capacity for a fixed monthly fee, good for predictable workloads.

beginner

What SQL dialect does BigQuery use?

BigQuery uses a standard SQL dialect that is ANSI-compliant with some extensions for analytics and nested data.

intermediate

How can you reduce BigQuery query costs?

You can reduce costs by selecting only needed columns, filtering data early, using partitioned tables, and caching query results.

What does BigQuery charge you for when running SQL queries?

A The number of rows returned

B The amount of data scanned by the query

C The number of queries run

D The storage size of the dataset

BigQuery charges based on the volume of data scanned during query execution, not on the number of queries or rows returned.

Which pricing model is best if you have predictable, heavy query workloads in BigQuery?

A Pay-as-you-go storage

B On-demand pricing

C Flat-rate pricing

D Free tier only

Flat-rate pricing allows you to buy dedicated query capacity for a fixed fee, which is cost-effective for steady, heavy workloads.

What SQL dialect does BigQuery use?

A Standard SQL with extensions

B PostgreSQL dialect

C NoSQL query language

D MySQL dialect

BigQuery uses standard SQL that is ANSI-compliant with some additional features for analytics.

Which of these is NOT a way to reduce BigQuery query costs?

A Selecting only needed columns

B Filtering data early in the query

C Using partitioned tables

D Running queries without filters on entire tables

Running queries without filters scans more data and increases costs; filtering early helps reduce data scanned.

What is the free tier limit for BigQuery query data processed per month?

A 1 TB

B 10 GB

C 100 GB

D No free tier

BigQuery offers 1 TB of free query data processed per month under its free tier.

Explain how BigQuery pricing works and how you can manage costs effectively.

Think about what affects the amount of data BigQuery reads during queries.

Describe the SQL dialect used in BigQuery and why it is suitable for analytics.

Consider how BigQuery handles complex data and analytics.