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Table of Contents

SOQL is the query language for the Salesforce platform that allows developers, custom UI builders, and users to retrieve and search data from the Salesforce database. You can query Salesforce objects like Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities in SQL.

We have presented a list of popular SOQL interview questions to help you prepare for your next Salesforce interview. These questions will help you to learn SOQL in depth. 

Key Takeaways

  • Learn the most frequently asked SOQL interview questions to ace your Salesforce developer interviews.
  • Gain insights into SOQL query best practices and common pitfalls to avoid.
  • Enhance your understanding of Salesforce Apex and SOQL for improved problem-solving skills.

Top 20 SOQL Interview Questions

These are some of the best SOQL query interview questions that can help you prepare for your interview confidently. We have also included some scenario-based questions to provide you with more clarity. 

1. What is SOQL in Salesforce?

SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) retrieves data from Salesforce objects, similar to SQL in relational databases. It helps query specific fields from one or more objects based on certain conditions.

2. Can SOQL query multiple objects?

SOQL does not allow traditional joins, but you can query parent-to-child and child to parent relationships through relationship queries.

3. What’s the difference between SOQL and SOSL? In which scenario would you use one over the other?

SOQL and SOSL are two Salesforce query languages, each doing different things. So, SOQL is an object-based query language where you will query data on one object or a specific related set of objects. SOQL is good enough when you know where a piece of data resides and you can build a particular query for an object. SOSL is a text-based query language where you find general text in multiple objects. It is beneficial in scenarios where the location of data is unknown.

It depends on the requirement. You can use SOQL to retrieve any records for some specific object or any relations to the object. However, if you do not know where your exact data would lie among your organization’s multiple objects, then SOSL is your best option.

Read More:

SOQL vs SOSL

4. What is the syntax of a SOQL query?

The basic SOQL syntax is:

SELECT field1, field2 FROM ObjectName WHERE conditions 

Example:

SELECT Name, Industry FROM Account WHERE Industry = ‘Technology’  

5. How to run a SOQL query in Salesforce?

We can run SOQL queries using the following:

  • Developer Console under the “Query Editor” tab
  • Workbench (an external tool)
  • Apex code using the Database.query() method

6. What is the difference between SOQL and SQL?

SOQL retrieves data only from Salesforce objects and doesn’t support joins beyond parent-child relationships. Conversely, SQL is used in relational databases and supports complex joins between multiple tables.

7. What are Salesforce’s SOQL limits, and how can you bypass them?

Salesforce’s SOQL features a governor limit, which limits the number of records retrieved to 50,000 per transaction. It even pauses retrieving new records to avoid overuse of shared resources.

These limitations can be readily overcome by employing pagination with OFFSET and LIMIT clauses, which allows data to be fetched in chunkier portions. Another option is Batch Apex, which runs extensive data sets asynchronously by splitting them into smaller batches for processing. Also, use selective filters to optimize your SOQL searches, which will process less data. 

8. What are essential clauses used in SOQL?

  • WHERE – To filter records.
  • LIMIT – To restrict the number of results.
  • ORDER BY – To sort results.
  • GROUP BY – To group records based on a field.

9. Write a SOQL query to retrieve the top 5 Accounts with the highest Annual Revenue, ordered in descending order.

SELECT Name, AnnualRevenue 

FROM Account 

ORDER BY AnnualRevenue DESC 

LIMIT 5

10. How do you run batch queries in SOQL?

When dealing with large data sets, batch processing is recommended. Apex Batch classes allow the processing of large SOQL query results efficiently without hitting governor limits.

11. What are Governor Limits in Salesforce, and how do they affect SOQL?

Governor limits enforce resource efficiency in Salesforce. Key SOQL limits include:

  • A maximum of 50,000 records can be returned.
  • 100 SOQL queries per transaction.

12. How do you query child records related to a parent using SOQL?

In SOQL, a relationship between parent and child in a query can be fetched using a subquery or dot notation. For example, I can use the following to get the list of contacts associated with accounts:

SELECT Name, (SELECT LastName FROM Contacts) FROM Account

The child relationship (Contacts) is queried in the parent Account in the above query.

13. How would you count records using SOQL?

To count the number of records in SOQL, I would use the COUNT() function. Example:

SELECT COUNT() FROM Account WHERE Industry = ‘Technology’

This will fetchall the accounts where the industry is ‘Technology.’

14. How can you optimize SOQL queries?

  • Use WHERE clauses to filter records.
  • Select only the necessary fields.
  • Use indexed fields in WHERE clauses to improve performance.
  • Apply the LIMIT clause to reduce the number of returned records.

15. What are aggregate functions supported by SOQL?

SOQL supports the following aggregate functions:

  • COUNT()
  • SUM()
  • AVG()
  • MAX() and MIN()

SOQL Scenario Based Interview Questions

16. How do you fetch all contacts where the parent account belongs to the “Technology” industry?

SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Contact WHERE Account.Industry = ‘Technology’

17. How do you get the top 10 recently created Opportunities?

SELECT Name FROM Opportunity ORDER BY CreatedDate DESC LIMIT 10

18. How to query deleted records in Salesforce?

Use the ALL ROWS keyword to include deleted records:

SELECT Name FROM Account WHERE IsDeleted = TRUE ALL ROWS

19. What is a subquery in SOQL, and when is it used?

A subquery is used for parent-child relationship queries:

SELECT Name, (SELECT Subject FROM Tasks) FROM Account

20. How do you use variables in SOQL within Apex code?

SOQL allows the use of variables when embedded in Apex.

apex

String industry = ‘Technology’;

List<Account> accounts = [SELECT Name FROM Account WHERE Industry = :industry];

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Final Word

These SOQL interview questions cover all the basic concepts, from freshers’ simple query answers to advanced SOQL syntaxes for experienced professionals. Whether it is a relationship query, an aggregate function, or a big chunk of data, mastering SOQL is very important in making work efficient in the world of Salesforce.

In addition, the practice of scenario-based SOQL interview questions will also make you confident about handling real-world scenarios. Writing clean and practical SOQL queries is essential in any interview and becomes a boon for day-to-day tasks in Salesforce development and administration.

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