Question 16

Combining Address Columns with Sorting in SQL

To effectively combine the address columns of city and state while sorting by state, the use of CONCAT and ORDER BY statements is essential. These SQL functions allow for the concatenation of string values and the arrangement of the results based on specified criteria.

A) CONCAT and ORDER BY statements

This option is correct as the CONCAT function is used to merge the city and state columns into a single string, while the ORDER BY statement allows for sorting the resulting dataset based on the state column. This combination directly fulfills the analyst's requirement for both merging and sorting.

B) DISTINCT and WHERE statements

This option is incorrect because DISTINCT is used to eliminate duplicate records from the result set, and WHERE filters records based on specified conditions. Neither of these functions addresses the need to combine the city and state columns nor does it facilitate sorting.

C) TRIM and CAST statements

This option is also incorrect as TRIM is used to remove leading and trailing whitespace from a string, and CAST converts a data type to another. While these functions may be useful in data cleansing, they do not serve the purpose of concatenating the city and state columns or sorting the results.

D) COALESCE and SUBSTR statements

This option is incorrect because COALESCE is used to return the first non-null value in a list of arguments, and SUBSTR extracts a substring from a string. Neither function is suitable for combining columns or sorting data, which is the requirement in this scenario.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the combination of CONCAT and ORDER BY statements is the only option that accurately meets the analyst's needs for merging the city and state address columns and sorting the results by state. All other options fail to provide the necessary functionality for this specific SQL task.