DP-600 - Prepare Data - Section 2.7

Select, filter, and aggregate data using the Visual Query Editor and SQL against the SQL analytics endpoint.

Write T-SQL SELECT statements using WHERE, JOIN, and GROUP BY aggregation against the SQL analytics endpoint to retrieve and summarise data. Use the Visual Query Editor as a no-code alternative and recognise when each tool is appropriate based on user skill and query complexity.

Visual Query EditorT-SQLSQL analytics endpointGROUP BY aggregationresult set filtering

Practice question for this objective

Free samplePrepare Datamedium

An analyst who prefers a no-code experience opens the "Visual Query Editor" on a "SQL analytics endpoint" to build a summary that counts orders per status. They drag the orders table onto the canvas and now need to produce one row per status with a row count. Which step in the Visual Query Editor produces this aggregation, and what does the editor generate underneath?

  • AApply the Filter rows transformation on status, which collapses duplicate status values into one row each and emits a SELECT DISTINCT statement under the canvas.
  • BApply the Group by transformation, choosing status as the grouping column and a count aggregation, and the editor generates the equivalent T-SQL with a GROUP BY clause. Correct
  • CApply the Sort transformation on status so identical values sit together, and the editor emits an ORDER BY statement that the report then counts visually per block.
  • DSwitch to the Merge queries transformation to join the table to itself on status, and the editor emits a self-join that totals the matching rows per status.
Aggregate in the Visual Query Editor with the Group by step, which generates the equivalent GROUP BY T-SQL for the SQL analytics endpoint. The Visual Query Editor is a diagram-based surface where each transformation maps to a SQL operation; the Group by step corresponds to a GROUP BY with an aggregate, so choosing status as the key and count as the aggregate yields one counted row per status and produces the matching T-SQL beneath the canvas.

Why A is wrong: Filtering rows removes records that fail a condition rather than aggregating, so it neither produces per-status counts nor generates the grouping logic the task needs.

Why B is correct: The Group by step is the visual equivalent of GROUP BY, and the editor renders the diagram as T-SQL behind the canvas, so it both aggregates correctly and produces reviewable SQL.

Why C is wrong: Sorting only orders rows and produces ORDER BY, which does not compute counts per status, so the aggregation still has to be done somewhere else.

Why D is wrong: Merge queries performs a join between tables rather than an aggregation, so a self-join overcomplicates the task and does not cleanly yield one counted row per status.

See more DP-600 practice questions, answers explained.

More in this domain

Back to all Prepare Data objectives, or the DP-600 cert hub.

Examworthy is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. Original, blueprint-aligned practice material only.