Dataford
Interview QuestionsInterview GuidesExperiencesMock InterviewsPricing
Get started
Dataford
Popular roles
Software EngineerData AnalystData ScientistData EngineerBusiness AnalystAI EngineerMachine Learning EngineerProduct Manager
Browse
Browse All RolesEvery role hub, from analyst to MLBrowse All CompaniesCompany-specific interview loopsAll Interview GuidesThe full guide library
Top questions by role
Software EngineerData AnalystData ScientistData EngineerBusiness AnalystAI EngineerMachine Learning EngineerProduct Manager
Top questions by skill
SQLPythonStatisticsMachine LearningA/B TestingSystem DesignGenerative AIProduct SenseMetricsBehavioral
Browse all questions →Try a mock interview
Experiences
Practice
Mock InterviewsTimed interview simulations with feedbackCoaching1:1 coaching with people at your target companiesSuccess PathYour 6-week structured planModulesCurated lessons by topicWebinarsTalks from ex-Big Tech data leadsPlaygroundA free-form scratch editor
Learn
BlogInterview strategy and career adviceTech Job Market ReportHiring trends across data and AI rolesFor UniversitiesDataford for career centersAbout DatafordWho we are and how we build
Pricing
Build my plan
SQL Session Reconstruction with Dirty Timestamps
00:00
5 left

SQL Session Reconstruction with Dirty Timestamps

HardSQL · PostgreSQL

Problem

Given a raw event log of user interactions with missing and duplicate timestamps, write a query to clean the data and reconstruct clean user sessions for Slack.

Treat received_at as the timestamp when event_ts is missing. Remove exact duplicate interactions, retain deterministic ordering for events sharing a timestamp, and start a new session when the gap between consecutive events for a user is greater than 30 minutes.

Output

  1. One row per user session with user_id, session_number, session_start, session_end, event_count, and event_types
  2. Include events from all users, with event types listed in chronological order
  3. Order by user_id, then session_number

Schema

raw_user_events
ColumnTypeDescription
event_idPKINTUnique identifier for the raw event record
user_idINTSlack user identifier
event_typeVARCHAR(40)Type of user interaction
event_tsTIMESTAMPClient-reported interaction timestamp, which may be missing
received_atTIMESTAMPTimestamp when the event was received by the logging service
payloadVARCHAR(255)Compact event payload used to identify exact duplicate interactions
Tablesraw_user_events
Interviewer

Your question is SQL Session Reconstruction with Dirty Timestamps. Start with the requirements and the one table in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

You need to log in / sign up to run or submit.
CodePostgreSQL
Sign up free to run your codeLog inLn 1
Run your query to see results here.