SQL Data Organization for Extraction | Dataford Interview Questions

What programming software do you use, and how would you arrange data for future extraction?

Assume software tools and usage events are stored in separate tables. Write a query that produces a reusable extract for active tools used during 2025, while retaining active tools with no usage during that period.

Output

One row per active software tool, with tool_name, category, engineer_count, usage_count, last_used_on, and usage_status
Include tools with no qualifying usage and label them unused
Order by usage_count descending, then tool_name ascending

Schema

software_tools

Column	Type	Description
tool_idPK	INT	Unique software tool identifier
tool_name	VARCHAR(100)	Software tool name
category	VARCHAR(50)	Tool category
is_active	BOOLEAN	Whether the tool should appear in current extracts

software_usage

Column	Type	Description
usage_idPK	INT	Unique usage event identifier
tool_id	INT	Referenced software tool
engineer_name	VARCHAR(100)	Engineer associated with the usage event
used_on	DATE	Date of the usage event
proficiency_level	VARCHAR(30)	Reported proficiency level

Your question is SQL Data Organization for Extraction. Start with the requirements and the two tables in the Question tab.

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Problem