Dataford
Interview QuestionsInterview GuidesExperiencesCoaching
New
Pricing
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
Top 5 Categories by Month
00:00
5 left

Top 5 Categories by Month

MediumSQL · PostgreSQL

Problem

Citizant's federal sales reporting dataset contains orders, line items, products, and product categories. Write a PostgreSQL query that identifies the five highest-selling categories within each calendar month.

Requirements

  1. Include only orders whose status is completed.
  2. Calculate sales as quantity * unit_price at the line-item level, then aggregate by month and category.
  3. Rank categories independently within each month using a window function.
  4. Return no more than five categories per month, ordered by month and descending sales rank.
  5. Exclude products that do not map to a category, and handle nullable quantities correctly.

Schema

sales_orders
ColumnTypeDescription
order_idPKINTUnique order identifier
order_dateDATEDate the order was placed
statusVARCHAR(20)Order processing status
order_items
ColumnTypeDescription
order_item_idPKINTUnique line-item identifier
order_idINTReferences sales_orders.order_id
product_idINTReferences products.product_id
quantityINTNumber of units sold
unit_priceNUMERIC(10,2)Price charged per unit
products
ColumnTypeDescription
product_idPKINTUnique product identifier
product_nameVARCHAR(100)Product display name
category_idINTReferences categories.category_id
categories
ColumnTypeDescription
category_idPKINTUnique category identifier
category_nameVARCHAR(100)Product category name
Tablessales_ordersorder_itemsproductscategories
Interviewer

Your question is Top 5 Categories by Month. Start with the requirements and the four tables 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.