Snowflake Certification Practice Test

Which Snowflake object can be used to manage the workflow of data loading, transformation, and unloading?

1. Streams

2. Tasks

3. Stages

4. Resources

The correct answer is: Tasks

The correct answer is that Tasks can be used to manage the workflow of data loading, transformation, and unloading in Snowflake. Tasks are designed to facilitate the scheduling and execution of SQL statements, which can include operations like data loading into tables, transforming data through SQL queries, and unloading data from Snowflake into external storage. By using Tasks, you can automate the workflow needed for continuous data processing. For example, you might create a Task to run a stored procedure that orchestrates data loading and transformation processes and then subsequently triggers another task to unload the transformed data. This allows for a streamlined process without requiring manual intervention at each stage. Streams are primarily used to track changes in tables as they happen, facilitating incremental data loading but do not manage workflows themselves. Stages act as storage locations for staging data files either for loading into Snowflake or for unloading into external systems but do not perform any transformations or manage workflow processes. Resources do not refer specifically to any Snowflake object related to workflows and instead might refer generally to computational resources available in Snowflake. Thus, Tasks stand out as the appropriate mechanism for orchestrating the various steps involved in data management workflows within Snowflake.