Pass SnowPro-Core Exam Guide

While Snowflake primarily deals with structured and semi-structured data, it also has the capability to handle unstructured data. Unstructured data can be stored in Snowflake using variants of SQL data types in tables, which can be permanent tables. These permanent tables, while traditionally used for structured or semi-structured data (like JSON, Avro, or Parquet), can also accommodate unstructured data in the form of binary formats or strings, offering flexibility in data storage and analysis. However, the management and querying of unstructured data in Snowflake may require additional considerations compared to structured data.References: Snowflake Documentation on Data Types

In addition to performing all the standard steps to share data, the USAGE privilege must be granted on each database referenced by a secure view in order to be shared. When sharing a database or specific objects like secure views, the receiving account needs to have the USAGE privilege on the database and schema to access the shared data. This privilege enables the receiving account to access the database and its schemas but does not allow for any DML operations. It's a prerequisite for accessing any objects within the database.

For a secure view to be part of a share, not only does the view itself need to be shared, but the underlying database (and schema, if applicable) must also be accessible to the recipients. Granting USAGE privilege on the database ensures that the receiving account can access the database in a read-only mode to utilize the shared view.

References:

• Snowflake Documentation on Shares: Creating and Managing Shares

In Snowflake, the system-defined, read-only view that displays information on column lineage, which specifies how data flows from source to target in a SQL write operation, is ACCESS_HISTORY. This view is instrumental in auditing and analyzing data access patterns, as it provides detailed insights into how and from where the data is being accessed and manipulated within Snowflake.

Reference to Snowflake documentation on ACCESS_HISTORY:

• Using Access History to Audit Data Access

The ENABLE_ACCOUNT_DATABASE_REPLICATION parameter is a critical setting in Snowflake that allows or restricts the replication of databases across Snowflake accounts. Given the significant impact of this parameter on data management and security, only the ACCOUNTADMIN role has the minimum required privileges to set or modify it. This ensures that only users with the highest level of access and responsibility within the Snowflake environment can control database replication settings, maintaining strict governance and security standards.References: Snowflake Documentation on Database Replication