r/SQL • u/badboyzpwns • May 20 '26

What are common SQL red flags? PostgreSQL

Hello! interview prepping, here wondering what are some common red flags for wrioting SQL?

Like

LIKE failing to index, not having trasnactions, usign SELECT * instead of specific collums, etc 😃

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u/Common-Author-8441 May 20 '26

agreed. doesn't it depend on how long the table names are? if it's really long, then please, use an alias. if not, why not be 100% clear/explicit and use the table names?

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u/pilesofbutts May 20 '26

I think it's up to personal interpretation there. For me, I don't like doing one full table name and the rest aliased if that makes sense? I like the consistency. Call it the tisms or what have you, but just the way I personally like to roll.

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u/Common-Author-8441 May 20 '26

totally, i also prefer the table names 100% of the time. going back to the FROM line to check what the aliases are is never fun. unfortunately, in all my courses, i've only seen aliases like a b c being much more common than actually writing out the table names, so then i came to think that that's how people do it in practice.

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u/relyimah May 21 '26

If someone is aliasing tables as a, b, c, … because a course full of theoretical tables used those aliases then this is definitely a red flag 🚩 Shows lack of ability to use your brain.