Snowflake SnowPro Certification Practice Test

When is the data in a Transient Table purged?

1. It is purged after a specified time

2. It stays until it's dropped

3. It is automatically deleted after a session ends

4. It is purged upon reaching storage limits

The correct answer is: It stays until it's dropped

A Transient Table in Snowflake is designed for temporary storage of data that does not need to be retained indefinitely. The key characteristic of transient tables is that they do not support fail-safe, which means they are less costly and well-suited for intermediate data processing. When using transient tables, the data within them remains intact until the table itself is explicitly dropped. This allows for flexibility in terms of data retention and usability during the lifecycle of the table. Users can manipulate the data in the transient table, perform necessary operations, and when it is no longer needed, simply drop the table to eliminate both the structure and its contents at once. In contrast, transient tables do not purge data automatically after a specified period, upon reaching storage limits, or when a session ends. Those characteristics apply to other types of tables or data structures within Snowflake, but the design of transient tables focuses on user control over when to remove data.