10 OData Interview Questions With Sample Answers (Plus Tips)

Updated 18 March 2023

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Programmers and analysts use open data protocol (OData) to perform their daily tasks, like building web applications or querying data. Recruiters may ask questions relating to OData to determine your suitability for related roles. It is vital to prepare for an interview by rehearsing a few answers and revising your fundamentals. In this article, we discuss several general, experience-related and in-depth OData interview questions with a few sample answers to help you prepare yours better.

OData Interview Questions With Sample Answers

Here are some OData interview questions and sample answers you may refer to when preparing for a job interview:

1. What are the benefits of using OData?

Interviewers may ask questions to assess your knowledge about OData and its applications. These questions help you show interviewers your skills and interest in OData and how you may use them in your daily work. It is vital to keep your answers short and to the point.

Example answer: ‘OData or open data protocol helps raise queries in simple and standard methods. Built on HTTP protocol, it is lightweight and easy to access data on the web. OData is extremely beneficial to companies as it is an open protocol with no costs or license agreements. I also believe that OData is very versatile as it supports multichannel access to SAP data.'

2. What is the SAP Netweaver Gateway?

Interviewers may ask questions concerning other resources and features useful for OData. These questions test your expertise in OData and its ecosystem. You may share examples of using these features in your earlier projects or job while keeping the answer short.

Example answer: ‘SAP Netweaver Gateway is a platform that allows connectivity to SAP applications using any programming language. The SAP Netweaver Gateway allows front-end developers of non-SAP systems to create applications to consume data from SAP. An advantage of the SAP Netweaver Gateway is that it unifies access to SAP data via OData protocol and makes it easily consumable by non-SAP users.'

3. How do you test an OData service?

Interviewers may focus on several aspects of OData and ways to use it. It helps them assess your understanding and expertise in using the platform. You may share your experience in using the different features and how they benefitted your daily work. Sharing examples from your past may help substantiate your knowledge.

Example answer: ‘OData in the SAP context gets used as an application programming interface (API) or as a communication channel between different user interfaces. Methods to test OData service include systems, integration and component tests. Each of these tests helps validate a particular function and requires an OData client or external consumer to complete it. Services like SAP Gateway Client or extended computer aided test tool (eCATT) help test an OData service for efficiency.'

4. Do you think OData is essential to someone in finance?

Understanding OData and its applications allow you to use it in various scenarios and industries. Interviewers may ask this question to assess your ability to think quickly and use your knowledge in different situations. Substantiate your answer by sharing applications and features that may benefit the industry. You may also share experiences of using OData in varied sectors.

Example answer: ‘Yes, I think OData is essential to someone working in finance. It offers the flexibility to focus on business logic without worrying about API approaches to defining requests and responses. It helps track changes and patterns which may help in financial planning and analysis.'

5. Do you have experience in data analytics?

Data analytics is a vital part of using OData. Interviewers assess your holistic knowledge and may use this question to understand your career trajectory. Share your experience as a data analyst, tools you used and relevant educational degrees or certifications that may help substantiate your knowledge of data analytics.

Example answer: ‘Yes, I started my career as a data analyst in a marketing and automation firm. I helped clients analyse their business data and financials and share the inferences to help decision-making. I also possess relevant data analyst certifications that helps in my daily operations.'

6. What is a data model in OData?

Data models are fundamental in OData. This question aims to assess your foundational knowledge about OData and its applications. You may share your experience using data models for work while keeping the answer brief.

Example answer: 'Data models help represent data from different data sources in a single format. They use entity data models (EDM) to structure the data collected from data sources. I used data models and EDM to set up systems that established relationships between different data and represented their association. These representations assisted in business meetings with stakeholders and business leaders to make these meetings data-driven.'

7. What is an entity type and entity set?

This question aims to test your fundamentals in OData. Keep the answer brief and to the point. You may elaborate on the use and applications of these components.

Example answer: 'An entity is an independent value that has distinguishable characteristics. An entity type refers to the category to which entities belong. Similarly, a collection or set of all entities of a particular entity type forms an entity set. These are fundamental in OData and help understand data better.'

8. What is REST?

OData and REST are vital for one another. Understanding this correlation is necessary for any developer and data administrator. Interviewers may ask this question to assess your knowledge about REST, its application and its use in OData processes.

Example answer: 'Representational state transfer or REST is a software architectural style. OData defines practices for building RESTful web services. It allows the addition or replacement of server-side rendering to assist client-side rendering in web applications. I often use REST to build reliable web APIs.'

9. Why is OData used in SAP?

This question aims to test your knowledge of the practical applications of OData. Discuss the benefits of OData and what makes it a good fit to use in SAP. Ensure to keep your answer brief and informative.

Example answer: 'OData helps define the practices to build RESTful APIs and applications. It allows data, updates and queries on the SAP gateway in various formats, including ATOM, JSON and XML. Both SAP and non-SAP developers can use OData services, making it a convenient choice in SAP.'

10. How do you query data using OData?

This question helps test your knowledge of the features and capabilities of OData. It allows interviewers to understand your ability to raise relevant queries depending on the business requirement. You may share your experience using queries to perform a task and the results of it.

Example answer: 'OData uses SQL select statement syntax to raise queries on the data. These queries allow us to select specific data depending on the given criteria. In my previous roles, I have frequently used query to update and delete records in OData.'

Tips For An OData Interview

Here are some tips that may help you prepare for an OData interview:

Learn about the company

Understand their core values, business success and company culture. Reading about the company before an interview helps you answer conceptual or technical questions concerning the company. Understand the job requirements and their business strategy to provide answers that can convey the proficiency you may offer to the company if you get hired.

Revise your fundamentals

Interviewers may test your basic and foundational skills in an interview. Prepare for quick practical tasks and be thorough with vital features and applications of OData. Stay updated with the latest technological advancements and how they may benefit the company and its operations.

Plan your interview

Decide your clothes and transportation and arrange all necessary documents essential for the interview. Reach the venue at least 12 to 15 minutes before the scheduled interview time. Ensure you sit upright during the interview and practice your answers before in front of a mirror.

Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are associated with Indeed.