Interview Questions

The Composite API lets you execute multiple sub-requests in a single HTTP call and reference results from earlier requests in later ones. More efficient than multiple individual API calls. Types: Composite Resources, SObject Tree (create multiple related records in one call), Batch (multiple independent requests in one call).

Data Loader: Salesforce's official desktop tool. Import/export/upsert/delete. Uses SOAP or Bulk API. Supports up to 5 million records per operation. Data Import Wizard: Browser-based, simpler. Limited to 50,000 records. Supports standard objects only. Workbench: Web-based admin tool. SOQL queries, REST explorer, data import/export. Dataloader.io: Cloud-based, scheduled jobs, supports multiple objects. MuleSoft / Informatica: ETL tools for complex migration with transformation.

Change Sets: Point-and-click deployment between connected orgs. Limitations: slow, no version control, no rollback. VS Code with Salesforce Extensions + SFDX CLI: Source-tracked orgs, Git-based, fast deployment. Copado: Full DevOps platform with CI/CD pipelines, version control, automated testing. DevOps Center: Salesforce's native CI/CD tool (successor to Change Sets). Ant Migration Tool: XML-based, scriptable deployments. // SFDX deploy command sf project deploy start --source-dir force-app --target-org myOrg

Change Sets: Manual, UI-driven, no version control, no rollback, dependent metadata must be included manually. Cannot deploy destructive changes easily. DevOps Center: Git-based, supports version control, work items tracking, multi-stage pipelines, automated deployments. The modern replacement for Change Sets.

Custom Settings are custom objects that store hierarchical or list configuration data. Types: Hierarchy: Can be set at org, profile, or user level — more specific setting overrides. Accessible in Apex, formula fields, validation rules. List: Flat key-value data accessible by name. Data is cached — faster access than SOQL. Can be used in formula fields and validation rules directly.

Custom Metadata Types store configuration data that can be deployed as metadata (unlike Custom Settings records, which are data). Key differences from Custom Settings: (1) Records are deployable via Change Sets/packages; (2) Can be queried in Apex (SOQL); (3) Cannot be used directly in formula fields; (4) Better for configuration that varies between sandboxes and production. Use Custom Metadata for: configuration that changes per environment, feature flags, routing rules, integration settings.

Developer: 200 MB data, 200 MB file storage. Fresh copy — no production data. Developer Pro: 1 GB data. More suitable for development and testing. Partial Copy: 5 GB data. Subset of production data. Refreshes every 5 days. Full: Full copy of production — same data, same storage. Refreshes every 29 days.

Freeze: Temporarily prevents the user from logging in but preserves their license and setup. Reversible quickly. Use when someone is on leave or during investigations. Deactivate: Permanently disables the user account. Their license is freed and can be reassigned. Their records remain with them as owner. Cannot log in. Takes effect immediately.