The Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I course is designed for professionals aiming to develop and deploy custom business logic and interfaces using Apex and Visualforce. It covers core development concepts, including data management, debugging, testing, and process automation. Ideal for aspiring Salesforce developers, this course provides in-depth knowledge and hands-on practice to build efficient, scalable apps and successfully pass the Platform Developer I certification exam.
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I Training Interview Questions Answers - For Intermediate
1. What is the use of custom settings in Salesforce, and how do they differ from custom metadata types?
Custom settings are used to store configuration data that can be accessed across the Salesforce platform without consuming SOQL limits. They come in two types: list and hierarchy. List settings apply universally, while hierarchy settings can vary by user or profile. Compared to custom metadata types, custom settings are less flexible in deployment and cannot be packaged easily, whereas custom metadata types are deployable and more manageable in version control.
2. What is the significance of the transient keyword in Visualforce controllers?
The transient keyword is used to prevent certain variables from being serialized when the view state is sent to the browser. This helps in reducing the view state size and improves page performance. It is commonly used with variables that do not need to be preserved across postbacks, such as temporary data or intermediate calculations.
3. Describe the difference between a Role and a Profile in Salesforce.
A profile in Salesforce defines what users can do, such as object permissions, field-level security, and app visibility. It is mandatory for every user. A role, on the other hand, defines what users can see based on the record-level access within the role hierarchy. While profiles control the "can do," roles control the "can see" aspect of user access.
4. What are some key practices to avoid hitting governor limits in Apex?
To avoid hitting governor limits, developers use bulk processing techniques such as iterating over collections instead of single records. They also minimize SOQL and DML statements within loops, use collections like maps and sets, leverage efficient query filters, and make use of asynchronous processing where appropriate. Proper exception handling and code refactoring further help in maintaining efficient resource usage.
5. How does a developer perform unit testing in Salesforce?
Unit testing in Salesforce is conducted using test methods written in Apex. These methods verify that code behaves as expected under different conditions. Salesforce provides built-in tools to assert outcomes and simulate DML operations, and requires a minimum of 75% code coverage for deployment to production. Unit tests help ensure reliability, detect issues early, and support continuous development workflows.
6. What is a sandbox in Salesforce, and what are its types?
A sandbox is a copy of the production environment used for development, testing, or training without affecting live data. Salesforce provides several sandbox types: Developer, Developer Pro, Partial Copy, and Full Sandbox. Each varies in terms of storage capacity and data included. Full sandboxes replicate production entirely, while Developer sandboxes are ideal for individual coding and testing.
7. How does the order of execution work in Salesforce when a record is saved?
When a record is saved, Salesforce follows a specific order of execution. This includes system validations, before triggers, custom validations, duplicate rules, after triggers, assignment rules, workflow rules, processes, escalation rules, entitlement rules, and roll-up summary calculations. Understanding this order is essential for debugging and building logic that behaves predictably in multi-layered automation.
8. Explain the use of the final keyword in Apex.
The final keyword is used to prevent modification of a variable, method, or class once it is declared. A final variable cannot be reassigned, a final method cannot be overridden, and a final class cannot be extended. It is primarily used to enforce immutability and ensure predictable behavior in code execution.
9. What is a junction object, and how is it used in Salesforce?
A junction object is a custom object used to create a many-to-many relationship between two other objects. It typically contains two master-detail relationships, one for each related object. This setup allows records from two objects to be associated with multiple records of the other, enabling flexible data modeling for complex business scenarios.
10. How is a Lightning App Page different from a Lightning Record Page?
A Lightning App Page is a customizable page in the Lightning App Builder that serves as a home or dashboard-style experience for users. It can display reports, lists, or custom components. A Lightning Record Page, however, is focused on presenting data related to a specific record and includes related lists and record details. The choice depends on whether the context is general (app) or record-specific.
11. What are the different types of collections in Apex, and when are they used?
Apex supports three main types of collections: lists, sets, and maps. Lists are ordered collections that allow duplicates and are used for storing sequential data. Sets are unordered collections of unique elements, useful for filtering out duplicates. Maps store key-value pairs and are essential for quick lookups and referencing data based on identifiers.
12. What is a test.startTest() and test.stopTest() in Apex testing?
These methods are used in test classes to define a block of code where governor limits are reset. This is helpful when testing methods that may consume many resources or include asynchronous calls. Using startTest() and stopTest() ensures that the test environment closely simulates real-world behavior and captures accurate execution metrics.
13. How does field-level security interact with Apex code?
Apex code runs in system context by default, meaning it does not respect field-level security or object-level permissions. This can result in exposing sensitive data to users unintentionally. To enforce field-level security in Apex, developers must manually check for permissions using methods like Schema.sObjectType or field describe calls, especially when building secure applications.
14. What is the difference between insert and upsert operations in Apex?
The insert operation is used to add new records into the database and will fail if a record with a matching identifier already exists. The upsert operation, however, can either insert a new record or update an existing one based on an external ID or record ID. This makes upsert a powerful tool for data synchronization and migration tasks.
15. What is the use of Database.saveResult in Apex?
Database.saveResult is used to capture the outcome of DML operations when using the Database class methods such as insert, update, or delete with the allOrNone parameter set to false. It provides detailed information about the success or failure of each record operation, allowing developers to handle partial successes and exceptions more gracefully.
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I Training Interview Questions Answers - For Advanced
1. How does Apex handle exceptions, and what best practices should developers follow for exception handling?
Apex provides structured exception handling through try-catch-finally blocks, enabling developers to catch and handle errors gracefully. Proper exception handling prevents system crashes, ensures data consistency, and provides informative feedback to users. Developers should log exceptions using platform events or custom logging frameworks and avoid exposing system messages directly to end-users. They should catch specific exceptions when possible and avoid overly broad catch blocks, which can mask issues. Finally, resource cleanup should be done in the finally block to ensure reliability, and bulk operations should be designed to continue processing remaining records even if some fail.
2. How does Salesforce's multi-tenant architecture affect Apex development?
Salesforce’s multi-tenant architecture allows multiple customers (tenants) to share the same infrastructure and database. As a result, Apex developers must adhere to strict governor limits to ensure fair resource usage across tenants. This architecture emphasizes writing optimized, bulkified, and efficient code to avoid impacting other users. Developers also need to be cautious about data visibility and ensure that sharing rules, object permissions, and field-level security are enforced appropriately. Understanding these architectural implications is essential for creating scalable, secure, and compliant applications on the Salesforce platform.
3. Explain the use of custom labels and how they support localization.
Custom labels in Salesforce are used to store user-facing text that can be translated into multiple languages. They allow developers to create multi-language applications without hardcoding strings, supporting localization and internationalization. When used in Apex, Visualforce, or Lightning components, custom labels dynamically render the text based on the user’s language settings. This promotes maintainability, as updates can be made in one place without modifying code. Using custom labels ensures a consistent and localized user experience across different regions and languages.
4. What are the risks of hardcoded IDs in Apex code and how can they be mitigated?
Hardcoding record IDs, such as record types, profiles, or specific users, introduces fragility into Apex code. These IDs can vary between environments, leading to deployment failures or runtime errors. To mitigate this, developers should retrieve IDs dynamically using queries or configuration-based mechanisms like custom metadata or custom settings. This approach makes the code portable and reduces the risk of broken references during sandbox refreshes, deployments, or org migrations. Avoiding hardcoded values is a core principle of maintainable and environment-agnostic Salesforce development.
5. Describe the difference between Process Builder, Flows, and Apex from a developer’s perspective.
Process Builder and Flows are declarative automation tools designed for admins and non-developers, while Apex provides programmatic control for complex business logic. Process Builder is best suited for simple if/then workflows but is now being phased out in favor of Flows, which are more powerful and flexible. Flows can handle user interactions, screen inputs, and complex decision logic. Apex is used when requirements exceed the capabilities of declarative tools, such as working with large datasets, handling recursion, or implementing advanced integrations. Choosing the right tool depends on the complexity, scalability, and maintenance needs of the solution.
6. What considerations are important when writing test methods for triggers and classes involving callouts?
Apex test methods cannot perform real HTTP callouts. To test logic that includes callouts, developers must use mock responses through the HTTPCalloutMock interface. This ensures that tests can run in isolation and do not depend on external services. It's also important to isolate callout logic in helper classes to simplify mocking. Developers should simulate various response scenarios, including success, failure, and timeouts, to validate error handling and resilience. Testing callouts effectively ensures integration logic behaves correctly and complies with Salesforce's deployment and test execution standards.
7. How can developers manage large data volumes effectively in Apex?
Managing large data volumes (LDV) requires optimizing queries, indexing fields, and avoiding full table scans. Developers should use selective filters, limit result sets, and leverage indexed fields such as external IDs or formula fields with deterministic logic. Asynchronous processing methods like batch Apex, queueable Apex, or scheduled jobs help process LDV in manageable chunks. Pagination techniques like queryLocator and OFFSET are used to load large datasets in parts. Understanding LDV best practices is essential for maintaining performance and preventing timeout errors or limit exceptions.
8. What is the use of the Database class methods in Apex, and how are they different from standard DML?
The Database class methods offer more flexibility than standard DML operations by allowing developers to handle partial success and rollback scenarios. For instance, using the Database.insert() method with the allOrNone parameter set to false lets the system continue processing other records even if some fail. The method returns detailed results, including success status and error messages for each record. This is especially useful in bulk operations where it's necessary to track which records succeeded and which failed, providing better control over error handling and user feedback.
9. What are the benefits and limitations of using formula fields in business logic?
Formula fields provide dynamic calculations that are evaluated at runtime and displayed in the UI without storing values in the database. They simplify logic, reduce code, and ensure consistent data presentation. However, formulas have limitations such as character limits, restricted functions, and inability to reference certain fields like long text areas. Additionally, they can’t be used to drive triggers or be updated directly. While powerful for display and reporting, formulas must be used judiciously, and developers should consider alternatives like workflow field updates or Apex if complex logic is required.
10. How do developers control record access programmatically in Apex?
Record access can be controlled programmatically through Apex Managed Sharing or by inserting records into the object's share table. This allows granting read or edit access to specific users, roles, or groups. Apex must respect sharing rules when modifying visibility to maintain data security. Developers must also be aware of the user's context and use sharing calculations only when needed, as excessive use can lead to complexity and performance overhead. Properly managing access programmatically is essential in community portals, custom UI development, or advanced sharing scenarios.
11. How can developers optimize performance when using nested queries or sub-selects in SOQL?
Nested queries can be resource-intensive and may impact performance if not used carefully. Developers should ensure that filters are selective and return only the necessary fields to reduce the payload. Using relationship queries should be limited to scenarios where the related data is required immediately. It's also important to avoid nesting too many levels deep and to consider flattening data or using additional queries with joins in Apex. Query planning and debug logs should be reviewed to assess query cost and identify optimization opportunities.
12. What is the role of the Describe information in dynamic Apex and when should it be used?
The Describe methods in Apex allow developers to retrieve metadata about objects, fields, and their attributes at runtime. This capability supports dynamic applications, such as generic record creation interfaces, dynamic field access, or reusable utility functions. Describe information is essential for building components that adapt based on schema changes or user permissions. It enables metadata-driven development, improving flexibility and maintainability. However, developers must manage governor limits related to describe calls and cache results appropriately to avoid performance degradation.
13. What challenges arise when working with polymorphic relationships in Salesforce, and how can they be addressed?
Polymorphic relationships, such as the WhoId or WhatId fields, refer to multiple object types. These relationships introduce challenges in querying, typecasting, and displaying data, since the object type must be determined at runtime. Developers must use instance-of checks or examine prefixes to differentiate object types, and data access permissions may vary across objects. Reporting on polymorphic fields can also be limited. Addressing these challenges requires careful logic, dynamic rendering in UI components, and conditional logic to ensure correct processing based on object type.
14. How can continuous integration and automated testing be implemented in a Salesforce development lifecycle?
Continuous integration (CI) in Salesforce involves integrating code changes regularly and validating them using automated builds and tests. Tools like Salesforce DX, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and Azure DevOps can be used to orchestrate CI pipelines. Apex test classes ensure code coverage and integrity during deployments. Developers must follow version control best practices, structure repositories cleanly, and automate deployments through metadata API or unlocked packages. Automated testing validates functional correctness and accelerates delivery by identifying issues early in the development cycle.
15. What are Lightning Web Components (LWC), and how do they improve Salesforce development?
Lightning Web Components (LWC) represent Salesforce’s modern UI development framework built on web standards like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. They offer a lightweight and high-performance alternative to Aura components by leveraging the browser’s native capabilities. LWCs provide a modular approach to building reusable and testable components. They support encapsulated styling, better rendering performance, and easier integration with standard web libraries. LWCs also enable faster load times and improved developer productivity through better tooling and alignment with modern front-end development practices.
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