Does VALIDATION_MODE support COPY statements that transform data during a load?

• A. True
• B. Not applicable
• C. Only when loading from external stage
• D. False

Answer: (D)

Validation mode in a COPY operation is all about checking the data against the target table’s structure without actually loading it. It inspects types, nullability, length limits, and other constraints and produces a report of what would pass or fail. Because it’s a validation step, it does not execute the data transformations you might specify for a normal load. Transformations—such as computed values, reordering or mapping columns, or applying expressions—happen during a real load, not during validation. So you can’t use validation mode to transform data as part of the load. To apply transformations, run a standard COPY without validation (or load first and then transform in a subsequent SQL step).