Which statement about the effect of a DESCRIBE HISTORY query on a Delta table’s maintenance history is correct?

Which statement about the effect of a DESCRIBE HISTORY query on a Delta table’s maintenance history is correct?

• A. DESCRIBE HISTORY shows maintenance events
• B. REFRESH TABLE updates metadata
• C. EXPLAIN TABLE lists maintenance events
• D. DESCRIBE HISTORY does not show maintenance events

Answer: (A)

DESCRIBE HISTORY returns a chronological log of all operations that affected a Delta table, including maintenance tasks. Delta Lake records maintenance events—like OPTIMIZE and VACUUM—as transactions in its history, and DESCRIBE HISTORY exposes those events with timestamps and details, making it the correct way to inspect the maintenance history. Refreshing the table just reloads metadata and doesn’t alter or display the history, and EXPLAIN TABLE isn’t used to list maintenance events.

DESCRIBE HISTORY returns a chronological log of all operations that affected a Delta table, including maintenance tasks. Delta Lake records maintenance events—like OPTIMIZE and VACUUM—as transactions in its history, and DESCRIBE HISTORY exposes those events with timestamps and details, making it the correct way to inspect the maintenance history. Refreshing the table just reloads metadata and doesn’t alter or display the history, and EXPLAIN TABLE isn’t used to list maintenance events.