Modulo syntax/keywords, I think the following query would work in any modern dialect: SELECT num FROM (SELECT num FROM nums ORDER BY num DESC LIMI

Modulo syntax/keywords, I think the following query would work in any modern dialect: SELECT num FROM (SELECT num FROM nums ORDER BY num DESC LIMIT 2) ORDER BY num ASC LIMIT 1; which is actually nearly identical to the simplest Python solution in terms of the computation that's specified: lambda xs: None if len(xs) == 0 else sorted(xs)[-2:][0] I think the reason the question is tricky for some is because they either: 1) haven't used SQL in a long time and forgot all the syntax, or else 2) don't really "grok" SQL as a model of computation (as opposed to e.g. a data structuring language or something like that). But both of those seem like good reasons to disqualify someone from a full stack role?