According to the SnowPro Advanced: Architect documents and learning resources, the ways that Snowflake databases that are created from shares differ from standard databases that are not created from shares are:
Shared databases are read-only. This means that the data consumers who access the shared databases cannot modify or delete the data or the objects in the databases. The data providers who share the databases have full control over the data and the objects, and can grant or revoke privileges on them1.
Shared databases cannot be cloned. This means that the data consumers who access the shared databases cannot create a copy of the databases or the objects in the databases. The data providers who share the databases can clone the databases or the objects, but the clones are not automatically shared2.
Shared databases are not supported by Time Travel. This means that the data consumers who access the shared databases cannot use the AS OF clause to query historical data or restore deleted data. The data providers who share the databases can use Time Travel on the databases or the objects, but the historical data is not visible to the data consumers3.
The other options are incorrect because they are not ways that Snowflake databases that are created from shares differ from standard databases that are not created from shares. Option B is incorrect because shared databases do not need to be refreshed in order for new data to be visible. The data consumers who access the shared databases can see the latest data as soon as the data providers update the data1. Option E is incorrect because shared databases will not have the PUBLIC or INFORMATION_SCHEMA schemas without explicitly granting these schemas to the share. The data consumers who access the shared databases can only see the objects that the data providers grant to the share, and the PUBLIC and INFORMATION_SCHEMA schemas are not granted by default4. Option F is incorrect because shared databases cannot be created as transient databases. Transient databases are databases that do not support Time Travel or Fail-safe, and can be dropped without affecting the retention period of the data. Shared databases are always created as permanent databases, regardless of the type of the source database5. Reference: Introduction to Secure Data Sharing | Snowflake Documentation, Cloning Objects | Snowflake Documentation, Time Travel | Snowflake Documentation, Working with Shares | Snowflake Documentation, CREATE DATABASE | Snowflake Documentation

To provide near real-time sales results to category managers, the Architect can use the following steps:
* Create an external stage that references the cloud storage location where the POS sends the sales transactions files. The external stage should use the file format and encryption settings that match the source files2
* Create a Snowpipe that loads the files from the external stage into a target table in Snowflake. The Snowpipe should be configured with AUTO_INGEST = true, which means that it will automatically detect and ingest new files as they arrive in the external stage. The Snowpipe should also use a copy option to purge the files from the external stage after loading, to avoid duplicate ingestion3
* Create a stream on the target table that captures the INSERTS made by the Snowpipe. The stream should include the metadata columns that provide information about the file name, path, size, and last modified time. The stream should also have a retention period that matches the real-time analytics needs4
* Create a task that runs a query on the stream to process the near real-time data. The query should use the stream metadata to extract the store number and timestamps from the file name and path, and perform the calculations for exceptions, aggregations, and scoring using external functions. The query should also output the results to another table or view that can be accessed by the category managers.
The task should be scheduled to run at a frequency that matches the real-time analytics needs, such as every minute or every 5 minutes.
The other options are not optimal or feasible for providing near real-time results:
* All files should be concatenated before ingestion into Snowflake to avoid micro-ingestion. This option is not recommended because it would introduce additional latency and complexity in the data pipeline.
Concatenating files would require an external process or service that monitors the cloud storage location and performs the file merging operation. This would delay the ingestion of new files into Snowflake and increase the risk of data loss or corruption. Moreover, concatenating files would not avoid micro-ingestion, as Snowpipe would still ingest each concatenated file as a separate load.
* An external scheduler should examine the contents of the cloud storage location and issue SnowSQL commands to process the data at a frequency that matches the real-time analytics needs. This option is not necessary because Snowpipe can automatically ingest new files from the external stage without requiring an external trigger or scheduler. Using an external scheduler would add more overhead and dependency to the data pipeline, and it would not guarantee near real-time ingestion, as it would depend on the polling interval and the availability of the external scheduler.
* The copy into command with a task scheduled to run every second should be used to achieve the near- real time requirement. This option is not feasible because tasks cannot be scheduled to run every second in Snowflake. The minimum interval for tasks is one minute, and even that is not guaranteed, as tasks are subject to scheduling delays and concurrency limits. Moreover, using the copy into command with a task would not leverage the benefits of Snowpipe, such as automatic file detection, load balancing, and micro-partition optimization. References:
* 1: SnowPro Advanced: Architect | Study Guide
* 2: Snowflake Documentation | Creating Stages
* 3: Snowflake Documentation | Loading Data Using Snowpipe
* 4: Snowflake Documentation | Using Streams and Tasks for ELT
* : Snowflake Documentation | Creating Tasks
* : Snowflake Documentation | Best Practices for Loading Data
* : Snowflake Documentation | Using the Snowpipe REST API
* : Snowflake Documentation | Scheduling Tasks
* : SnowPro Advanced: Architect | Study Guide
* : Creating Stages
* : Loading Data Using Snowpipe
* : Using Streams and Tasks for ELT
* : [Creating Tasks]
* : [Best Practices for Loading Data]
* : [Using the Snowpipe REST API]
* : [Scheduling Tasks]

Database cloning is a feature of Snowflake that allows creating a copy of a database, schema, table, or view without consuming any additional storage space. Database cloning can be used as a tool for data lifecycle management in a development environment, where developers and testers can work on isolated copies of production data without affecting the original data or each other1.
However, there are some considerations that need to be taken when using database cloning in a development environment, such as:
* Any pipes in the source are not cloned. Pipes are objects that load data from a stage into a table continuously. Pipes are not cloned because they are associated with a specific stage and table, and cloning them would create duplicate data loading and potential conflicts2.
* The clone inherits all granted privileges of all child objects in the source object, including the database.
Privileges are the permissions that control the access and actions that can be performed on an object.
When a database is cloned, the clone inherits all the privileges that were granted on the source database and its child objects, such as schemas, tables, and views. This means that the same roles that can access and modify the source database can also access and modify the clone, unless the privileges are explicitly revoked or modified3.
The other options are not correct because:
* B. Any pipes in the source referring to internal stages are not cloned. This is a subset of option A, which states that any pipes in the source are not cloned, regardless of the type of stage they refer to.
* C. Any pipes in the source referring to external stages are not cloned. This is also a subset of option A, which states that any pipes in the source are not cloned, regardless of the type of stage they refer to.
* E. The clone inherits all granted privileges of all child objects in the source object, excluding the database. This is incorrect, as the clone inherits all granted privileges of the source object, including the database.
References:
* 1: Database Cloning | Snowflake Documentation
* 2: Pipes | Snowflake Documentation
* 3: Access Control Privileges | Snowflake Documentation