To evaluate the SQL statement, let's go through each line and understand its purpose:
SELECT a.emp_name, a.sal, a.dept_id, b.maxsal: This line selects the employee name, salary, department ID from the "employees" table, and also selects the maximum salary for each department from the subquery aliased as "b".
FROM employees a: This line specifies the "employees" table and aliases it as "a".
(SELECT dept_id, MAX(sal) maxsal FROM employees GROUP BY dept_id) b: This line is a subquery that selects the department ID and maximum salary for each department from the "employees" table. It is aliased as "b".
WHERE a.dept_id = b.dept_id AND a.sal < b.maxsal: This line applies a condition to join the main query with the subquery. It matches the department IDs and ensures that the salary of an employee in department "a" is less than the maximum salary in that department as obtained from the subquery "b".
Now, let's go through the options:
A. The statement produces an error at line 1: This option is incorrect because there is no apparent error in line 1.
B. The statement produces an error at line 3: This option is incorrect because there is no apparent error in line 3.
C. The statement produces an error at line 6: This option is incorrect because there is no line 6 in the SQL statement.
D. The statement returns the employee name, salary, department ID, and maximum salary earned in the department of the employee for all departments that pay less salary than the maximum salary paid in the company: This option is incorrect because the statement does not retrieve the maximum salary paid in the company. It only retrieves the maximum salary for each department.
E. The statement returns the employee name, salary, department ID, and maximum salary earned in the department of the employee for all employees who earn less than the maximum salary in their department: This option is correct. The statement retrieves the employee name, salary, department ID, and the maximum salary earned in the department for all employees who earn less than the maximum salary in their department.
Therefore, the correct answer is option E.