Preface

It is a new era in the design of data platform systems. Disparate data lakes and data warehouses are giving way to a new type of data platform system – the lakehouse. It promises to unify all data analytics into a single platform. Databricks, with its Databricks SQL product suite, is the hottest lakehouse platform out there. It harnesses the power of Apache Spark™, Delta Lake™, and other innovations that enable data warehousing capabilities on the lakehouse with data lake economics.

This book is a comprehensive hands-on guide that lets you explore all the advanced features, use cases, and technology components of Databricks SQL. You will start with the fundamentals of the lakehouse architecture and how Databricks SQL fits into it. Next, you will learn how to use the platform – exploring data, executing queries, and building reports and dashboards. Moving on, you will learn about the administrative aspects of the lakehouse – data security, governance, and managing the computation power of the lakehouse. You will delve into the core technology enablers of Databricks SQL – Delta Lake™ and Photon. Finally, you will get hands-on with advanced SQL commands for ingesting data and maintaining the lakehouse.

By the end of this book, you will have mastered Databricks SQL and be able to deploy and deliver fast, scalable business intelligence on the lakehouse.