Top 20+ Latest Databricks Interview Questions & Answers

Databricks Interview Questions

1. What is Databricks in short (in a sentence)?

Databricks is a unified analytics platform that is designed to help users build and deploy machine learning and big data applications at scale.

2. Who benefited most from Databricks?

Databricks has benefited a wide range of organizations and individuals who use the platform to build and deploy machine learning and big data applications. Some of the groups that have benefited the most from Databricks include:

1. Data scientists and analysts: Databricks provide a powerful platform for data scientists and analysts to explore and analyze large datasets, build machine learning models, and collaborate with other team members.
2. Developers and engineers: Databricks provides a scalable and flexible platform for developers and engineers to build and deploy big data applications using Spark-based technologies.
3. Enterprises: Databricks provides a unified platform for enterprises to manage and analyze their data, enabling them to make more informed decisions and drive better business outcomes.
4. Researchers: Databricks provide a powerful platform for researchers to analyze and model large datasets, enabling them to advance their research and make new discoveries.

Overall, Databricks has benefited a wide range of users and organizations by providing a powerful and flexible platform for building and deploying big data and machine learning applications.

3. What are the components of Databricks?

Databricks consists of several components that work together to provide a unified analytics platform for building and deploying big data and machine learning applications. Some of the key components of Databricks include:

1. Apache Spark: Databricks is built on top of Apache Spark, an open-source distributed computing system that provides a powerful platform for processing and analyzing large datasets.
2. Workspace: Databricks Workspace is a collaborative environment for building, managing, and sharing data science and engineering projects. It includes features such as notebooks, dashboards, and version control.
3. Cluster Manager: Databricks Cluster Manager is a tool for managing Spark clusters, enabling users to scale up or down their processing power as needed.
4. Jobs: Databricks Jobs enables users to schedule and automate workflows, making it easier to manage and deploy data science and engineering pipelines.
5. Libraries: Databricks Libraries are pre-installed and third-party libraries that can be used to extend the functionality of Spark and Databricks.
6. MLflow: MLflow is an open-source platform for managing the machine learning lifecycle, which is tightly integrated with Databricks.
7. Delta Lake: Deta Lake is a data lake solution that provides reliability, performance, and data integrity features, enabling users to build data-driven applications with high-quality data.

Overall, these components work together to provide a powerful and flexible platform for building and deploying big data and machine learning applications, while also providing tools for managing workflows, collaborating with team members, and ensuring data quality and integrity. By integrating these components into a single platform, Databricks makes it easier for users to build and deploy sophisticated data-driven applications, while also providing the scalability and performance needed to handle large datasets and complex processing tasks.

4. What are the languages supported by Databricks?

Databricks supports a variety of programming languages that can be used for data processing, analysis, and machine learning tasks. The list of languages supported by Databricks includes:

1. Python: Python is one of the most popular languages used for data science and machine learning tasks. Databricks provides support for Python 2 and 3 and also provides pre-installed libraries such as NumPy, Pandas, and Matplotlib.
2. Scala: Scala is a general-purpose programming language that is often used for big data processing tasks. Databricks provides support for Scala 2.11 and 2.12 and also provides pre-installed libraries such as Apache Spark and Apache Hadoop.
3. R: R is a statistical programming language that is widely used for data analysis and visualization. Databricks provides support for R 3.4 and 3.5 and also provides pre-installed libraries such as ggplot2 and dplyr.
4. SQL: SQL is a standard language used for managing and querying databases. Databricks provides support for SQL and also provides a SQL editor that can be used to interact with databases.
5. Java: Java is a general-purpose programming language that is often used for building enterprise applications. Databricks provides support for Java 8 and also provides pre-installed libraries such as Apache Spark and Apache Hadoop.

In addition to these languages, Databricks also provides support for other languages such as Julia and MATLAB through custom kernels.

5. What is the difference between Databricks and Azure Databricks?

In summary, the main differences between Databricks and Azure Databricks are related to ownership, deployment, integration with cloud platforms, security and compliance features, pricing, and support. While Databricks supports multiple cloud platforms and offers advanced security features, Azure Databricks is tightly integrated with Azure services and provides additional security features specific to Azure. Additionally, while the pricing models for both Databricks and Azure Databricks are similar, cost calculations may vary. Finally, while Databricks provides support for its platform, Azure Databricks is supported by Microsoft.

6. Is Databricks associated with Microsoft?

Yes, Databricks is associated with Microsoft. In 2019, Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with Databricks, which included an investment of $400 million in Databricks. As part of the partnership, Databricks integrated its platform with Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, and Microsoft began offering Databricks as an integrated service in the Azure cloud.

The integration of Databricks with Azure has made it easier for users to build and deploy machine learning and big data applications in the cloud, by providing a fully managed, scalable platform that includes features such as Spark clusters, interactive notebooks, and job scheduling. Additionally, the partnership has enabled users to take advantage of other Azure services, such as Azure Blob Storage and Azure Data Lake Storage, for data storage and processing.

Overall, the partnership between Microsoft and Databricks has helped to accelerate the adoption of big data and machine learning technologies, by providing a powerful and flexible platform that is accessible to a wide range of users and organizations.

7. Does Databricks certification help to crack the interview?

Having a Databricks certification can certainly help to demonstrate your expertise in using the Databricks platform and Spark-based technologies, which can be valuable when applying for jobs that require these skills. However, it’s important to note that certification alone may not be enough to “crack the interview”.

When interviewing for a job that involves Databricks or Spark-based technologies, interviewers will likely be interested in a range of factors beyond just certification. This may include your overall knowledge and experience with the relevant technologies, your ability to solve complex problems, your communication and collaboration skills, and your ability to work effectively in a team.

Therefore, while having a Databricks certification can be a valuable asset, it’s important to also focus on developing a strong overall skillset and demonstrating your experience and ability to use these technologies effectively in practical applications. This may involve working on personal projects, contributing to open-source projects, attending relevant conferences and events, and staying up-to-date with the latest developments in the field.

Ultimately, while having a Databricks certification can certainly help to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge, it’s only one aspect of what interviewers will be looking for. It’s important to focus on developing a well-rounded skillset and demonstrating your ability to apply your skills and knowledge to real-world problems.

8. Is Microsoft the owner of Databricks?

No, Microsoft is not the owner of Databricks, but they are one of the strategic partners of Databricks. Databricks is an independent, privately-held company that was founded in 2013 by the original creators of Apache Spark.

However, Microsoft has a strong partnership with Databricks and offers Databricks as a fully-managed service on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. In addition, Microsoft has made significant investments in Databricks, including a joint development initiative to integrate Azure Databricks with Azure Synapse Analytics, a cloud-based analytics service.

Microsoft also uses Databricks internally for its own data processing and analytics needs. As a result of this partnership, Databricks has become a popular choice for data engineering, data science, and machine learning workloads on Azure, and many organizations use Databricks on Azure to process and analyze large amounts of data.

9. What is the category of Cloud service offered by Databricks? Is it SaaS or PaaS or IaaS?

Databricks provides a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering for data processing and analytics. Databricks is a cloud-based platform that provides users with a complete Apache Spark environment, including a web-based interface, APIs, and tools for data engineering, data science, and machine learning. Users can run their data processing and analytics workloads on Databricks without having to manage the underlying infrastructure. Databricks takes care of managing the infrastructure, including provisioning, scaling, and monitoring the computing and storage resources required to run workloads.

10. Is there no on-premises option for Databricks and is it available only in the cloud?

Databricks is a cloud-based data processing and analytics platform that is primarily available as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering on public cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). However, Databricks also offers an on-premises deployment option called Databricks Runtime for on-premises.

Databricks Runtime for on-premises allows organizations to deploy Databricks on their own infrastructure behind their own firewall. This option provides the benefits of Databricks, such as a unified platform for data engineering, data science, and machine learning, while allowing organizations to maintain control over their data and infrastructure.

Databricks Runtime for on-premises is based on the same technology as the cloud version of Databricks, which means that it offers the same features, APIs, and integrations. However, deploying Databricks on-premises requires organizations to have the necessary infrastructure and resources to run and manage the platform.

In summary, while Databricks is primarily a cloud-based platform, it also offers an on-premises deployment option for organizations that require it.

11. What is the category of Cloud service offered by Azure Databricks? Is it SaaS or PaaS or IaaS?

Azure Databricks is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering for data processing and analytics on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. Azure Databricks provides users with a complete Apache Spark environment, including a web-based interface, APIs, and tools for data engineering, data science, and machine learning. Users can run their data processing and analytics workloads on Azure Databricks without having to manage the underlying infrastructure. Azure Databricks takes care of managing the infrastructure, including provisioning, scaling, and monitoring the compute and storage resources required to run workloads.

12. Which SQL version is used by Databricks?

Databricks supports multiple SQL versions, including SQL 2003, SQL 2011, and SQL 2016. However, the specific version used by Databricks depends on the database or data warehouse being used, as well as the specific SQL dialect being used within that database. Additionally, Databricks also supports many other programming languages, such as Python, R, and Scala, which can be used for data manipulation and analysis.

13. What are the different types of pricing tiers available in Databricks?

Databricks offers several pricing tiers, each with different features and capabilities. Here are some of the common pricing tiers available in Databricks:

1. Standard: This tier is ideal for small teams that require basic collaboration features, data ingestion, and ETL capabilities.
2. Professional: This tier is suitable for larger teams that require advanced features such as machine learning and data visualization.
3. Enterprise: This tier is designed for large organizations that require the most advanced features, including access controls, auditing, and compliance.
4. Trial: Databricks also offers a free trial for users who want to explore the platform’s features before committing to a paid plan.

Each pricing tier comes with different features, storage limits, and compute power, and the pricing is typically based on the number of users, the amount of data processed, and the level of support required.

14. What is the use of the Databricks file system?

The Databricks File System (DBFS) is a distributed file system that is a part of the Databricks Unified Analytics Platform. DBFS is a layer on top of Amazon S3 or Azure Blob Storage, which allows users to store and access large amounts of data in a scalable and fault-tolerant manner.

Some of the use cases of the Databricks File System are as follows:

1. Data Storage: DBFS allows users to store large amounts of structured and unstructured data in a scalable and cost-effective manner.
2. Data Processing: DBFS integrates with Spark, which allows users to perform data processing and analysis on the stored data.
3. Collaboration: DBFS allows users to share data and collaborate on projects in a secure and efficient manner.
4. Machine Learning: DBFS provides a scalable and reliable storage solution for machine learning models and datasets.
5. Streaming: DBFS supports real-time data processing and streaming, which enables users to analyze and process data as it arrives.

Overall, the Databricks File System provides a reliable and scalable solution for storing and processing large amounts of data in a distributed environment.

15. How to generate a personal access token in Databricks?

To generate a personal access token in Databricks, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Databricks account.
2. Click on the user profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Click on the “User Settings” option.
4. Click on the “Access Tokens” tab.
5. Click on the “Generate New Token” button.
6. Enter a name for the token and select the permissions you want to grant.
7. Click on the “Generate” button.
8. Copy the generated token and store it in a safe place.

Once you have generated a personal access token, you can use it to authenticate API requests or command-line tool interactions with Databricks. You can also revoke or regenerate the token if needed.

16. What is the purpose of Databricks runtime?

Databricks Runtime is a cloud-based platform that provides a complete and optimized environment for running Apache Spark applications, as well as other big data processing frameworks and tools. It is designed to provide users with a streamlined and integrated experience, eliminating the need for manual configuration and setup.

The purpose of Databricks Runtime is to provide the following benefits:

1. Performance: Databricks Runtime optimizes Spark and other big data processing frameworks to achieve higher performance and faster data processing.
2. Ease of use: Databricks Runtime provides a user-friendly interface that simplifies the development and deployment of Spark applications.
3. Scalability: Databricks Runtime is built on a cloud-native architecture that enables it to scale up or down based on the size of the data and the processing needs.
4. Security: Databricks Runtime includes advanced security features such as encryption, access controls, and auditing to protect sensitive data.
5. Integration: Databricks Runtime integrates with a wide range of data sources, tools, and platforms, making it easy to work with different types of data and build complex data pipelines.

Overall, the purpose of Databricks Runtime is to provide users with a powerful and flexible platform for big data processing, analysis, and machine learning, without the need for manual setup or configuration.

17. What is a Databricks cluster?

A Databricks cluster is a group of virtual machines (VMs) that are used to run Apache Spark jobs or other big data processing workloads in the cloud. Clusters are the primary computational resource within the Databricks Unified Analytics Platform and are designed to provide scalable, high-performance, and fault-tolerant computing resources.

Here are some key features of Databricks clusters:

1. Scalability: Databricks clusters can scale up or down based on the workload, ensuring that there are always enough resources available to handle the processing needs.
2. High Availability: Databricks clusters are designed to be fault-tolerant, with automatic failover and recovery mechanisms to minimize downtime.
3. Customization: Databricks clusters can be customized with various configurations, including instance type, number of nodes, Spark version, and more.
4. Isolation: Databricks clusters provide isolation between workloads, ensuring that different users or teams can run their jobs without interfering with each other.
5. Cost Optimization: Databricks clusters provide features such as auto-scaling, spot instances, and automatic termination to help optimize costs and reduce waste.

Overall, Databricks clusters provide a scalable and efficient way to run big data processing workloads in the cloud, enabling users to focus on their data analysis and machine learning tasks rather than infrastructure management.

18. What is the difference between data warehouses and Data lakes?

In summary, the main differences between data warehouses and data lakes are related to their purpose, schema approach, data storage, data processing, querying, data quality, and use cases. Data warehouses are designed to store structured data from transactional systems and use a schema-on-write approach, optimized for fast-read operations on structured data. Data lakes, on the other hand, are designed to store raw, unstructured or semi-structured data from a variety of sources and use a schema-on-read approach, optimized for storing large volumes of raw data at low cost. While data warehouses are best suited for business intelligence and reporting use cases, data lakes are best suited for machine learning, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics use cases.

19. What are the main types of cloud services?

There are three main types of cloud services, also known as cloud computing models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

IaaS provides virtualized computing resources such as virtual machines, storage, and networking. With IaaS, users can rent infrastructure from a cloud provider and use it to deploy and run their own applications and services. The cloud provider is responsible for managing the infrastructure, while the user is responsible for managing the applications and services they run on top of the infrastructure.

Platform as a Service (PaaS):

PaaS provides a platform for building, testing, and deploying applications without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure. PaaS provides users with an environment in which they can develop and deploy their applications, using pre-built tools and services such as databases, middleware, and development frameworks.

Software as a Service (SaaS):

SaaS provides access to software applications that are hosted in the cloud and delivered over the Internet. With SaaS, users can access software applications without the need to install, maintain, or upgrade the software on their own devices. SaaS applications are typically delivered on a subscription basis, and the cloud provider is responsible for managing the software and infrastructure.

Each of these cloud service models provides different levels of control and flexibility for users. IaaS provides the most control over infrastructure, while PaaS provides a higher level of abstraction, and SaaS provides the least control over infrastructure and software.

20. Do Compressed Data Sources Like .csv.gz Get Distributed in Apache Spark?

Yes, Apache Spark can distribute compressed data sources such as .csv.gz files. When you load a compressed data source into Spark, it will be automatically decompressed as part of the loading process.

Spark provides built-in support for several compressed file formats, including gzip (.gz), bzip2 (.bz2), and deflate (.deflate). You can simply specify the file path of the compressed data source when loading it using Spark’s APIs, and Spark will handle the decompression and distribution of the data across the cluster.

Here’s an example of loading a compressed CSV file in Spark:

from pyspark.sql import SparkSession




spark = SparkSession.builder.appName("example").getOrCreate()




df = spark.read.format("csv").option("header", "true").load("file.csv.gz")




df

In this example, the compressed CSV file “file.csv.gz” is loaded into Spark using the spark.read.format("csv") method. Spark automatically detects that the file is compressed and decompresses it as part of the loading process. The resulting DataFrame df can then be used for further processing or analysis.

21. Should You Clean Up DataFrames, Which Are Not in Use for a Long Time?

Yes, it is generally a good practice to clean up DataFrames that are not in use for a long time, especially if they are taking up a significant amount of memory. Cleaning up unused DataFrames can free up memory, which can be useful in situations where memory is limited.

In addition to freeing up memory, cleaning up unused DataFrames can also help prevent errors and ensure that your code is running efficiently. If you have a large number of DataFrames that are not in use, it can be difficult to keep track of them all, and it is easy to accidentally use the wrong DataFrame in your code.

To clean up DataFrames that are no longer needed, you can use the del statement to remove them from memory. For example, if you have a DataFrame named df that you are no longer using, you can remove it from memory using the following code:

del df

Alternatively, you can use the gc module to manually trigger garbage collection, which will free up the memory used by objects that are no longer in use. To do this, you can use the following code:

import gc
gc.collect()

Overall, it is a good practice to clean up unused DataFrames to ensure that your code is running efficiently and to prevent memory errors.

22. Do You Select All Columns of a CSV File When Using Schema With Spark .read?

No, when using a schema with Spark .read to read a CSV file, you do not select all columns by default.

When reading a CSV file with a schema using Spark, you need to specify the columns that you want to include in your DataFrame. You can do this by passing a list of column names to the .select() method after reading the CSV file with .read.

For example, suppose you have a CSV file named “example.csv” with columns “col1”, “col2”, and “col3”. You can read this file and select only “col1” and “col2” using the following code:

from pyspark.sql.types import StructType, StructField, StringType, IntegerType




schema = StructType([
    StructField("col1", StringType(), True),
    StructField("col2", IntegerType(), True),
    StructField("col3", StringType(), True)
])




df = spark.read.format("csv").schema(schema).load("example.csv")
df = df.select("col1", "co

In this example, the schema variable defines the structure of the CSV file, and the load() method reads the file using the specified schema. The select() method is then used to select only the “col1” and “col2” columns from the resulting data frame.

It’s important to note that if you do not specify a schema when reading a CSV file, Spark will infer the schema based on the data in the file. In this case, all columns will be included in the resulting DataFrame by default.

23. Can You Use Spark for Streaming Data?

Yes, Spark provides a powerful streaming processing engine called Spark Streaming that can be used to process real-time streaming data. Spark Streaming is an extension of the core Spark API that enables high-throughput, fault-tolerant stream processing of live data streams.

Spark Streaming works by dividing the live data stream into small batches, which are then processed using the same Spark engine used for batch processing. This makes it easy to build fault-tolerant, scalable streaming applications using the same familiar Spark programming model used for batch processing.

To use Spark Streaming, you need to define a streaming context that specifies the batch interval, which is the time interval at which the data stream is divided into small batches. You can then create a DStream (Discretized Stream) from a streaming source, such as Kafka, Flume, or HDFS. The DStream represents a continuous stream of data that is partitioned into small RDDs (Resilient Distributed Datasets), which can be processed using the same Spark transformations and actions used for batch processing.

For example, the following code shows how to create a simple Spark Streaming application that reads data from a socket and performs a word count:

from pyspark import SparkContext
from pyspark.streaming import StreamingContext




sc = SparkContext("local[*]", "StreamingExample")
ssc = StreamingContext(sc, 1)




lines = ssc.socketTextStream("localhost", 9999)
words = lines.flatMap(lambda line: line.split(" "))
wordCounts = words.map(lambda word: (word, 1)).reduceByKey(lambda a, b: a + b)
wordCounts.pprint()




ssc.start()
ssc.awaitTermin

In this example, the Spark Streaming context is created with a batch interval of 1 second, and data is read from a socket on port 9999 using socketTextStream(). The flatMap() and reduceByKey() transformations are then used to perform a word count on the stream, and the pprint() action is used to print the results to the console. Finally, the streaming context is started and awaits termination.

Overall, Spark Streaming is a powerful and flexible tool for processing real-time streaming data and can be used to build a wide variety of streaming applications, including real-time analytics, machine learning, and more.

24. Does Text Processing Support All Languages? How Are Multiple Languages Implicated? 

Text processing can support multiple languages, but the level of support can vary depending on the specific tools and libraries being used.

Most text-processing libraries and tools are designed to work with a specific language or set of languages, and may not support all languages equally. For example, some libraries may have better support for languages with Latin scripts, while others may have better support for languages with non-Latin scripts.

However, there are also libraries and tools that support multiple languages and can be used to process text in a wide variety of languages. For example, the Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) and spaCy are both popular text-processing libraries that support multiple languages.

When working with multiple languages, it’s important to consider the specific requirements of each language, such as character encoding, tokenization, and part-of-speech tagging. Some languages may require specialized processing techniques or libraries, such as morphological analysis for languages with complex inflectional systems.

Additionally, when processing text in multiple languages, it’s important to consider language identification and language-specific processing. Language identification can be used to automatically detect the language of a piece of text, which can then be used to apply language-specific processing techniques.

In general, text processing can support multiple languages, but the level of support and the specific techniques required will depend on the specific languages involved and the tools and libraries being used. It’s important to carefully consider the requirements of each language and use appropriate processing techniques to ensure accurate and effective text processing.

Conclusion – Databricks Interview Questions

In this set of interview questions and answers, we covered some key topics related to Databricks, including its features and benefits, its architecture, its deployment options, and its integration with cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. We also discussed the differences between Databricks and related technologies like data warehouses and data lakes, as well as the differences between Azure Databricks and AWS Databricks. Overall, these interview questions and answers provide a solid foundation for anyone preparing for a Databricks-related interview.