Spark SQL & DataFrames
Module Duration: 6-8 hours
Focus: Structured data processing with DataFrames and SQL
Outcome: Build optimized analytical queries using Spark’s DataFrame API
From RDDs to DataFrames
RDD Limitations:- No schema → No optimization
- Manual type handling
- Verbose transformations
- Schema-aware (like SQL tables)
- Automatic optimization (Catalyst)
- Unified API (SQL + functional)
- 10-100x faster than RDDs
Part 1: DataFrame Basics
Creating DataFrames
From existing data:DataFrame Operations
Select columns:Part 2: SQL Queries
Part 3: Catalyst Optimizer
Stages:- Analysis → Resolve columns
- Logical Optimization → Predicate pushdown
- Physical Planning → Choose join strategies
- Code Generation → Optimized bytecode
Part 4: Joins & Window Functions
Joins:Part 5: Performance
Caching:Summary
DataFrames provide 10-100x performance over RDDs through Catalyst optimization, schema awareness, and code generation. Use SQL or functional API interchangeably.What’s Next?
Module 4: Spark Streaming
Process real-time data streams with Structured Streaming