On January 31st, 2019, Microsoft released two new Azure Data exams: Implementing an Azure Data Solution (DP-200) and Designing an Azure Data Solution (DP-201). If you pass both of these exams, you become a Microsoft Certified Azure Data Engineer Associate. On June 17th, 2019, I passed DP-201: Designing an Azure Data Solution! Yay 🥳

In this post, I share how I prepared for the exam and what my experience was like on the day of the exam.

(I have previously also written about Exam DP-200. )

At SQLBits 2019, I presented my Biml Tips and Tricks: Not Just for SSIS Packages! session. The session recording has been available for many months, but I only just now realized I never blogged abut it 😊 You can view the slide deck on my SlideShare and download my Biml Demos if you want to dig into my code examples.

Biml Tips and Tricks: Not Just for SSIS Packages! Session Recording

Watch the full video on the SQLBits website:

You can increase or decrease the speed, enable closed captioning, and even download the video for offline viewing.

(If you want a laugh, I recommend watching in 2x speed with the not-quite-accurate captions. You’ll see gems like “This is Bemmel. Tips and tricks not just for exercise packages!” 🤣)

At DataGrillen 2019, I presented a session called Uhms and Bunny Hands: Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills. The wonderful Amanda Debler (@texmandie) was kind enough to record it, yay! 🥳

The session recording is now available on YouTube, and the slide deck is available on SlideShare.

Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills - Session Recording

Watch the session recording on YouTube:

(As this was an unplanned session recording, we didn’t have any microphones. The sound quality could be better, but I decided to share this video anyway. I hope it can still be useful for others!)

On January 31st, 2019, Microsoft released two new Azure Data exams: Implementing an Azure Data Solution (DP-200) and Designing an Azure Data Solution (DP-201). If you pass both of these exams, you become a Microsoft Certified Azure Data Engineer Associate. On May 24th, 2019, I passed DP-200: Implementing an Azure Data Solution! Yay 🥳

In this post, I share how I prepared for the exam and what my experience was like on the day of the exam.

(I have later also written about Exam DP-201.)

In 2019, the Azure Data Factory team announced two exciting features. The first was Mapping Data Flows (currently in Public Preview), and the second was Wrangling Data Flows (currently in Limited Private Preview). Since then, I have heard many questions. One of the more common questions is “which should I use?” In this blog post, we will be comparing Mapping and Wrangling Data Flows to hopefully make it a little easier for you to answer that question.

Should you use Mapping or Wrangling Data Flows?

Now, we all know that the consultant answer to “which should I use?” is It Depends ™ 😄 But what does it depend on?

To me, it boils down to a few key questions you need to ask:

• What is the task or problem you are trying to solve?
• Where and how will you use the output?
• Which tool are you most comfortable using?

Before we dig further into these questions, let’s start with comparing Mapping and Wrangling Data Flows.