About us
The Rhode Island Data Platform Users Group (RIDPUG) formerly Rhode Island SQL Server User Group is a local chapter that works with the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS), an independent, not-for-profit association committed to providing data professionals around the world with the resources and knowledge necessary to achieve unparalleled business results. The purpose of the RIDPUG is to provide an independent local forum for database administrators, developers and general users of the Microsoft Data Platform as well as users and vendors of products and services related to the Microsoft Data Stack to exchange knowledge and build professional relationships.
Upcoming events
2
The past, present and future of Azure Databricks w/ John Miner
·OnlineOnlineThe founders of Databricks revolutionized how big data was processed by swapping hard disks (HADOOP) with computer memory (SPARK). Since the company’s inception in 2015, many game changing technology releases have happened. Today’s talk will briefly go over the following topics group by technology area with simple examples to show you the past, present, and future of their offerings.
Foundation - Storage
Various File Formats (… + Delta)
Full vs Shallow Cloning
Foundation - Compute
Computing (dedicated, pools, serverless)
Spark - Scala vs Photon
Foundation – Scheduling + Security
Jobs
Unity Catalog
Data Lake
PySpark
Autoloader
Declarative Pipelines
Read Files TVF
Data Warehouse
COPY INTO
Create Table As (CTAS)
Scheduling
Alerts
AI/BI
Datasets
Dashboards
Agentic AI
Genie Workspaces
Lakebase
PostgreSQL
Autoscaling
Branching
Applications
Machine Learning
ML Flow
LLM models
MCP Servers
Data Agents
Future
Lakehouse // RT
Lake Transactional/Analytical Processing ArchitectureJohn Miner is a Senior Data Architect at Insight Digital Innovation helping corporations solve their business needs with various data platform solutions. He has over thirty years of data processing experience, and his architecture expertise encompasses all phases of the software project life cycle, including design, development, implementation, and maintenance of systems. His credentials include undergraduate and graduate degrees in Computer Science from the University of Rhode Island. Also, he has earned certificates from Microsoft for Database Administration (MCDBA), System Administration (MCSA), Data Management & Analytics (MCSE), Data Science (MPP), Databricks Certified, and Fabric Certified. John has been recognized with the Microsoft MVP award nine times for his outstanding contributions to the Data Platform community. When he is not busy talking to local user groups or writing blog entries on new technology, he spends time with his wife and daughter enjoying outdoor activities. Some of John’s hobbies include wood working projects, crafting a good beer and playing a game of chess.
11 attendees
Past events
161
