Gergely Csom

In this session, I’ll explore the journey of transitioning from traditional MS SQL development to working with Databricks—a path filled with both challenges and opportunities. We'll take a practical and often humorous look at what experienced SQL developers need to know when making the leap, highlighting key differences, unexpected behaviors, and powerful new capabilities. Topics include: • Key SQL dialect differences in Databricks (v16.x), including control flow, UPDATE/MERGE with joins, and subselects • Implicit casting and the implications of spark.sql.ansi.enabled = false as the default • Handling TIMESTAMP data types and time zones: choosing the right type during migration from SQL DATETIME • Best practices for safely reading CSV files • Temporary tables—do they even exist in Databricks? • Managing concurrent writes, such as logging in parallel ETL processes • Using Fabric Shortcuts with Databricks Expect practical insights, a few gotchas, and a session that’s both informative and fun.