This Specialization teaches the essential skills for working with large-scale data using SQL.
Maybe you are new to SQL and you want to learn the basics. Or maybe you already have some experience using SQL to query smaller-scale data with relational databases. Either way, if you are interested in gaining the skills necessary to query big data with modern distributed SQL engines, this Specialization is for you.
Most courses that teach SQL focus on traditional relational databases, but today, more and more of the data that’s being generated is too big to be stored there, and it’s growing too quickly to be efficiently stored in commercial data warehouses. Instead, it’s increasingly stored in distributed clusters and cloud storage. These data stores are cost-efficient and infinitely scalable.
To query these huge datasets in clusters and cloud storage, you need a newer breed of SQL engine: distributed query engines, like Hive, Impala, Presto, and Drill. These are open source SQL engines capable of querying enormous datasets. This Specialization focuses on Hive and Impala, the most widely deployed of these query engines.
This Specialization is designed to provide excellent preparation for the Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA) Data Analyst certification exam. You can earn this certification credential by taking a hands-on practical exam using the same SQL engines that this Specialization teaches—Hive and Impala.
Overview
Syllabus
Course 1: Foundations for Big Data Analysis with SQL
- Offered by Cloudera. In this course, you'll get a big-picture view of using SQL for big data, starting with an overview of data, database ... Enroll for free.
Course 2: Analyzing Big Data with SQL
- Offered by Cloudera. In this course, you'll get an in-depth look at the SQL SELECT statement and its main clauses. The course focuses on big ... Enroll for free.
Course 3: Managing Big Data in Clusters and Cloud Storage
- Offered by Cloudera. In this course, you'll learn how to manage big datasets, how to load them into clusters and cloud storage, and how to ... Enroll for free.
- Offered by Cloudera. In this course, you'll get a big-picture view of using SQL for big data, starting with an overview of data, database ... Enroll for free.
Course 2: Analyzing Big Data with SQL
- Offered by Cloudera. In this course, you'll get an in-depth look at the SQL SELECT statement and its main clauses. The course focuses on big ... Enroll for free.
Course 3: Managing Big Data in Clusters and Cloud Storage
- Offered by Cloudera. In this course, you'll learn how to manage big datasets, how to load them into clusters and cloud storage, and how to ... Enroll for free.
Courses
-
In this course, you'll get an in-depth look at the SQL SELECT statement and its main clauses. The course focuses on big data SQL engines Apache Hive and Apache Impala, but most of the information is applicable to SQL with traditional RDBMs as well; the instructor explicitly addresses differences for MySQL and PostgreSQL. By the end of the course, you will be able to • explore and navigate databases and tables using different tools; • understand the basics of SELECT statements; • understand how and why to filter results; • explore grouping and aggregation to answer analytic questions; • work with sorting and limiting results; and • combine multiple tables in different ways. To use the hands-on environment for this course, you need to download and install a virtual machine and the software on which to run it. Before continuing, be sure that you have access to a computer that meets the following hardware and software requirements: • Windows, macOS, or Linux operating system (iPads and Android tablets will not work) • 64-bit operating system (32-bit operating systems will not work) • 8 GB RAM or more • 25GB free disk space or more • Intel VT-x or AMD-V virtualization support enabled (on Mac computers with Intel processors, this is always enabled; on Windows and Linux computers, you might need to enable it in the BIOS) • For Windows XP computers only: You must have an unzip utility such as 7-Zip or WinZip installed (Windows XP’s built-in unzip utility will not work)
-
In this course, you'll get a big-picture view of using SQL for big data, starting with an overview of data, database systems, and the common querying language (SQL). Then you'll learn the characteristics of big data and SQL tools for working on big data platforms. You'll also install an exercise environment (virtual machine) to be used through the specialization courses, and you'll have an opportunity to do some initial exploration of databases and tables in that environment. By the end of the course, you will be able to • distinguish operational from analytic databases, and understand how these are applied in big data; • understand how database and table design provides structures for working with data; • appreciate how differences in volume and variety of data affects your choice of an appropriate database system; • recognize the features and benefits of SQL dialects designed to work with big data systems for storage and analysis; and • explore databases and tables in a big data platform. To use the hands-on environment for this course, you need to download and install a virtual machine and the software on which to run it. Before continuing, be sure that you have access to a computer that meets the following hardware and software requirements: • Windows, macOS, or Linux operating system (iPads and Android tablets will not work) • 64-bit operating system (32-bit operating systems will not work) • 8 GB RAM or more • 25GB free disk space or more • Intel VT-x or AMD-V virtualization support enabled (on Mac computers with Intel processors, this is always enabled; on Windows and Linux computers, you might need to enable it in the BIOS) • For Windows XP computers only: You must have an unzip utility such as 7-Zip or WinZip installed (Windows XP’s built-in unzip utility will not work)
-
In this course, you'll learn how to manage big datasets, how to load them into clusters and cloud storage, and how to apply structure to the data so that you can run queries on it using distributed SQL engines like Apache Hive and Apache Impala. You’ll learn how to choose the right data types, storage systems, and file formats based on which tools you’ll use and what performance you need. By the end of the course, you will be able to • use different tools to browse existing databases and tables in big data systems; • use different tools to explore files in distributed big data filesystems and cloud storage; • create and manage big data databases and tables using Apache Hive and Apache Impala; and • describe and choose among different data types and file formats for big data systems. To use the hands-on environment for this course, you need to download and install a virtual machine and the software on which to run it. Before continuing, be sure that you have access to a computer that meets the following hardware and software requirements: • Windows, macOS, or Linux operating system (iPads and Android tablets will not work) • 64-bit operating system (32-bit operating systems will not work) • 8 GB RAM or more • 25GB free disk space or more • Intel VT-x or AMD-V virtualization support enabled (on Mac computers with Intel processors, this is always enabled; on Windows and Linux computers, you might need to enable it in the BIOS) • For Windows XP computers only: You must have an unzip utility such as 7-Zip or WinZip installed (Windows XP’s built-in unzip utility will not work)
Taught by
Glynn Durham and Ian Cook
