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Day: March 26, 2024

Using the tapply() Function in R

Published 2024-03-26 by Kevin Feasel

Steven Sanderson applies things a different way:

Hey R enthusiasts! Today we’re diving into the world of data manipulation with a fantastic function called tapply(). This little gem lets you apply a function of your choice to different subgroups within your data.

Imagine you have a dataset on trees, with a column for tree height and another for species. You might want to know the average height for each species. tapply() comes to the rescue!

Read on to see how it works.

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Testing with Databricks

Published 2024-03-26 by Kevin Feasel

Anh Nguyen Viet shares some thoughts on testing in Databricks:

With diverse support and a focus on workspace uniformity, Databricks can bring many benefits to the testing process, such as the following:

  • Centralized: Databricks provides an integrated environment for many teams (including testing team also), allowing them to work focused and productive. Integrating tools and services in a single platform reduces fragmentation and increases efficiency during testing.
  • Consistency: Databricks offers integrated tools and services, allowing testers to work consistently across the entire testing process as a uniform and efficient working environment.
  • Enhanced Productivity and Cost Reduction: With the flexibility and efficiency in data processing supported by DataBricks, testers can save time and effort, thereby increasing work productivity and reducing project costs. Utilizing utilities properly helps automate the testing process and delivers better results.

Read on for a few tips around building tests using Databricks.

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Tips for Crafting Recorded Software Demos

Published 2024-03-26 by Kevin Feasel

Joey D’Antoni has some advice:

In the last few weeks, I’ve been at several conferences, such as the MVP Summit and SQLBits, and have watched many demos. I’ve noticed a trend in the previous couple of years where presenters use more recorded demos than in the past. This trend is mainly something I’ve noticed with members of the Microsoft Fabric team, but I’ve seen others do it as well. When you do it correctly, only the keenest eyes in the room will notice that you aren’t doing live demos. When you do it poorly, everyone’s eyes quickly divert to their phones, losing the audience.

Click through for Joey’s advice. Mine differs from Joey’s in one aspect: I actually record the audio before the video. I used to use Joey’s approach but flipped and found it’s actually easier to do it the opposite way. For my YouTube videos, the basic workflow is:

  • Build out the demo I’ll show. Use this to get a feel for how long things should take
  • Script out each section, including intro, demo, and outro
  • Record each audio segment separately
  • Play the demo audio segment and go through the demo. When I do this, I have the audio input muted so my screen recording has no audio track
  • Splice together the audio and video tracks. Sometimes, I’ll have minor changes, such as needing to pause the video while waiting for a demo step to finish

It took me a dozen or so videos to get this system down but it does work really well.

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Azure SQL DB Watcher and Azure Data Explorer Integration

Published 2024-03-26 by Kevin Feasel

Guy Reginiano gets chocolate in my peanut butter:

Azure SQL family users can now take advantage of an enhanced monitoring solution for their databases and leverage Azure Data Explorer or the Microsoft Fabric integration. With the introduction of the new Database Watcher for Azure SQL (preview), users gain access to advanced monitoring capabilities. 

Database watcher is a new managed monitoring solution for database services in the Azure SQL family. It supports Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance.

Read on to see how you can analyze results with Azure Data Explorer.

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