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Day: May 9, 2025

Parameterization and Mocking in Python Tests

Published 2025-05-09 by Kevin Feasel

Aida Gjoka and Russ Hyde show off some capabilities in the pytest library:

Writing tests is one of the best ways to keep your code reliable and reproducible. This post builds on our previous blog about Python testing with pytest Part 1, and explores some of the more advanced features it offers. From parametrised fixtures to mocking and other useful pytest plugins, we will show how to make your tests more reproducible, easier to manage and demonstrate how writing simple tests can save you time in the long run.

Click through to learn more. I’m a huge fan of parameterization in pytest—it’s really easy to do. Mocks are a bit harder to pull off in practice, though quite useful.

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Real-Time Data Streaming in Snowflake

Published 2025-05-09 by Kevin Feasel

Anil Kumar Moka streams some data:

Real-time data ingestion has become essential for modern analytics and operational intelligence. Organizations across industries need to process data streams from IoT sensors, financial transactions, and application events with minimal latency. Snowflake offers two robust approaches to meet these real-time data needs: Snowpipe for near-real-time file-based streaming and Direct Streaming via Snowpark API for true real-time data integration.

This guide explores both options in depth, providing detailed implementations with explanation of code parameters, performance comparisons, and practical recommendations to help you choose the right approach for your specific use case.

Click through to see how it works. I’ll only make one semi-snarky comment that ‘real-time’ doesn’t mean “takes several seconds” but I realize I’m the one tilting at windmills here.

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Checking Key Vault Access in Microsoft Fabric Spark Notebooks

Published 2025-05-09 by Kevin Feasel

Marc Lelijveld has clearance:

Working with sensitive data in Microsoft Fabric requires careful handling of secrets, especially when collaborating externally. In a recent customer engagement, I needed to validate access to Azure Key Vault from within a Fabric Notebook, without ever exposing the actual secret values. With only read access granted and no need to manage or update secrets, I focused on confirming that the connection was working as expected.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through the approach, including the setup, code snippets, and logic behind this quick but crucial verification step.

Click through for the full story.

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Checking SQL Server for tempdb Performance Issues

Published 2025-05-09 by Kevin Feasel

Jeff Iannucci announces a new stored procedure:

Most database folks might know the tempdb database in SQL Server is used for temporary tables, but many folks don’t realize all the other things that use this critical system database.

It’s also used by table variables, cursors, aggregations, joins, and sorts. And by memory spills when you don’t have enough memory. And by integrity checks that you run regularly to check for corruption. And more.

Optimal performance of tempdb is vital, as it is involved constantly with all your database queries. So…is your tempdb configured and running optimally? And if it isn’t, can you tell why?

Click through to see how it works and where you can get a free copy.

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