This book serves as the ultimate preparation for aspiring Databricks Certified Associate Developers specializing in Apache Spark. Deep dive into Spark's components, its applications, and exam techniques to achieve certification and expand your practical skills in big data processing and real-time analytics using Python. What this Book will help me do Deeply understand Apache Spark's core architecture for building big data applications. Write optimized SQL queries and leverage Spark DataFrame API for efficient data manipulation. Apply advanced Spark functions, including UDFs, to solve complex data engineering tasks. Use Spark Streaming capabilities to implement real-time and near-real-time processing solutions. Get hands-on preparation for the certification exam with mock tests and practice questions. Author(s) Saba Shah is a seasoned data engineer with extensive experience working at Databricks and leading data science teams. With her in-depth knowledge of big data applications and Spark, she delivers clear, actionable insights in this book. Her approach emphasizes practical learning and real-world applications. Who is it for? This book is ideal for data professionals such as engineers and analysts aiming to achieve Databricks certification. It is particularly helpful for individuals with moderate Python proficiency who are keen to understand Spark from scratch. If you're transitioning into big data roles, this guide prepares you comprehensively.