Spark has become a de facto standard for big data processing. Migrating data processing to Spark saves resources, streamlines your business focus, and modernizes workloads, creating new business opportunities through Spark’s advanced capabilities. Written by a senior solutions architect at Databricks, with experience in leading data science and data engineering teams in Fortune 500s as well as startups, this book is your exhaustive guide to achieving the Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark certification on your first attempt. You’ll explore the core components of Apache Spark, its architecture, and its optimization, while familiarizing yourself with the Spark DataFrame API and its components needed for data manipulation. You’ll also find out what Spark streaming is and why it’s important for modern data stacks, before learning about machine learning in Spark and its different use cases. What’s more, you’ll discover sample questions at the end of each section along with two mock exams to help you prepare for the certification exam. By the end of this book, you’ll know what to expect in the exam and gain enough understanding of Spark and its tools to pass the exam. You’ll also be able to apply this knowledge in a real-world setting and take your skillset to the next level.