DuckDB: Modern Data Stack with Parquet files and more.

Hi, Data Folks from Hamburg!

Here is the invitation for August 2024. We are planning an exciting evening about one of the building blocks of a Modern Data Stack: Parquet files. Since our beloved SQL Server isn't able to use them, we will use the promising "new kid" DuckDB. Spoiler Alert: You can run all examples without any public cloud consumption. ;)

Attention! We gained another great room sponsor a few months ago: Computer Futures/SThree! Don't worry; you won't have to figure out a new route for the evening, as the venue is virtually on the opposite street side of Microsoft, in the Axel-Springer Building.

And as usual, cold drinks will be available again.
Thank you, Computer Futures!

• 18:00 Open door and warm up networking round
• 18:15 Intro
• 18:30 DuckDB, just a cool toy? By no means!
• 20:00 Open discussion about Modern Data Stack architectures
• 21:00 The End...

Parquet files have been widely known since Data Bricks (Delta Parquet) and Fabric, but only a few have had direct contact with them.

For a few months, there has been a very interesting open-source project: DuckDB. It's hard to describe, as it can be both an excellent and smart CLI tool and also a mighty workhorse for a considerable analytical workload with classic SQL.

We will examine the combination of both and ask ourselves what SQL Server workload can be processed much more efficiently with it. 😇 So, we will use some parquet files, hive structures, and also a delta parquet "lake" to demonstrate the power of DuckDB.

And one more important thing: We would like to ask you to register only if you plan to participate in the event or cancel your registration if something (good weather with sun in Hamburg, a soccer game on TV, etc.) comes up (life can be complex, sure, but the cancel button in the app is big enough). Our room sponsor provides us with drinks and snacks, which are ordered specially for each event. In other words, we plan the demand with the number of registrations.

Please be fair to the other active members of the community and ensure that there are no disappointed faces due to your reliability in communication, aka your RSVP.