Databricks - Merge Into

In this article

Overview

You can use this Snap to run a MERGE INTO SQL statement based on the updates available in the source data files. In other words, this Snap allows you to perform a bulk UPSERT (UPDATE + INSERT) operation to update existing rows of a target DLP table and add new rows to the target table. The source of your data can be a file from a cloud storage location, an input view from an upstream Snap, or a table that can be accessed through a JDBC connection. The source data can be in a CSV, JSON, PARQUET, TEXT, or an ORC file.

This Snap uses the following Databricks commands internally:

  • COPY INTO - Enables loading data from staged files to an existing table.

  • CREATE TABLE [USING] - Enables loading data from some external sources like JDBC.

  • CREATE TABLE - Creates table in our case temporary table.

  • MERGE INTO - Inserts new rows, updates existing rows and delete by condition rows.

Snap Type

Databricks - Merge Into Snap is a write-type Snap that inserts and updates data in a DLP instance.

Prerequisites

  • Valid access credentials to a DLP instance with adequate access permissions to perform the action in context.

  • Valid access to the external source data in one of the following: Azure Blob Storage, ADLS Gen2, DBFS, GCP, AWS S3, or another database (JDBC-compatible).

Support for Ultra Pipelines

Does not support Ultra Pipelines

Limitations

Snaps in the Databricks Snap Pack do not support array, map, and struct data types in their input and output documents.

Known Issues

None.

Snap Views

Type

Format

Number of Views

Examples of Upstream and Downstream Snaps

Description

Type

Format

Number of Views

Examples of Upstream and Downstream Snaps

Description

Input 

Document

  • Min: 0

  • Max: 2

  • Mapper

  • Copy

  • JSON Generator

  • Databricks - Select

This Snap can read from two input documents at a time:

  • One JSON document for the incoming data from the preceding Snap in the Pipeline.

  • Another JSON document that serves as the data source when Source Type is selected as Input View.

Output

Document

  • Min: 0

  • Max: 1

  • Databricks - Select

  • Databricks - Unload

A JSON document containing the bulk load request details and the result of the bulk load operation.

Error

Error handling is a generic way to handle errors without losing data or failing the Snap execution. You can handle the errors that the Snap might encounter while running the Pipeline by choosing one of the following options from the When errors occur list under the Views tab. The available options are:

  • Stop Pipeline Execution: Stops the current pipeline execution when the Snap encounters an error.

  • Discard Error Data and Continue: Ignores the error, discards that record, and continues with the rest of the records.

  • Route Error Data to Error View: Routes the error data to an error view without stopping the Snap execution.

Learn more about Error handling in Pipelines.

Snap Settings

  • Asterisk ( * ): Indicates a mandatory field.

  • Suggestion icon (): Indicates a list that is dynamically populated based on the configuration.

  • Expression icon ( ): Indicates whether the value is an expression (if enabled) or a static value (if disabled). Learn more about Using Expressions in SnapLogic.

  • Add icon ( ): Indicates that you can add fields in the fieldset.

  • Remove icon ( ): Indicates that you can remove fields from the fieldset.

Field Name

Field Type

Field Dependency

Description

Field Name

Field Type

Field Dependency

Description

Label*

 

Default ValueDatabricks - Merge Into
ExampleDb_MergeInto_FromS3

String

None.

The name for the Snap. You can modify this to be more specific, especially if you have more than one of the same Snap in your Pipeline.

Database name

 

Default Value: None.
Example: cust_db

String/Expression/Suggestion

None.

Enter the name of the database in which the target table exists. Leave this blank if you want to use the database name specified in the Database Name field in the account settings.

Table Name*

 

Default Value: None.
Example: cust_records

String/Expression/Suggestion

None.

Enter the name of the table in which you want to perform the MERGE INTO operation. 

Target Table Alias*

 

Default Value: None.
Example: trgt_tbl

String

None.

Enter an alias name for the target table to use in the MERGE INTO operation.

Input Source Alias*

 

Default Value: None.
Example: src_tbl

String

None.

Enter an alias name for the source table/data to use in the MERGE INTO operation.

ON Condition*

 

Default Value: None.
Example: src.id=trg.id

String/Expression

None.

Specify the condition on which the Snap should update the target table with the data from the source table/files.

Merge-into Statements

You can use this fieldset to specify the conditions that activate the MERGE INTO operation and the additional conditions that must be met. Specify each condition in a separate row.

This field set contains the following fields:

  • When Clause

  • Condition

  • Action

The Snap allows the following combinations of actions:

  • INSERT

  • UPDATE

  • DELETE

  • UPDATE AND DELETE

  • UPDATE AND INSERT

  • DELETE AND INSERT

  • UPDATE, DELETE AND INSERT

 

When Clause

 

Default Value: None.
Example: WHEN MATCHED

String/Expression/Suggestion

None.

Specify the matching condition based on the outcome of the ON Condition. Alternatively, select a clause from the suggestion list.

Available options are:

  • WHEN MATCHED: Applies the specified condition and action when the source data matches with the target.

  • WHEN NOT MATCHED: Applies the specified condition and action when the source data does not match with the target.

DLP supports the following MERGE INTO operations:

  • WHEN MATCHED: UPDATE or DELETE

  • WHEN NOT MATCHED: INSERT

Condition

 

Default Value: None.
Example: net-value > 5000

String

None.

Specify the additional criteria if needed. The action associated for the specified condition is not performed if the condition's criteria is not fulfilled. It can be a combination of both source and target tables, source table only, target table only, or may not contain references to any table at all.

Having this additional condition allows the Snap to identify whether the UPDATE or DELETE action must be performed (since both the actions correspond to the WHEN MATCHED clause).

You can also use Pipeline parameters in this field to bind values. However, you must be careful to avoid SQL injection.

Action

 

Default ValueINSERT
Example: DELETE

Dropdown list

None.

Choose the action to apply on the condition.

Available options are:

  • INSERT

  • UPDATE

  • DELETE

Source Type

 

Default ValueCloud Storage File
Example: Input View

Dropdown list

None.

Select the type of source from which you want to update the data in your DLP instance. The available options are:

  • Cloud Storage File. A file from a cloud location like AWS S3, Azure, or GCS. You can configure a series of options for the MERGE INTO operation as described in this document.

  • Input View. A JSON file coming from the preceding Snap’s output. You need to specify only the Load action. If selected, you can see the Retry options to specify the maximum number of retry attempts that Snap can complete when it fails to write.

  • JDBC. A table in another database that can be connected to using a JDBC connector. You can specify the Source table name to load the data from or the Target Table Columns to replace the existing target table with a new one.

Source table name

String

Source Type is JDBC.

Enter the source table name. The default values (database) configured in the Snap’s account for JDBC Account type are considered, if not specified in this field.

File format type

 

Default ValueCSV
ExamplePARQUET

Dropdown list

Source Type is Cloud Storage file.

Select the file format of the source data file. It can be CSV, JSON, ORC, PARQUET, or TEXT.

File Format Option List

 

Source Type is Cloud Storage file.

You can use this field set to choose the file format options to associate with the MERGE INTO operation, based on your source file format. Choose one file format option in each row.

File format option

 

Default Value: None.
Examplecust_ID

String/Expression/Suggestion

Source Type is Cloud Storage file.

Select a file format option from the available options and set appropriate values to suit your MERGE INTO needs, without affecting the syntax displayed in this field.

Files provider

 

Default ValueFile list
Examplepattern

Dropdown list

Source Type is Cloud Storage file.

Declare the manner in which you are specifying the source files list - File list or pattern. Based on your selection in this field, the corresponding fields change: File list fieldset for File list and File pattern field for pattern.

File list

 

Source Type is Cloud Storage file and Files provider is File list.

You can use this field set to specify the file paths to be used for the MERGE INTO operation. Choose one file path in each row.

File

 

Default Value: None.
Examplecust_data.csv

String

Source Type is Cloud Storage file and Files provider is File list.

Enter the path of the file to be used for the MERGE INTO operation.

File pattern

 

Default Value: None.
Examplefolder1/*.csv

String/Expression

Source Type is Cloud Storage file and Files provider is pattern.

Enter the regex pattern to use to match the file name and/or absolute path. You can specify this as a regular expression pattern string, enclosed in single quotes. Learn more: Examples of COPY INTO (Delta Lake on Databricks) for DLP.

Encryption type

 

Default Value: None.
ExampleServer-Side KMS Encryption

String

Source Type is Cloud Storage file.

Select the encryption type to use for decrypting the source data and/or files staged in the S3 buckets.

Server-side encryption is available only for S3 accounts.

KMS key

 

Default Value: None.
ExampleMF96D-M9N47-XKV7X-C3GCQ-G5349

String/Expression

Source Type is Cloud Storage file and Encryption type is Server-Side KMS Encryption.

Enter the AWS Key Management Service (KMS) ID or ARN to use to decrypt the encrypted files from the S3 location. In case that your source files are in S3, see Loading encrypted files from Amazon S3 for more detail.

Number of Retries

Example: 3

Minimum value: 0

Default value: 0

Integer

Source Type is Input View

Specifies the maximum number of retry attempts when the Snap fails to write.

 

Retry Interval (seconds)

Example: 3

Minimum value: 1

Default value: 1

Integer

Source Type is Input View

Specifies the minimum number of seconds the Snap must wait before each retry attempt.

Manage Queued Queries

Default valueContinue to execute queued queries when pipeline is stopped or if it fails.

Example: Cancel queued queries when pipeline is stopped or if it fails

Dropdown list

None.

Select this property to determine whether the Snap should continue or cancel the execution of the queued Databricks SQL queries when you stop the Pipeline.

Snap Execution

 

Default ValueExecute only
Example: Validate & Execute

Dropdown list

None.

Select one of the three modes in which the Snap executes. Available options are:

  • Validate & Execute: Performs limited execution of the Snap, and generates a data preview during Pipeline validation. Subsequently, performs full execution of the Snap (unlimited records) during Pipeline runtime.

  • Execute only: Performs full execution of the Snap during Pipeline execution without generating preview data.

  • Disabled: Disables the Snap and all Snaps that are downstream from it.

Troubleshooting

Error

Reason

Resolution

Error

Reason

Resolution

Missing property value

You have not specified a value for the required field where this message appears.

Ensure that you specify valid values for all required fields.

Examples

Updating Employee List in the DLP instance using a CSV file

Consider the scenario where we have 100 rows of incremental data about employees stored as a CSV file in an S3 location and we need to load this data (insert and update the employee records, as appropriate) into our DLP instance.

To achieve this, we can use the Databricks - Merge Into Snap.

We configure this Snap and its account as follows:

Snap Account Configuration

Snap Configuration

Snap Account Configuration

Snap Configuration

 

The Snap checks for matching IDs in the target table and inserts the data from the CSV file into the target table for each id not found in it. We have configured the Snap to not perform any action when a matching ID is found. Depending on the incremental data we have in the CSV file, we may choose to add another Merge Into statement as WHEN MATCHED, update the record to have new data in its columns.

After successful validation, the Snap displays the target table name and the number of rows newly inserted in this run.

This means that the target table had data for 5 records before running this Pipeline and 95 records were loaded into the table by this Pipeline.

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