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DATABRICKS-CERTIFIED-DATA-ENGINEER-ASSOCIATE · Question #11

Which of the following tools is used by Auto Loader process data incrementally?

The correct answer is B. Spark Structured Streaming. Auto Loader processes data incrementally by leveraging Spark Structured Streaming, which provides the underlying framework for continuous data processing.

Submitted by chen.hong· Apr 18, 2026ELT with Spark SQL and Python

Question

Which of the following tools is used by Auto Loader process data incrementally?

Options

  • ACheckpointing
  • BSpark Structured Streaming
  • CData Explorer
  • DUnity Catalog
  • EDatabricks SQL

How the community answered

(31 responses)
  • B
    94% (29)
  • C
    3% (1)
  • D
    3% (1)

Why each option

Auto Loader processes data incrementally by leveraging Spark Structured Streaming, which provides the underlying framework for continuous data processing.

ACheckpointing

Checkpointing is a mechanism used by Spark Structured Streaming (and thus Auto Loader) to maintain state and recover from failures, but it is not the tool itself for incremental processing.

BSpark Structured StreamingCorrect

Auto Loader is built on Apache Spark Structured Streaming, using its capabilities to efficiently process new data files as they arrive in a cloud storage location incrementally and reliably.

CData Explorer

Data Explorer is a UI tool for exploring data in Databricks and does not handle incremental data processing.

DUnity Catalog

Unity Catalog provides a unified governance solution for data and AI assets across Databricks, not a tool for incremental data ingestion.

EDatabricks SQL

Databricks SQL is a persona and environment within Databricks for SQL analytics, not an incremental data processing engine like Auto Loader.

Concept tested: Auto Loader incremental processing

Source: https://docs.databricks.com/en/ingestion/auto-loader/index.html

Topics

#Auto Loader#Spark Structured Streaming#Incremental data processing#Data ingestion

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