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If you want to be an effective ML learner, use Databricks
March 28, 2018

If you want to be an effective ML learner, use Databricks

Ann Le | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Databricks

I actually use Databricks for experiments and research for my master's program. I mostly use it to implement Python codes and testing the viability of the programs that I write. Many individuals in the Computer Information System department are using this software platform to implement programs. It is a good tool for us to learn [and] includes a community forum that is rather helpful if you are self-learning and have questions.
  • There is databricks community, which is a free version. It is available for beginners to have an easy start with a big data platform. It does not have every feature of the full version but is still adequate for extremely new coders.
  • There are many resourceful training elements that are available to developers, data scientists, data engineers and other IT professionals to learn Apache Spark.
  • The navigation through which one would create a workspace is a bit confusing at first. It takes a couple minutes to figure out how to create a folder and upload files since it is not the same as traditional file systems such as box.com
  • Also, when you create a table, if you forgot to copy the link where the table is stored, it is hard to relocate it. Most of the time I would have to delete the table and re-created.
  • Machine learning is a very new concept and not many universities offer to teach it. My school and a few others have been utilizing Databricks as one of the tools to teach and learn machine learning. By doing this, my university is creating a strong future workforce for the job market.
  • Azure ML
I also use Microsoft Azure Machine Learning in parallel with Databricks. They use different file formats which teach me to be flexible and able to write different programs. They are equally useful to me and I would like to master both platforms for any future usage. I do prefer Databricks because it could be free if I decided to go with the Databricks Community Edition only.
Right now, I am learning about Spark ML and general machine learning concepts. It is a good practice space to run different Spark ML codes. Databricks does provide valid errors and detailed descriptions of where I can fix my code. And to run a set of codes is very easy to maneuver around. If you do not know how to code, it might be less appropriate to use Databricks. But then again, they do have a large community where help can be found.