cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Data Engineering
Join discussions on data engineering best practices, architectures, and optimization strategies within the Databricks Community. Exchange insights and solutions with fellow data engineers.
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Reading information_schema tables through JDBC connection

Immassive
New Contributor II

Hi, 

I am using Unity Catalog as storage for data. I have an external system that establishes connection to Unity Catalog via a JDBC connection using the Databricks driver:

Configure the Databricks ODBC and JDBC drivers - Azure Databricks | Microsoft Learn

However, I am only able to list Delta Tables through the JDBC connection. I am interested in reading the tables from system.information_schema to use some of the tables' metadata. For example, I am using SAS in my external system and my code looks like the following:

%let MYDBRICKS=<my-db-url>;
%let MYHTTPPATH=<cluster-http-path>;
%let CATALOG=system;
%let SCHEMA=information_schema;
libname dbricks jdbc driverclass="com.databricks.client.jdbc.Driver"
         
url="jdbc:databricks://&MYDBRICKS:443/&SCHEMA;transportMode=http;ssl=1;httpPath=&MYHTTPPATH;AuthMech=11;Auth_Flow=0;Auth_AccessToken=&AZTOKEN;LogLevel=5;QueryPassthrough=true;UseNativeQuery=1;StripCatalogName=0;ConnCatalog=&CATALOG";

So, the connection works, and I can see Delta Tables, but no normal SQL tables.

The authentication is based on a Azure token (Microsoft Entra ID), however, I've tested with a Personal Access Token as well, and has no effect.

Is this just a limitation of the JDBC driver itself or is it somehow possible to configure it to also be able to read normal sql tables and not just Delta Tables? 

1 REPLY 1

Immassive
New Contributor II

Note: I can see the tables of the system.information schema in the UI of Databricks and read them there.

Connect with Databricks Users in Your Area

Join a Regional User Group to connect with local Databricks users. Events will be happening in your city, and you won’t want to miss the chance to attend and share knowledge.

If there isn’t a group near you, start one and help create a community that brings people together.

Request a New Group