What is the best approach to use Delta tables without Unity Catalog enabled?

[narvinya]

Hello!

I would like to work with delta tables outside of Databricks UI notebook. I know that the best option would be to use databricks-connect but I don’t have Unity Catalog enabled.

What would be the most effective way to do so? I know that via JDBC using spark it is possible to read/write delta tables but is there an option to make some delta operations directly? Is there any other option than doing delta related operation in my local spark session? 

[Kaniz · Accepted solution]

Hi @narvinya, 

• Delta tables can be accessed outside of Databricks UI notebook without using Databricks-connect or Unity Catalog.

• Three options are available for working with Delta tables outside of Databricks UI notebook:

 1. Using JDBC: Read and write Delta tables using JDBC in your local Spark session. Delta-specific operations like OPTIMIZE, VACUUM, or REPAIR require executing commands in a Databricks notebook or using the Databricks REST API.
 2. Using Delta Lake CLI: Install the Delta Lake CLI on your local machine to interact with Delta tables. Perform Delta operations such as reading data, writing data, running SQL queries, and executing Delta-specific commands—no need for a Databricks notebook or Unity Catalog.
 3. Using Delta Lake Python API: Use the Delta Lake Python API to work with Delta tables using Python. Read and write Delta tables, perform data manipulation operations, and execute Delta-specific commands. Execute Delta-specific commands in a Databricks notebook or using the Databricks REST API.