Getting Started with Azure Data Studio Notebook

Azure Data Studio Notebook is a powerful tool that allows you to create, edit, and run notebooks in a flexible and interactive environment.

You can install Azure Data Studio Notebook on your local machine, and it's compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems.

To get started, you'll need to have the .NET Core 3.1 or later version installed on your machine.

Azure Data Studio Notebook is designed to work seamlessly with Azure services, making it an ideal choice for data scientists and analysts who work with Azure-based data platforms.

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Azure Data Studio (ADS) is a modern, cross-platform alternative to SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) for development efforts.

To get started with ADS notebooks, you'll need to familiarize yourself with its features. ADS notebooks allow you to version control queries that contain code and results, making it easier to collaborate with team members.

ADS notebooks are a single file that enables you to write code, validate it, and present results. This is a significant advantage over traditional tools like SSMS.

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Notebook Views are now available for SQL Notebooks in Azure Data Studio, currently in Insiders release. This feature allows you to create and manage views within your notebooks.

To create a new view, you can follow the steps outlined in the documentation. You can also modify an existing view as needed.

Notebook Views provide a convenient way to see database objects, table data, and query results all in one place.

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You can format code and text in the notebook view as you wish to display it to the user.

Double-clicking on a cell displays the format menu bar, which gives you options to convert text into bold, italic, underline, highlight color, insert a link, create an ordered or unordered list, and choose heading fonts.

The split view is beneficial to preview changes you perform using markdown language. It gives separate windows for markdown language on the left and preview on the right.

You can customize the text and data as needed, making it easier to display information in a clear and organized manner.

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Azure Data Studio Notebooks offer a flexible and versatile environment for data exploration and analysis. The notebook is a generic construct that can run various languages and environments.

Most generic Jupyter notebooks run Python by connecting to the Python runtime on a system and executing code as though it were in a REPL. This is the default behavior of many notebooks, but Azure Data Studio offers more choices.

With the direction of SQL Server 2019, there are other kernel choices in ADS. You can see these options by clicking the dropdown in your notebook.

T-SQL is one of the other kernel choices available in ADS, which we've looked at earlier in this article. This shows that Azure Data Studio is designed to support multiple languages and environments.

There are plenty of other choices available in the dropdown, offering a range of options for different use cases and languages.

SQL Views in Azure Data Studio Notebooks are a game-changer for data analysis and sharing. They allow you to create a virtual table of SQL query results, which can be customized to change the output format without modifying the underlying queries.

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You can define views in a notebook to present data in a more organized and user-friendly way. For example, you can create a view that displays only the query charts, without any table results or queries.

Azure Data Studio (ADS) notebooks support multiple views of a notebook, making it easy to share specific data with different stakeholders. You can create a new view by clicking on the drop-down menu for notebook view and selecting "Create a new view".

Here are the key benefits of using SQL Views in Azure Data Studio Notebooks:

By using SQL Views in Azure Data Studio Notebooks, you can present data in a more organized and user-friendly way, making it easier to share and collaborate with others.

Creating a notebook in Azure Data Studio is a straightforward process. You can start by going to the File Menu and selecting New Notebook.

To create a notebook, you can also right-click a SQL Server connection and select New Notebook. This method is quick and easy, especially if you have multiple connections open.

Alternatively, you can open the command palette by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P, type "new notebook", and select the New Notebook command. This method is great for power users who prefer keyboard shortcuts.

Here are the three ways to create a notebook in Azure Data Studio:

By following these simple steps, you can create a notebook in Azure Data Studio and start exploring its features.

You can download a Microsoft document as a notebook from the GitHub repository.

These notebooks are equivalent to the articles and can be integrated with SQL instances to execute queries.

To download a notebook, click on the relevant article, such as Troubleshooting a Full Transaction Log (SQL Server Error 9002), and it will navigate to the page to open Jupyter Notebook in Azure Data Studio.

You'll be asked for user permissions to open the URI in the ADS, so click on Open and enter Yes to open the notebook from the GitHub repository.

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The notebook will launch with markup text and executable codes, allowing you to attach it to your existing SQL connection and view query results embedded into the notebook.

You can then click on Run all to execute all SQL queries and specify results in the integrated result grid.

For example, you can view the complete backup history of a database.

In the ADS insider build, you'll see a new option – Editor for the SQL notebook.

This editor gives you the option to create a new view, which can be customized to display specific query results.

To customize the view, click on Insert Cells and choose the cells you want to display in the notebook view.

You can also resize the cells for better formatting, making it easier to view multiple line text.

Azure Data Studio Notebook has seen significant updates in recent releases. In version 1.33.0, Notebook Views support was added, along with split cell support and keyboard shortcuts for Markdown Toolbar cells.

Some notable bug fixes include Notebook linking, horizontal and vertical scrollbars issues, and editing table errors. These updates have improved the overall user experience and addressed several common issues.

Here are some key updates at a glance:

In 1.33.0, we've made some exciting changes to Notebooks, including the addition of Notebook Views support, split cell support, and keyboard shortcuts for the Markdown Toolbar cells.

We've also improved performance for large notebooks, making it easier to work with complex data.

Some new keyboard shortcuts have been added, including Ctrl/Cmd + B for bold text, Ctrl/Cmd + I for italicize text, and Ctrl/Cmd + U for underline text.

Additionally, we've added Book improvements, including the ability to add a new section and drag and drop functionality.

Here are the new keyboard shortcuts for Notebooks:

We've also updated several extensions, including Azure Monitor Logs, Schema Compare, SQL Database Projects, and Machine Learning.

Bug Fixes in 1.30.0 were a welcome addition, fixing issues that had been plaguing users for a while.

A new feature, Notebooks, was also improved with bug fixes. Specifically, a problem with WYWIWYG Table cells adding new lines in table cells was addressed.

The Kusto notebook issue, where kernels didn't change properly, was also fixed.

The May 2021 release saw a number of bug fixes, but for a full list, you'll want to check the bugs and issues list on GitHub.

Here are the specific bug fixes for the 1.30.0 release:

In March 2019, a hotfix was released to address some issues that were discovered in the previous version.

The hotfix fixed a few issues, including one where users couldn't close notebooks opened from the "Open Notebook" task in the Dashboard. This was a frustrating problem, but thankfully it's now resolved.

A few other issues were also fixed, including one where Notebook JSON had an extra } after saving, and another where notebook grids weren't responding to theme changes. These fixes should improve the overall user experience.

Here are the specific issues that were fixed in the March 2019 hotfix:

Troubleshooting can be a real challenge, especially when working with complex tools like Azure Data Studio Notebook. If you're experiencing issues with cell rendering, check if the notebook is properly connected to your Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 account.

Azure Data Studio Notebook's cell rendering can be affected by the storage account's permissions. Ensure that the storage account has the correct permissions set up.

If you're getting errors with data loading, try checking the data source connection. Azure Data Studio Notebook uses the same connection settings as Azure Data Studio, so you can reference the connection settings in the Azure Data Studio documentation.

Data loading errors can also be caused by incorrect data source settings. Make sure to check the data source settings in the Azure Data Studio Notebook interface.

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