LTS

In the Ultra Transcenders books

DP-750

Each book explains LTS in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.

Terms in this definition

• Databricks Runtime

  The software image, Apache Spark among its core parts, that Azure Databricks installs on compute. Long-term support (LTS) releases are the advised choice when job compute runs production work.

• Job compute

  Created by a job to run its tasks and removed when the run is over, this classic compute costs less than all-purpose compute. Either a single task uses it or several tasks within one run share it.

Related terms

• EOSA

  Short for end-of-support announced: the lifecycle phase a Fabric Spark runtime enters once Microsoft names its retirement date, normally about half a year ahead. Runtime 1.3 sat here until 30 September 2026 before switching to a six-month Long Term Support period from 1 October 2026, and Runtime 2.0 is now the generally available runtime Microsoft points people to.

• QUALIFY

  A SQL clause, available from Databricks Runtime 10.4 LTS, that filters rows by a window function's result with no subquery needed, such as retaining only ROW_NUMBER() = 1 for each key.

• Runtime 2.0

  The Fabric Spark runtime, now generally available and the recommended choice for production, built on Apache Spark 4.1 with Delta Lake 4.2, Python 3.13, Scala 2.13 and Java 21. Its predecessor, Runtime 1.3 on Spark 3.5, reached end of support on 30 September 2026 and moved into Long Term Support from 1 October 2026 until March 2027.

• TIMESTAMP_NTZ

  A type storing date-time values from year down to second where no operation takes time zones into account, available from Databricks Runtime 13.3 LTS. By contrast TIMESTAMP applies the session time zone.

• UNPIVOT

  Turns several columns into rows, with one column carrying the former column names and value columns carrying their data; it is the opposite of PIVOT and needs Databricks Runtime 12.2 LTS or later.