Final answer:
The answer to whether you must use the Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL API to query an Azure Cosmos DB database from an Azure Synapse Analytics serverless SQL pool is No.
Step-by-step explanation:
To address the student's inquiry regarding the necessity of using the Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL API to query an Azure Cosmos DB database from an Azure Synapse Analytics serverless SQL pool, the answer is No. One does not necessarily have to use the NoSQL API for this operation. Instead, Azure Synapse Analytics has native capabilities to query Azure Cosmos DB by using the OPENROWSET function with the Cosmos DB SQL API. This enables serverless SQL pool to read and query JSON documents directly, which are stored in Azure Cosmos DB containers.
Accordingly, the process involves writing and executing T-SQL queries that include the OPENROWSET function within your Synapse workspace. Here's a step-by-step explanation of how the querying might work:
- Utilize the T-SQL OPENROWSET function to specify the Cosmos DB account, database, and container you wish to query.
- Provide the necessary connection information such as the Cosmos DB account endpoint and primary key within the function's parameters.
- Write a T-SQL SELECT statement to retrieve the desired data, running it within the Azure Synapse Analytics serverless SQL pool environment.
By following these steps, users can perform complex queries and even join the JSON data with other relational data sources within Azure Synapse Analytics, yielding an integrated data analysis experience without being limited to the NoSQL API.