Databricks Certified Data Engineer - Professional

Explanation

In stream processing pipelines, sources are systems or feeds that continuously generate data in real-time. Let's analyze each option:

A. change data capture (CDC) feed - ✅ CORRECT

• CDC feeds capture database changes (inserts, updates, deletes) in real-time
• They provide a continuous stream of data changes
• Commonly used as sources for streaming pipelines

B. Kafka - ✅ CORRECT

• Kafka is a distributed streaming platform
• It acts as a message broker that can continuously stream data
• Widely used as a source for stream processing pipelines

C. Delta Lake - ❌ INCORRECT

• Delta Lake is a storage layer, not a streaming source
• While it supports streaming reads, it's primarily a data lake storage format
• Better classified as a sink or storage destination

D. IoT devices - ❌ INCORRECT

• IoT devices generate streaming data, but they are not typically used directly as sources
• IoT data usually flows through message brokers (like Kafka) or IoT platforms first
• The devices themselves are data producers, not pipeline sources

Key Points:

• Stream processing sources must provide continuous, real-time data
• CDC feeds and Kafka are established streaming data sources
• Delta Lake is storage, and IoT devices are data producers that need intermediate systems