Databricks Certified Data Engineer - Associate

Explanation

In the Databricks Lakehouse architecture, the medallion architecture (Bronze-Silver-Gold) represents different layers of data refinement:

• Bronze tables: Raw, unprocessed data (landing zone)
• Silver tables: Cleaned, validated, and enriched data (single source of truth)
• Gold tables: Aggregated, business-ready data for consumption

Why option A is correct: Gold tables typically contain aggregated, summarized, and business-ready data that is optimized for consumption by business users, analysts, and reporting tools. These tables often include:

• Aggregated metrics and KPIs
• Business-level summaries
• Denormalized views for specific use cases
• Data marts for different business units

Why other options are incorrect:

• B: Both Silver and Gold tables contain valuable data, but Gold tables are specifically optimized for business consumption through aggregation.
• C: Gold tables contain a MORE refined view of data than Silver tables, not less refined. Silver tables are cleaned and validated, while Gold tables are aggregated and business-ready.
• D: Silver tables typically serve as the 'single source of truth' containing truthful, validated data. Gold tables build upon this truth with business aggregations.

Key takeaway: The Gold layer in the medallion architecture is characterized by aggregated, business-ready data that supports analytics, reporting, and machine learning use cases.