Microsoft Fabric Blog introduces preview support for JSON Lines (JSONL) in OPENROWSET for Data Warehouse and Lakehouse SQL endpoints, simplifying access to semi-structured data.

JSON Lines Support in OPENROWSET for Fabric Data Warehouse and Lakehouse SQL Endpoints (Preview)

Author: Microsoft Fabric Blog

Overview

Microsoft Fabric has announced the preview of JSON Lines (also known as JSONL) support in the OPENROWSET(BULK) function for both Fabric Data Warehouse and SQL endpoints for Lakehouses. This functionality lets users query external, semi-structured data in JSONL format directly from the data lake using standard T-SQL syntax.

Key Features

  • JSON Lines Support: The new update enables querying files in JSONL format, a widely used way of storing and exchanging semi-structured data. JSONL files consist of individual JSON objects, separated by newline characters, making them suitable for large-scale analytics and ingestion scenarios.
  • Expanded Data Format Coverage: Prior to this update, OPENROWSET(BULK) supported several formats. The inclusion of JSONL broadens the spectrum of source data organizations can analyze within Microsoft Fabric.
  • Seamless T-SQL Integration: Users familiar with SQL can now use the same OPENROWSET(BULK) syntax to load and query JSONL files as they do with CSV or Parquet, easing the barrier for working with non-relational data stored in the data lake.

Benefits

  • Simplifies Data Ingestion: Users can more easily ingest semi-structured data into analytics solutions without requiring format conversions.
  • Speeds up Analytics: Directly query JSONL data where it resides, eliminating the need for intermediate ETL processes.
  • Broader Data Lake Integration: Organizations can store data in their preferred format and still leverage the powerful querying capabilities of Fabric Data Warehouse and Lakehouse SQL endpoints.

Use Case Example

A typical use case might involve large event logs or telemetry datasets stored as JSONL. Using the new preview feature, analysts can write T-SQL queries to extract, filter, and aggregate insights directly from JSONL event files.

Getting Started

To learn more about this preview and access implementation details, visit the official Microsoft Fabric announcement.

This post appeared first on “Microsoft Fabric Blog”. Read the entire article here