Databricks-Machine-Learning-Associate Databricks Certified Machine Learning Associate Exam Questions and Answers

The pandas API on Spark provides a way to scale pandas operations to big data while minimizing the need for refactoring existing pandas code. It allows users to run pandas operations on Spark DataFrames, leveraging Spark’s distributed computing capabilities to handle large datasets more efficiently. This approach requires minimal changes to the existing code, making it a convenient option for scaling pandas-based feature engineering notebooks.

References:

• Databricks documentation on pandas API on Spark: pandas API on Spark

To identify which task is causing the failure in the job, the team should review the matrix view in the Job's runs. The matrix view provides a clear and detailed overview of each task's status, allowing the team to quickly identify which task failed. This approach ismore efficient than running each notebook interactively, as it provides immediate insights into the job's execution flow and any issues that occurred during the run.

References:

• Databricks documentation on Jobs: Jobs in Databricks

To use the pandas API on Spark, which is designed to bridge the gap between the simplicity of pandas and the scalability of Spark, the correct approach involves importing the pyspark.pandas (recently renamed topandas_api_on_spark) module and converting a Spark DataFrame to a pandas-on-Spark DataFrame using this API. The provided syntax correctly initializes a pandas-on-Spark DataFrame, allowing the data scientist to work with the familiar pandas-like API on large datasets managed by Spark.

References

• Pandas API on Spark Documentation:https://spark.apache.org/docs/latest/api/python/user_guide/pandas_on_spark/index.html

Thesummary()function in PySpark's DataFrame API provides descriptive statistics which include count, mean, standard deviation, min, max, and quantiles for numeric columns. Here are the steps on how it can be used:

• Import PySpark:Ensure PySpark is installed and correctly configured in the Databricks environment.
• Load Data:Load the data into a Spark DataFrame.
• Apply Summary:Usespark_df.summary()to generate summary statistics.
• View Results:The output from thesummary()function includes the statistics specified in the query (count, mean, standard deviation, min, max, and potentially quartiles which approximate the interquartile range).

References

• PySpark Documentation:https://spark.apache.org/docs/latest/api/python/reference/api/pyspark.sql.DataFrame.summary.html

Gradient boosting is fundamentally an iterative algorithm where each new tree is built based on the errors of the previous ones. This sequential dependency makes it difficult to parallelize the training of trees in gradient boosting, as each step relies on the results from the preceding step. Parallelization in this context would undermine the core methodology of the algorithm, which depends on sequentially improving the model'sperformance with each iteration.References:

• Machine Learning Algorithms (Challenges with Parallelizing Gradient Boosting).

Gradient boosting is an ensemble learning technique that builds models in a sequential manner. Each new model corrects the errors made by the previous ones. This sequential dependency means that each iteration requires the results of the previous iteration to make corrections. Here is a step-by-step explanation of why this makes parallelization challenging:

• Sequential Nature: Gradient boosting builds one tree at a time. Each tree is trained to correct the residual errors of the previous trees. This requires the model to complete one iteration before starting the next.
• Dependence on Previous Iterations: The gradient calculation at each step depends on the predictions made by the previous models. Therefore, the model must wait until the previous tree has been fully trained and evaluated before starting to train the next tree.
• Difficulty in Parallelization: Because of this dependency, it is challenging to parallelize the training process. Unlike algorithms that process data independently in each step (e.g., random forests), gradient boosting cannot easily distribute the work across multiple processors or cores for simultaneous execution.

This iterative and dependent nature of the gradient boosting process makes it difficult to parallelize effectively.

References

• Gradient Boosting Machine Learning Algorithm
• Understanding Gradient Boosting Machines

Random Forest is a machine learning algorithm that typically uses bagging (Bootstrap Aggregating). Bagging involves training multiple models independently on different random subsets of the data and then combining their predictions. Random Forests consist of many decision trees trained on random subsets of the training data and features, and their predictions are averaged to improve accuracy and control overfitting. This method enhances model robustness and predictive performance.References:

• Ensemble Methods in Machine Learning (Understanding Bagging and Random Forests).

In Spark ML, a transformer is an algorithm that can transform one DataFrame into another DataFrame. It takes a DataFrame as input and produces a new DataFrame as output. This transformation can involve adding new columns, modifying existing ones, or applying feature transformations. Examples of transformers in Spark MLlib include feature transformers likeStringIndexer,VectorAssembler, andStandardScaler.

References:

• Databricks documentation on transformers: Transformers in Spark ML

The Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) is a standard and widely used metric for evaluating the accuracy of regression models. The statement that it is invalid is incorrect. Here’s a breakdown of why the other statements are or are not valid:

• Transformations and RMSE Calculation:If the model predictions were transformed (e.g., using log), they should be converted back to their original scale before calculating RMSE to ensure accuracy in the evaluation. Missteps in this conversion process can lead to misleading RMSE values.
• Accuracy of Models:Without additional information, we can't definitively say which model is more accurate without considering their RMSE values properly scaled back to the original price scale.
• Appropriateness of RMSE:RMSE is entirely valid for regression problems as it provides a measure of how accurately a model predicts the outcome, expressed in the same units as the dependent variable.

References

• "Applied Predictive Modeling" by Max Kuhn and Kjell Johnson (Springer, 2013), particularly the chapters discussing model evaluation metrics.

Spark ML (part of Apache Spark's MLlib) is designed to handle machine learning tasks across multiple nodes in a cluster, effectively parallelizing tasks like hyperparameter tuning. It supports various machine learning algorithms that can be optimized over a Spark cluster, making it suitable for parallelizing hyperparameter tuning for single-node machine learning models when they are adapted to run on Spark.

References

• Apache Spark MLlib Guide:https://spark.apache.org/docs/latest/ml-guide.html

Spark ML is a library within Apache Spark designed for scalable machine learning. It provides tools to handle large-scale machine learning tasks, including parallelizing the hyperparameter tuning process for single-node machine learning models using a Spark cluster. Here’s a detailed explanation of how Spark ML can be used:

• Hyperparameter Tuning with CrossValidator: Spark ML includes theCrossValidatorandTrainValidationSplitclasses, which are used for hyperparameter tuning. These classes can evaluate multiple sets of hyperparameters in parallel using a Spark cluster.

from pyspark.ml.tuning import CrossValidator, ParamGridBuilder

from pyspark.ml.evaluation import BinaryClassificationEvaluator

# Define the model

model = ...

# Create a parameter grid

paramGrid = ParamGridBuilder() \

addGrid(model.hyperparam1, [value1, value2]) \

addGrid(model.hyperparam2, [value3, value4]) \

build()

# Define the evaluator

evaluator = BinaryClassificationEvaluator()

# Define the CrossValidator

crossval = CrossValidator(estimator=model,

estimatorParamMaps=paramGrid,

evaluator=evaluator,

numFolds=3)

• Parallel Execution: Spark distributes the tasks of training models with different hyperparameters across the cluster’s nodes. Each node processes a subset of the parameter grid, which allows multiple models to be trained simultaneously.
• Scalability: Spark ML leverages the distributed computing capabilities of Spark. This allows for efficient processing of large datasets and training of models across many nodes, which speeds up the hyperparameter tuning process significantly compared to single-node computations.

References

• Apache Spark MLlib Documentation
• Hyperparameter Tuning in Spark ML

When the goal is to maximize the identification of positive cases in a classification task, the metric of interest isRecall. Recall, also known as sensitivity, measures the proportion of actual positives that are correctly identified by the model (i.e., the true positive rate). It is crucial for scenarios where missing a positive case (false negative) has serious implications, such as in medical diagnostics. The other metrics like Precision, RMSE, and Accuracy serve different aspects of performance measurement and are not specifically focused on maximizing the detection of positive cases alone.References:

• Classification Metrics in Machine Learning (Understanding Recall).

To view the notebook that was run to create an MLflow run, you can click the "Source" link in the row corresponding to the run in the MLflow experiment page. The "Source" link provides a direct reference to the source notebook or script that initiated the run, allowing you to review the code and methodology used in the experiment. This feature is particularly useful for reproducibility and for understanding the context of the experiment.References:

• MLflow Documentation (Viewing Run Sources and Notebooks).

The code block to compute the root mean-squared error (RMSE) for a linear regression model in Spark ML should use theRegressionEvaluatorclass withmetricNameset to "rmse". Given the schema ofpreds_dfwith columnspredictionandactual, the correct evaluator setup will specifypredictionCol="prediction"andlabelCol="actual". Thus, the appropriate code block (Option C in your list) that usesRegressionEvaluatorto compute the RMSE is the correct choice. This setup correctly measures the performance of the regression model using the predictions and actual outcomes from the DataFrame.References:

• Spark ML documentation (Using RegressionEvaluator to Compute RMSE).

When evaluating the RMSE for a model that predicts log-transformed prices, the predictions need to be transformed back to the original scale to obtain an RMSE that is comparable with the actual price values. This is done by exponentiating the predictions before computing the RMSE. The RMSE should be computed on the same scale as the original data to provide a meaningful measure of error.

References:

• Databricks documentation on regression evaluation: Regression Evaluation

To retrieve the metadata description of a feature table created using the Feature Store Client (referred here asfs), the correct method involves callingget_tableon thefsclient with the table name as an argument, followed by accessing thedescriptionattribute of the returned object. The code snippetfs.get_table("new_table").descriptioncorrectly achieves this by fetching the table object for "new_table" and then accessing its description attribute, where the metadata is stored. The other options do not correctly focus on retrieving the metadata description.References:

• Databricks Feature Store documentation (Accessing Feature Table Metadata).

The code block provided by the machine learning engineer will perform the desired inference when the Feature Store feature set was logged with the model at model_uri. This ensures that all necessary feature transformations and metadata are available for the model to make predictions. The Feature Store in Databricks allows for seamless integration of features and models, ensuring that the required features are correctly used during inference.

References:

• Databricks documentation on Feature Store: Feature Store in Databricks

Random Forest is a machine learning algorithm that typically uses bagging (Bootstrap Aggregating). Bagging is a technique that involves training multiple base models (such as decision trees) on different subsets of the data and then combining their predictions to improve overall model performance. Each subset is created by randomly sampling with replacement from the original dataset. The Random Forest algorithm builds multiple decision trees and merges them to get a more accurate and stable prediction.

References:

• Databricks documentation on Random Forest: Random Forest in Spark ML

TheOneHotEncoderin Spark ML requires numerical indices as inputs rather than string labels. Therefore, you need to first convert the string columns to numerical indices usingStringIndexer. After that, you can applyOneHotEncoderto these indices.

Corrected code:

frompyspark.ml.featureimportStringIndexer, OneHotEncoder# Convert string column to indexindexers = [StringIndexer(inputCol=col, outputCol=col+"_index")forcolininput_columns] indexer_model = Pipeline(stages=indexers).fit(features_df) indexed_features_df = indexer_model.transform(features_df)# One-hot encode the indexed columnsohe = OneHotEncoder(inputCols=[col+"_index"forcolininput_columns], outputCols=output_columns) ohe_model = ohe.fit(indexed_features_df) ohe_features_df = ohe_model.transform(indexed_features_df)

References:

• PySpark ML Documentation

To compute the root mean-squared-error (RMSE) of a linear regression model using Spark ML, theRegressionEvaluatorclass is used. TheRegressionEvaluatoris specifically designed for regression tasks and can calculate various metrics, including RMSE, based on the columns containing predictions and actual values.

The correct code block to compute RMSE from thepreds_dfDataFrame is:

regression_evaluator = RegressionEvaluator( predictionCol="prediction", labelCol="actual", metricName="rmse") rmse = regression_evaluator.evaluate(preds_df)

This code creates an instance ofRegressionEvaluator, specifying the prediction and label columns, as well as the metric to be computed ("rmse"). It then evaluates the predictions inpreds_dfand assigns the resulting RMSE value to thermsevariable.

Options A and B incorrectly useBinaryClassificationEvaluator, which is not suitable for regression tasks. Option D also incorrectly usesBinaryClassificationEvaluator.

References:

• PySpark ML Documentation

The method that transforms categorical features into a series of binary indicator variables is known as one-hot encoding. This technique converts each categorical value into a new binary column, which is essential for models that require numerical input. One-hot encoding is widely used because it helps to handle categorical data without introducing a false ordinal relationship among categories.References:

• Feature Engineering Techniques (One-Hot Encoding).