DP-800: Cheatsheet
Three-Domain Map
| Domain | Focus |
|---|---|
| Domain 1 | SQL design, advanced T-SQL, AI-assisted development |
| Domain 2 | Security, performance, CI/CD, DAB |
| Domain 3 | Embeddings, vector search, hybrid search, RAG |
Security Shortcuts
| Need | Use |
|---|---|
| Hide values from some users | Dynamic Data Masking |
| Restrict which rows users can see | Row-Level Security |
| Protect plaintext even from DB side | Always Encrypted |
| Capture compliance evidence | Auditing |
| Avoid secrets in code | Managed Identity / proper secrets management |
SQL Object Memory Hooks
- Temporal = history
- Ledger = tamper evidence
- Graph = relationship traversal
- Columnstore = analytics/compression
- Trigger = automatic reaction to DML event
- Stored procedure = explicit controlled execution path
Search Ladder
text
Keyword match -> Full-text search
Meaning match -> Vector search
Keyword + meaning -> Hybrid search
Retrieved data + generated answer -> RAGAI Integration Quick Rules
| Question signal | Best answer direction |
|---|---|
| Data changes often | RAG, not fine-tuning |
| Need faster approximate vector lookup at scale | ANN |
| Need exact nearest-neighbor results | ENN |
| Need combined ranking from lexical + semantic search | RRF |
| Need SQL to call external model endpoint | sp_invoke_external_rest_endpoint |
DevOps and API Shortcuts
| Need | Use |
|---|---|
| Source-controlled schema lifecycle | SQL Database Projects |
| Drift detection | SQL Database Projects |
| REST/GraphQL over SQL | Data API builder |
| Safer AI-assisted SQL work | Copilot instruction files + review + least privilege |
| Event-driven downstream refresh | CDC / Change Tracking / CES / Functions / Logic Apps |
Beta Exam Reminders
- 100 minutes
- 700 passing score
- No immediate beta scoring
- No practice assessment yet