In this post I share my personal insights into the DP-800 exam and the Microsoft Fabric connection. Plus, some recommended resources. I recently passed the DP-800 exam and wanted to share my insights and some recent updates to study material that can help others.
To clarify, the DP-800 exam is the new one that you can take to gain the new SQL AI Developer Associate certification.
Even though I mostly work with Microsoft Fabric at the moment I decided to take this exam for a variety of reasons. Including my extensive SQL background.
Anyway, I hope my insights prove useful. Along the way I share plenty of links and resources towards the end.
About the DP-800 exam
In essence, the DP-800 exam is very similar to older SQL Server exams which required development knowledge. However, for this exam you need knowledge of all the new SQL Server 2025 features. Which happens to include a lot of AI offerings.
Overview of skill measured for DP-800 exam
I know how tedious it can be to read a repeat of skills measured in a post. So instead below is an overview list of some of the aspects covered to provide an idea of what you need to know:
- JSON functions
- Regular expressions (REGEX)
- Working with GitHub Copilot and MCP servers
- Git and CI/CD with SQL Database projects
- Data API Builder
- Working with AI functions
- New ways to search for text, including hybrid search.
- Working with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
- More traditional SQL development knowledge. Such as working with objects, security, etc.
As you can see from this high-level overview alone there is a lot of modern AI knowledge required when compared to previous SQL Server exams.
I found studying for this exam an interesting journey. Because in addition to knowing the more traditional SQL knowledge it makes sure you are aware of some of the modern AI practices as well. Plus, makes sure you realize how you can manage AI inside the database engine and secure it with traditional T-SQL.
I am pleased that the Microsoft Learn module to implement CI/CD is a lot more detailed than various efforts. Because CI/CD is a topic close to my heart.
The Microsoft Fabric connection
Another reason I was interested in this exam is because a lot of the new features covered in the exam also applies to Fabric items.
In fact, a lot of the newer features in SQL Server 2025 can also be found in SQL databases in Fabric. Including JSON functions, regular expressions and AI functions. Which opens the door to some interesting possibilities.
Just keep an eye on your Fabric capacity usage when working with these features in Fabric. Microsoft provides a guide on how to control compute usage for SQL database in Fabric.
DP-800 study resources
There are some resources available to help with the exam. My recommendations are slightly different than in previous posts like my checklist for the DP-600 exam. Due to some updates relating to the Microsoft learn material.
I always recommend the Microsoft Learn material for Microsoft exams. However, there has been a significant change for this exam. Instead of reading all the material you can watch AI generated videos instead. Presented by the new AI Virtual Trainer in Microsoft Learn called Anton.
You select this option to watch the videos in the individual pages of the recommended Microsoft Learn modules.
Fortunately the DP-800 practice assessments for the exam became available whilst I was studying for it. Which you can access by following the links on the exam page.
My last two recommended resources go hand-in-hand. I first recommend that you watch the SQL Server 2025: The AI-ready enterprise database session presented by Bob Ward at last years Ignite.
Earlier this year I was lucky enough to get a signed copy of the SQL Server 2025 Unveiled book by Bob Ward after interviewing him. I strongly recommend reading this book after watching the session. Doing these two in this order this helped me with memory muscle.
Final words
I hope my insights into the DP-800 exam helps those of you studying for the exam. Personally, I found studying for it an interesting journey.
I also wanted to highlight the Microsoft Fabric connection in this post since a lot of people ask what Microsoft Fabric has to do with a SQL Server exam.
Finally I wish to say good luck to all those who are looking to take this exam.