🏭🗒️Microsoft Fabric: Data Governance [Notes]

Disclaimer: This is work in progress intended to consolidate information from various sources for learning purposes. For the latest information please consult the documentation (see the links below)! 

Last updated: 23-May-2024

[Microsoft Fabric] Data Governance

• {definition}set of capabilities that help organizations to manage, protect, monitor, and improve the discoverability of data, so as to meet data governance (and compliance) requirements and regulations [2]
• several built-in governance features are available to manage and control the data within Fabric (MF)  [1]
• {feature} endorsement [aka content endorsement] 
• {definition} formal process performed by admins to endorse MF items
• {benefit} allows admins to designate specific MF items as trusted and approved for use across the organization [1]
• establishes trust in data assets by promoting and certifying specific MF items [1]
• users know which assets they can trust and rely on for accurate information [1]
• endorsed assets are identified with a badge that indicates they have been reviewed and approved [1]
• {scope} applies to all MF items except dashboards [1]
• {benefit} helps admin manage the overall growth of items across your environment [1]
• {feature} promoting [aka content promoting] 
• {definition} formal process performed by contributors or admins to promote content
• promoted content appears with a Promoted badge in the MF portal [1]
• workspace members with the contributor or admin role can promote content within a workspace [1]
• MF admin can promote content across the organization [1]
• {feature} certification [aka content certification]
• {definition} formal process that involves a review of the content by a designated reviewer and managed by the admin [1]
• can be customized to meet organization’s needs [1]
• users can request item certification from an admin [1]
• via Request certification from the More menu [1]
• the certified content appears with a Certified badge in the Fabric portal [1]
• {benefit} allows organizations to label items considered to be quality items [1]
• an organization can certify items to identify them an as authoritative sources for critical information [1]
• ⇐ all Fabric items except Power BI dashboards can be certified [1]
• {benefit} allows to specify certifiers who are experts in the domain [1]
• domain level settings
• enable or disable certification of items that belong to the domain [1]
• provides a URL to documentation that is relevant to certification in the domain [1]
• {feature} tenant (aka Microsoft Fabric tenant, MF tenant)
• a single instance of Fabric for an organization that is aligned with a Microsoft Entra ID
• can contain any number of workspaces
• {feature} workspaces
• {definition} a collection of items that brings together different functionality in a single environment designed for collaboration
• can be assigned to teams or departments based on governance requirements and data boundaries [2]
• are associated with domains [3]
• ⇐ {benefit} allows to group data into business domains
• all the items in the workspace are then associated with the domain, and they receive a domain attribute as part of their metadata [3]
• ⇐ {benefit} enables a better consumption experience [1]
• {benefit} enables better discoverability and governance [2]
• {feature} domains [Notes]
• {definition} a way of logically grouping together data in an organization that is relevant to a particular area or field [1]
• allows to group data by business domains
• ⇒{benefit} allows business domains to manage their data according to their specific regulations, restrictions, and needs [3]
• {feature} subdomains
  • {definition} a way for fine tuning the logical grouping data under a domain [1]
  • ⇐ subdivisions of a domain
• {feature} labeling
• default labeling, label inheritance, and programmatic labeling, 
• {benefit} help achieve maximal sensitivity label coverage across MF [2]
• once labeled, data remains protected even when it's exported out of MF via supported export paths [2]
• [Purview Audit] compliance admins can monitor activities on sensitivity labels
• {feature|preview} folders
• {definition} a way of logically grouping MF items
• {feature|preview} tags
• {benefit} allow managing Fabric items for enhanced compliance, discoverability, and reuse
• {feature} scanner API
• a set of admin REST APIs 
• {benefit} allows to scan MF items for sensitive data [1]
• can be used to scan both structured and unstructured data [1]
• {concept} metadata scanning
• facilitates governance of data by enabling cataloging and reporting on all the metadata of organization's Fabric items [1]
• it needs to be set up by Admin before metadata scanning can be run [1]
• {concept} data lineage
• {definition} 
• {benefit} allows to track the flow of data through Fabric [1]
• {benefit} allows to see where data comes from, how it's transformed, and where it goes [1]
• {benefit} helps understand the data available in Fabric, and how it's being used [1]
• {concept} Fabric item (aka MF item)
• {definition} a set of capabilities within an experience
• form the building blocks of the Fabric platform
• {type} data warehouse
• {type} data pipeline
• {type} semantic model
• {type} reports
• {type} dashboards
• {type} notebook
• {type} lakehouse
• {type} metric set

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Acronyms:
API - Application Programming Interface
MF - Microsoft Fabric

Resources:
[1] Microsoft Learn (2023) Administer Microsoft Fabric (link)
[2] Microsoft Learn - Fabric (2024) Governance overview and guidance (link)
[3] Microsoft Learn: Fabric (2023) Fabric domains (link)
[4] Establishing Data Mesh architectural pattern with Domains and OneLake on Microsoft Fabric, by Maheswaran Arunachalam (link) 

🌁Software Engineering: Application Programming Interface (Definitions)

"A set of routines available in an application for use by software programmers when designing an application interface. An excellent example is ADO. APIs make it simple for programmers to add powerful integration capabilities within an application. APIs shield programmers from many of the complexities of coding." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"A set of routines that an application uses to request and carry out lower-level services." (Evan Levy & Jill Dyché, "Customer Data Integration", 2006)

"Represents a set of functions and methods that other developers can use to access the functionality within another application." (Sara Morganand & Tobias Thernstrom , "MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit: Designing and Optimizing Data Access by Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 - Exam 70-442", 2007)

"This is a well-defined interface provided by an application or service to support requests and communications from other applications." (Michael Coles, "Pro T-SQL 2008 Programmer's Guide", 2008)

"A set of public programmatic interfaces that consists of a language and a message format to communicate with an operating system or other programmatic environment, such as databases, Web servers, and so forth. These messages typically call functions and methods available for application development." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"An interface implemented by a software program to enable interaction with other software, in much the same way that a user interface facilitates interaction between humans and computers. APIs are implemented by applications, libraries, and operating systems to determine the vocabulary and calling conventions the programmer should employ to use their services. It may include specifications for routines, data structures, object classes, and protocols used to communicate between the consumer and implementer of the API." (Mark S Merkow & Lakshmikanth Raghavan, "Secure and Resilient Software Development", 2010)

"A toll that allows programs to talk to or interact with one another." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"A published standard format for communicating with application programs." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration: The Complete Guide to DBA Practices and Procedures" 2nd Ed, 2012)

"A set of routines that an application uses to request and carry out lower-level services performed by a computer's operating system. These routines usually carry out maintenance tasks such as managing files and displaying information." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary", 2012)

"This is a well-defined interface provided by an application or service to support requests and communications from other applications." (Jay Natarajan et al, "Pro T-SQL 2012 Programmer's Guide" 3rd Ed, 2012)

"A way of standardizing the connection between two software applications. It is essentially a standard hook that an application uses to connect to another software application." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"A well-defined interface provided by an application or service to support requests and communications from other applications." (Miguel Cebollero et al, "Pro T-SQL Programmer’s Guide" 4th Ed, 2015)

"A set of definitions, protocols, and tools used to build software. Especially important to define when different software parts need to work together." (Pamela Schure & Brian Lawley, "Product Management For Dummies", 2017)

"A set of definitions, protocols, and tools for building software applications, and for allowing software components from different sources to communicate with each other." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People", 2017)

"An interface that allows an application program that is written in a high-level language to use specific data or functions of the operating system or another program." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)