Getting Started with Snowflake (Snowflake in 20 minutes)

Introduction:

This guide utilizes the Snowflake command line client, SnowSQL, to introduce fundamental concepts and tasks, including:

1. Creating Snowflake Objects: You'll create a database and a table for storing data.

2. Loading Data: Sample CSV data files are provided for you to load into the table.

3. Querying: Finally, you'll explore sample queries.

Note:
To execute data loading and queries, Snowflake requires a virtual warehouse. Keep in mind that a running virtual warehouse consumes Snowflake credits. However, the credit consumption in this tutorial will be minimal as the entire process can be completed in under 30 minutes. Additionally, Snowflake incurs a minimal charge for on-disk storage used by the sample data in this tutorial. Nevertheless, steps are provided to drop the table and minimize storage costs.

If you are using a 30-day trial account, it's worth noting that the account comes with free credits, and you won't incur any costs during the tutorial. For detailed information on warehouse sizes and costs, refer to the Warehouse Size section.

What You Will Learn

Throughout this tutorial, you will gain proficiency in the following tasks:

Creating Snowflake Objects: Establish a database and a table dedicated to storing data.

Installing SnowSQL: Learn to install and utilize SnowSQL, the command line query tool for Snowflake.

Users employing Visual Studio Code may find the Snowflake Extension for Visual Studio Code to be an alternative to SnowSQL.
Loading CSV Data Files: Employ diverse mechanisms to load data from CSV files into tables.

Writing and Executing Sample Queries: Develop the ability to write and execute a variety of queries against recently loaded data.