How to get Databricks kernel available also in the Interactive window

[jaakko-paavola]

Is there a way to have the Databricks kernel available also in the Interactive window in VsCode? Many people including myself like to use regular .py files + Interactive window instead of Notebook files. If there is some way, even if not fully supported/compatible, I would be glad to try it and report back here any issues I face.

[gbrueckl]

we had this implemented 1,5 years ago but it did not work properly - e.g. you could not use "Run Cell" from your code-cell but instead had to copy over the code to the interactive window which was not really usable

I will check how much work it will be to add this feature back to the current code base which has evolved a lot since then

[jaakko-paavola]

The way I send code to the interactive window is by using the # %% cell markers in my .py file and then the key shortcuts "Jupyter: Run Current Cell And Advance" or "Jupyter: Run Current Cell" to send the cell where my cursor currently is, or alternatively just "Jupyter: Run Selection/Line in Interactive Window" to send the current line or whatever text I have selected. I believe this should all work in the exact same way if the Databricks kernel was available and selected in the interactive window instead of local kernel.

[gbrueckl]

so I found the discussion from back then microsoft/vscode-discussions#331

I also tried it again and the behavior is still the same
using an interactive kernel you could execute individual commands against a Databricks cluster but you could not use code-cells the way you can with local jupyter kernels

I updated the private build here to also include the interactive kernel
https://gbpublic001.blob.core.windows.net/files/databricks-vscode-2.3.6.vsix

pretty sure though it will not help you

[jaakko-paavola]

Thanks!

Yes, I see now what you mean, but I'll use it nevertheless. It just adds the extra step of shifting the focus to the interactive window after sending code there and then executing the cell there "manually". A little inconvenience, but not a big deal in the way I'm working. The most important thing is that now I can work with .py files and send any arbitrary selection to be executed with the press of a key shortcut (+ the extra effort).

So thank you very much, hope you can keep this option open in the future official builds as well. I'll get back to you about the stability issue in the other thread.

[gbrueckl]

sure, the code is ready and I will just leave it in there
it should be updated automatically then once i publish the new version to the marketplace

[jkbnk]

hi there!
i just wanted to thank you for the plugin in general...
and double thanks for this added functionality too. i am heavily used to REPL style work within interactive window and was missing it either in your extension or in databricks notebooks
i will be by pretty happy if the extension could implement automatic execution too. what would that entail? i have no idea how vs code extension development works...

[gbrueckl]

hi @jkbnk,

in one of my previous comments I referred to a discussion i started with the VSCode team where the technical details and limitations are explained. i am afraid I cannot really work around those barriers within our extension

[gbrueckl]

released v2.4.0 which now also includes the interactive kernel