> Well, I don't understand how 2.11 is "time-based". The parquet-format

I was thinking it was time based as the version increases monotonically
over time

> > The only missing piece is that parquet-format version is not recorded in
> > the metadata itself.

> Aren't we moving the goalposts here?
> IIRC the basis for this discussion was to inform Parquet *writers* about
> which features can safely be enabled. Recording the format version in a
> Parquet file's metadata does not help achieve that.

In my mind they are connected -- recording the format in the metadata would
allow writers to explicltly communicate to downstream readers which
features are required for reading, which I think would make the
compatibility consideration of "what features do I use when writing this
parquet file"



On Tue, Jun 9, 2026 at 10:35 AM Antoine Pitrou <[email protected]> wrote:

> Le 09/06/2026 à 15:18, Andrew Lamb a écrit :
> > While working to document what features are forwards incompatible and
> what
> > parquet-format version they were introduced in[1], it occurs to me that
> we
> > **already have** a versioning scheme that is frequently released, time
> > based and clearly defines feature levels:
> >
> > parquet-format version (e.g. 2.11, 2.12, etc).  <---- We already have
> this!
>
> Well, I don't understand how 2.11 is "time-based". The parquet-format
> repo doesn't even have a periodic release schedule.
>
> > The only missing piece is that parquet-format version is not recorded in
> > the metadata itself.
>
> Aren't we moving the goalposts here?
>
> IIRC the basis for this discussion was to inform Parquet *writers* about
> which features can safely be enabled. Recording the format version in a
> Parquet file's metadata does not help achieve that.
>
> And why would a Parquet reader bother checking the version? Usually,
> there is no format version that is an exact match for a Parquet reader
> implementation's feature set.
>
> > ps. If you squint, I think the parquet-format versions look a lot like a
> > combination of "preset" and versions, which is also a nice property.
>
> You really have to squint *a lot* for that to work...
>
> Regards
>
> Antoine.
>
>
>

Reply via email to