I've been trying to understand the difference between the two column name parts -- column family and column qualifier. I don't understand the value of using the columnFamily for the column name and an "empty text" (new Text(new byte[0])) field for the column qualifier vs. a non-unique column name and the distinct column name in the column qualifier position.
I can sort-of understand the distinction if I have multiple distinct kinds of data in my data collection. I could use the column family part to determine how to interpret the rest of the data (what columns I can expect, etc.). But, that kind of data could also be handled with multiple databases. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks. Davie Patterson
