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Spark Writes

To use Iceberg in Spark, first configure Spark catalogs.

Some plans are only available when using Iceberg SQL extensions in Spark 3.

Iceberg uses Apache Spark's DataSourceV2 API for data source and catalog implementations. Spark DSv2 is an evolving API with different levels of support in Spark versions:

Feature support	Spark 3	Spark 2.4	Notes
SQL insert into	✔️
SQL merge into	✔️		⚠ Requires Iceberg Spark extensions
SQL insert overwrite	✔️
SQL delete from	✔️		⚠ Row-level delete requires Spark extensions
SQL update	✔️		⚠ Requires Iceberg Spark extensions
DataFrame append	✔️	✔️
DataFrame overwrite	✔️	✔️	⚠ Behavior changed in Spark 3
DataFrame CTAS and RTAS	✔️

Writing with SQL

Spark 3 supports SQL INSERT INTO, MERGE INTO, and INSERT OVERWRITE, as well as the new DataFrameWriterV2 API.

`INSERT INTO`

To append new data to a table, use INSERT INTO.

INSERT INTO prod.db.table VALUES (1, 'a'), (2, 'b')

INSERT INTO prod.db.table SELECT ...

`MERGE INTO`

Spark 3 added support for MERGE INTO queries that can express row-level updates.

Iceberg supports MERGE INTO by rewriting data files that contain rows that need to be updated in an overwrite commit.

MERGE INTO is recommended instead of INSERT OVERWRITE because Iceberg can replace only the affected data files, and because the data overwritten by a dynamic overwrite may change if the table's partitioning changes.

`MERGE INTO` syntax

MERGE INTO updates a table, called the target table, using a set of updates from another query, called the source. The update for a row in the target table is found using the ON clause that is like a join condition.

MERGE INTO prod.db.target t   -- a target table
USING (SELECT ...) s          -- the source updates
ON t.id = s.id                -- condition to find updates for target rows
WHEN ...                      -- updates

Updates to rows in the target table are listed using WHEN MATCHED ... THEN .... Multiple MATCHED clauses can be added with conditions that determine when each match should be applied. The first matching expression is used.

WHEN MATCHED AND s.op = 'delete' THEN DELETE
WHEN MATCHED AND t.count IS NULL AND s.op = 'increment' THEN UPDATE SET t.count = 0
WHEN MATCHED AND s.op = 'increment' THEN UPDATE SET t.count = t.count + 1

Source rows (updates) that do not match can be inserted:

WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN INSERT *

Inserts also support additional conditions:

WHEN NOT MATCHED AND s.event_time > still_valid_threshold THEN INSERT (id, count) VALUES (s.id, 1)

Only one record in the source data can update any given row of the target table, or else an error will be thrown.

`INSERT OVERWRITE`

INSERT OVERWRITE can replace data in the table with the result of a query. Overwrites are atomic operations for Iceberg tables.

The partitions that will be replaced by INSERT OVERWRITE depends on Spark's partition overwrite mode and the partitioning of a table. MERGE INTO can rewrite only affected data files and has more easily understood behavior, so it is recommended instead of INSERT OVERWRITE.

Overwrite behavior

Spark's default overwrite mode is static, but dynamic overwrite mode is recommended when writing to Iceberg tables. Static overwrite mode determines which partitions to overwrite in a table by converting the PARTITION clause to a filter, but the PARTITION clause can only reference table columns.

Dynamic overwrite mode is configured by setting spark.sql.sources.partitionOverwriteMode=dynamic.

To demonstrate the behavior of dynamic and static overwrites, consider a logs table defined by the following DDL:

CREATE TABLE prod.my_app.logs (
    uuid string NOT NULL,
    level string NOT NULL,
    ts timestamp NOT NULL,
    message string)
USING iceberg
PARTITIONED BY (level, hours(ts))

Dynamic overwrite

When Spark's overwrite mode is dynamic, partitions that have rows produced by the SELECT query will be replaced.

For example, this query removes duplicate log events from the example logs table.

INSERT OVERWRITE prod.my_app.logs
SELECT uuid, first(level), first(ts), first(message)
FROM prod.my_app.logs
WHERE cast(ts as date) = '2020-07-01'
GROUP BY uuid

In dynamic mode, this will replace any partition with rows in the SELECT result. Because the date of all rows is restricted to 1 July, only hours of that day will be replaced.

Static overwrite

When Spark's overwrite mode is static, the PARTITION clause is converted to a filter that is used to delete from the table. If the PARTITION clause is omitted, all partitions will be replaced.

Because there is no PARTITION clause in the query above, it will drop all existing rows in the table when run in static mode, but will only write the logs from 1 July.

To overwrite just the partitions that were loaded, add a PARTITION clause that aligns with the SELECT query filter:

INSERT OVERWRITE prod.my_app.logs
PARTITION (level = 'INFO')
SELECT uuid, first(level), first(ts), first(message)
FROM prod.my_app.logs
WHERE level = 'INFO'
GROUP BY uuid

Note that this mode cannot replace hourly partitions like the dynamic example query because the PARTITION clause can only reference table columns, not hidden partitions.

`DELETE FROM`

Spark 3 added support for DELETE FROM queries to remove data from tables.

Delete queries accept a filter to match rows to delete.

DELETE FROM prod.db.table
WHERE ts >= '2020-05-01 00:00:00' and ts < '2020-06-01 00:00:00'

DELETE FROM prod.db.all_events
WHERE session_time < (SELECT min(session_time) FROM prod.db.good_events)

DELETE FROM prod.db.orders AS t1
WHERE EXISTS (SELECT oid FROM prod.db.returned_orders WHERE t1.oid = oid)

If the delete filter matches entire partitions of the table, Iceberg will perform a metadata-only delete. If the filter matches individual rows of a table, then Iceberg will rewrite only the affected data files.

`UPDATE`

Spark 3.1 added support for UPDATE queries that update matching rows in tables.

Update queries accept a filter to match rows to update.

UPDATE prod.db.table
SET c1 = 'update_c1', c2 = 'update_c2'
WHERE ts >= '2020-05-01 00:00:00' and ts < '2020-06-01 00:00:00'

UPDATE prod.db.all_events
SET session_time = 0, ignored = true
WHERE session_time < (SELECT min(session_time) FROM prod.db.good_events)

UPDATE prod.db.orders AS t1
SET order_status = 'returned'
WHERE EXISTS (SELECT oid FROM prod.db.returned_orders WHERE t1.oid = oid)

For more complex row-level updates based on incoming data, see the section on MERGE INTO.

Writing with DataFrames

Spark 3 introduced the new DataFrameWriterV2 API for writing to tables using data frames. The v2 API is recommended for several reasons:

CTAS, RTAS, and overwrite by filter are supported
All operations consistently write columns to a table by name
Hidden partition expressions are supported in partitionedBy
Overwrite behavior is explicit, either dynamic or by a user-supplied filter
The behavior of each operation corresponds to SQL statements
- df.writeTo(t).create() is equivalent to CREATE TABLE AS SELECT
- df.writeTo(t).replace() is equivalent to REPLACE TABLE AS SELECT
- df.writeTo(t).append() is equivalent to INSERT INTO
- df.writeTo(t).overwritePartitions() is equivalent to dynamic INSERT OVERWRITE

The v1 DataFrame write API is still supported, but is not recommended.

{{< hint danger >}} When writing with the v1 DataFrame API in Spark 3, use saveAsTable or insertInto to load tables with a catalog. Using format("iceberg") loads an isolated table reference that will not automatically refresh tables used by queries. {{< /hint >}}

Appending data

To append a dataframe to an Iceberg table, use append:

val data: DataFrame = ...
data.writeTo("prod.db.table").append()

Spark 2.4

In Spark 2.4, use the v1 API with append mode and iceberg format:

data.write
    .format("iceberg")
    .mode("append")
    .save("db.table")

Overwriting data

To overwrite partitions dynamically, use overwritePartitions():

val data: DataFrame = ...
data.writeTo("prod.db.table").overwritePartitions()

To explicitly overwrite partitions, use overwrite to supply a filter:

data.writeTo("prod.db.table").overwrite($"level" === "INFO")

Spark 2.4

In Spark 2.4, overwrite values in an Iceberg table with overwrite mode and iceberg format:

data.write
    .format("iceberg")
    .mode("overwrite")
    .save("db.table")

{{< hint danger >}} The behavior of overwrite mode changed between Spark 2.4 and Spark 3. {{< /hint >}}

The behavior of DataFrameWriter overwrite mode was undefined in Spark 2.4, but is required to overwrite the entire table in Spark 3. Because of this new requirement, the Iceberg source's behavior changed in Spark 3. In Spark 2.4, the behavior was to dynamically overwrite partitions. To use the Spark 2.4 behavior, add option overwrite-mode=dynamic.

Creating tables

To run a CTAS or RTAS, use create, replace, or createOrReplace operations:

val data: DataFrame = ...
data.writeTo("prod.db.table").create()

If you have replaced the default Spark catalog (spark_catalog) with Iceberg's SparkSessionCatalog, do:

val data: DataFrame = ...
data.writeTo("db.table").using("iceberg").create()

Create and replace operations support table configuration methods, like partitionedBy and tableProperty:

data.writeTo("prod.db.table")
    .tableProperty("write.format.default", "orc")
    .partitionedBy($"level", days($"ts"))
    .createOrReplace()

Writing to partitioned tables

Iceberg requires the data to be sorted according to the partition spec per task (Spark partition) in prior to write against partitioned table. This applies both Writing with SQL and Writing with DataFrames.

{{< hint info >}} Explicit sort is necessary because Spark doesn't allow Iceberg to request a sort before writing as of Spark 3.0. SPARK-23889 is filed to enable Iceberg to require specific distribution & sort order to Spark. {{< /hint >}}

{{< hint info >}} Both global sort (orderBy/sort) and local sort (sortWithinPartitions) work for the requirement. {{< /hint >}}

Let's go through writing the data against below sample table:

CREATE TABLE prod.db.sample (
    id bigint,
    data string,
    category string,
    ts timestamp)
USING iceberg
PARTITIONED BY (days(ts), category)

To write data to the sample table, your data needs to be sorted by days(ts), category.

If you're inserting data with SQL statement, you can use ORDER BY to achieve it, like below:

INSERT INTO prod.db.sample
SELECT id, data, category, ts FROM another_table
ORDER BY ts, category

If you're inserting data with DataFrame, you can use either orderBy/sort to trigger global sort, or sortWithinPartitions to trigger local sort. Local sort for example:

data.sortWithinPartitions("ts", "category")
    .writeTo("prod.db.sample")
    .append()

You can simply add the original column to the sort condition for the most partition transformations, except bucket.

For bucket partition transformation, you need to register the Iceberg transform function in Spark to specify it during sort.

Let's go through another sample table having bucket partition:

CREATE TABLE prod.db.sample (
    id bigint,
    data string,
    category string,
    ts timestamp)
USING iceberg
PARTITIONED BY (bucket(16, id))

You need to register the function to deal with bucket, like below:

import org.apache.iceberg.spark.IcebergSpark
import org.apache.spark.sql.types.DataTypes

IcebergSpark.registerBucketUDF(spark, "iceberg_bucket16", DataTypes.LongType, 16)

{{< hint info >}} Explicit registration of the function is necessary because Spark doesn't allow Iceberg to provide functions. SPARK-27658 is filed to enable Iceberg to provide functions which can be used in query. {{< /hint >}}

Here we just registered the bucket function as iceberg_bucket16, which can be used in sort clause.

If you're inserting data with SQL statement, you can use the function like below:

INSERT INTO prod.db.sample
SELECT id, data, category, ts FROM another_table
ORDER BY iceberg_bucket16(id)

If you're inserting data with DataFrame, you can use the function like below:

data.sortWithinPartitions(expr("iceberg_bucket16(id)"))
    .writeTo("prod.db.sample")
    .append()

Type compatibility

Spark and Iceberg support different set of types. Iceberg does the type conversion automatically, but not for all combinations, so you may want to understand the type conversion in Iceberg in prior to design the types of columns in your tables.

Spark type to Iceberg type

This type conversion table describes how Spark types are converted to the Iceberg types. The conversion applies on both creating Iceberg table and writing to Iceberg table via Spark.

Spark	Iceberg	Notes
boolean	boolean
short	integer
byte	integer
integer	integer
long	long
float	float
double	double
date	date
timestamp	timestamp with timezone
char	string
varchar	string
string	string
binary	binary
decimal	decimal
struct	struct
array	list
map	map

{{< hint info >}} The table is based on representing conversion during creating table. In fact, broader supports are applied on write. Here're some points on write:

Iceberg numeric types (integer, long, float, double, decimal) support promotion during writes. e.g. You can write Spark types short, byte, integer, long to Iceberg type long.
You can write to Iceberg fixed type using Spark binary type. Note that assertion on the length will be performed. {{< /hint >}}

Iceberg type to Spark type

This type conversion table describes how Iceberg types are converted to the Spark types. The conversion applies on reading from Iceberg table via Spark.

Iceberg	Spark	Note
boolean	boolean
integer	integer
long	long
float	float
double	double
date	date
time		Not supported
timestamp with timezone	timestamp
timestamp without timezone		Not supported
string	string
uuid	string
fixed	binary
binary	binary
decimal	decimal
struct	struct
list	array
map	map

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spark-writes.md

spark-writes.md

Spark Writes

Writing with SQL

`INSERT INTO`

`MERGE INTO`

`MERGE INTO` syntax

`INSERT OVERWRITE`

Overwrite behavior

Dynamic overwrite

Static overwrite

`DELETE FROM`

`UPDATE`

Writing with DataFrames

Appending data

Spark 2.4

Overwriting data

Spark 2.4

Creating tables

Writing to partitioned tables

Type compatibility

Spark type to Iceberg type

Iceberg type to Spark type

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Spark Writes

Writing with SQL

INSERT INTO

MERGE INTO

MERGE INTO syntax

INSERT OVERWRITE

Overwrite behavior

Dynamic overwrite

Static overwrite

DELETE FROM

UPDATE

Writing with DataFrames

Appending data

Spark 2.4

Overwriting data

Spark 2.4

Creating tables

Writing to partitioned tables

Type compatibility

Spark type to Iceberg type

Iceberg type to Spark type

`INSERT INTO`

`MERGE INTO`

`MERGE INTO` syntax

`INSERT OVERWRITE`

`DELETE FROM`

`UPDATE`