Instead of removing Spark 3.4 in 1.11, could we keep it for a couple more
versions?

Thanks,
Huaxin

On Mon, Oct 13, 2025 at 9:57 AM Parth Chandra <[email protected]> wrote:

> I'm wondering if it is too late to request just one more release of
> Iceberg with Spark 3.4 support? I have a PR open
> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/13786 that addresses a whole host
> of issues with using Comet and Iceberg. This completes the work started by
> Huaxin in https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/13378.
> At the moment Comet still supports Spark 3.4 and the PR accordingly
> updates the Spark 3.4 module as well. If we deprecate Spark 3.4, users of
> Spark 3.4 who want to use Comet will have to build their own. It's not the
> end of the world, Comet already provides a patch and instructions on how to
> do this. It is, however, less than ideal.
> I know that voting has already started (and is practically over) on this
> issue, but I figured it doesn't hurt to try.
>
> Parth
>
> On Tue, Oct 7, 2025 at 7:49 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> The PR has been merged (https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099),
>> and I can see the change reflected on the website,
>> https://iceberg.apache.org/multi-engine-support/#apache-spark
>> Thanks everyone for the review.
>>
>> I'll start a separate thread for removing spark 3.4 from the repo.
>>
>> Best,
>> Kevin Liu
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 6, 2025 at 3:03 PM Kevin Liu <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Hey folks,
>>>
>>> All (except 1) recent contributors to spark/v3.4 have responded on the
>>> slack thread above and support removing spark 3.4. The last contributor has
>>> not responded yet.
>>>
>>> If there are no objections, I plan to merge this PR to change the status
>>> for Spark 3.4 from "Maintained" -> "Deprecated" .
>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099
>>> Thanks Eduard for the review.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Kevin Liu
>>>
>>> On Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 9:52 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Started a slack thread,
>>>> https://apache-iceberg.slack.com/archives/C03LG1D563F/p1759163920874249
>>>> Based on the recently commit activities, I messaged (on slack and pr) 4
>>>> contributors who are actively backporting Spark 3.4.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 9:32 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Bumping this thread.
>>>>> Since there's consensus to mark Spark 3.4 as deprecated, let's merge
>>>>> this PR to change the status on the docs,
>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099
>>>>> I'll start a new thread for the decision to mark Spark 3.4 as
>>>>> end-of-life and for removal from the codebase.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, Sep 22, 2025 at 11:13 AM Steve Loughran
>>>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> making hadoop 3.4.1 the base hadoop version has sort of made iceberg
>>>>>> incompatible with spark 3.4, it just doesn't surface very much.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My PR, https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/10233 , which uses a
>>>>>> hadoop 3.4.1 BulkDelete call not in the spark 3.4 classpath flags this: 
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> spark 3.4 tests fail with classpath errors.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Fri, 19 Sept 2025 at 22:02, Kevin Liu <[email protected]>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks Anton and Eduard. I'm ok with being more aggressive with the
>>>>>>> deprecation schedule.
>>>>>>> Looking at the git history for `spark/v3.4/`
>>>>>>> <https://github.com/apache/iceberg/commits/main/spark/v3.4>, there
>>>>>>> are 5 new commits since the 1.10 release. Only 1 commit (3bbdee9
>>>>>>> <https://github.com/apache/iceberg/commit/3bbdee97b0f33794df091c3292de8d54a05dcc1e>)
>>>>>>> is to backport specifically for Spark 3.4.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> From Engine Version Lifecycle
>>>>>>> <https://iceberg.apache.org/multi-engine-support/#engine-version-lifecycle>
>>>>>>> ,
>>>>>>> > Deprecated: an engine version is no longer actively maintained.
>>>>>>> People who are still interested in the version can backport any 
>>>>>>> necessary
>>>>>>> feature or bug fix from newer versions, but the community will not spend
>>>>>>> effort in achieving feature parity. Iceberg recommends users to move
>>>>>>> towards a newer version. Contributions to a deprecated version is 
>>>>>>> expected
>>>>>>> to diminish over time, so that eventually no change is added to a
>>>>>>> deprecated version.
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> > End-of-life: a vote can be initiated in the community to fully
>>>>>>> remove a deprecated version out of the Iceberg repository to mark as its
>>>>>>> end of life.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Let's change the status for Spark 3.4 to "Deprecated". I have
>>>>>>> prepared a PR already https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I can start another vote thread for removal of Spark 3.4 in the
>>>>>>> upcoming 1.11 release and mark it as "End-of-life". I already prepared 
>>>>>>> a PR
>>>>>>> to fully remove Spark 3.4 from the codebase,
>>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14122
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 11:29 AM Eduard Tudenhöfner <
>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I agree with Anton and I would be in favor of just removing it in
>>>>>>>> the next release. By updating the docs now we can already signal
>>>>>>>> immediately that Spark 3.4 is deprecated and people can always use 
>>>>>>>> Iceberg
>>>>>>>> 1.10 when needing Spark 3.4 support.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 7:06 PM Anton Okolnychyi <
>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I know we followed this rule of deprecating a Spark version in one
>>>>>>>>> release and then removing it in the next one. Shall we ask ourselves
>>>>>>>>> whether it is still the model we want to follow?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> My problem like before is that we release a new Iceberg jar that
>>>>>>>>> is supposed to contain the latest and greatest features but the
>>>>>>>>> functionality for older Spark versions is severely lagging.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> We initially kept older Spark modules in main to give folks in the
>>>>>>>>> community a place to maintain these older integrations and 
>>>>>>>>> collaborate. I
>>>>>>>>> don’t see a lot of interest in that, if I am being honest. Instead, it
>>>>>>>>> became a liability for devs as all major format features now have to 
>>>>>>>>> work
>>>>>>>>> with those old Spark integrations. It is hurting the velocity of the
>>>>>>>>> project and recent row ID work is an example of that.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> - Anton
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 6:33 PM Kevin Liu <[email protected]>
>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> > why not just remove Spark 3.4 for the next 1.11 release? Or do
>>>>>>>>>> we usually wait for one more release and remove it in the 1.12 
>>>>>>>>>> release
>>>>>>>>>> after marking 3.4 as deprecated in the engine status doc page?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> My preference is to mark as deprecated for one release and remove
>>>>>>>>>> in the following.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> To quote JB:
>>>>>>>>>>  "announce" the deprecation in 1.11 and remove 1.12, it gives
>>>>>>>>>> time for users to "adapt".
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 9:26 AM Steven Wu <[email protected]>
>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Following up on Manu's question, why not just remove Spark 3.4
>>>>>>>>>>> for the next 1.11 release? Or do we usually wait for one more 
>>>>>>>>>>> release and
>>>>>>>>>>> remove it in the 1.12 release after marking 3.4 as deprecated in 
>>>>>>>>>>> the engine
>>>>>>>>>>> status doc page?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 9:12 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]>
>>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Given the many +1's here, I've moved the PR to deprecate 3.4 to
>>>>>>>>>>>> "ready for review",
>>>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> > Does it mean we will stop back-porting PRs to Spark 3.4 for
>>>>>>>>>>>> 1.11?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Not necessarily. There's a lot of Spark 3.4 backports already,
>>>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/commits/main/spark/v3.4
>>>>>>>>>>>> I suggest we continue to backport for consistency and then stop
>>>>>>>>>>>> right after the 1.11 release.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 6:18 AM Amogh Jahagirdar <
>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 2:03 AM Péter Váry <
>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Eduard Tudenhöfner <[email protected]> ezt írta
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (időpont: 2025. szept. 19., P, 8:56):
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1 on deprecating Spark 3.4
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Thu, Sep 18, 2025 at 8:36 AM Steve <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 22:52 Jean-Baptiste Onofré <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I agree about the plan to "announce" the deprecation in
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1.11 and
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> remove 1.12, it gives time for users to "adapt".
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Regards
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> JB
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 10:31 PM Kevin Liu <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Hi everyone,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > I’d like to bring up the topic of deprecating Spark 3.4
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> in an upcoming release. Anton initially suggested this during 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> our previous
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> dev list discussion about maintaining feature parity across 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the Spark
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> versions we support for 1.10.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Currently, we support two different Spark 3.x versions,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3.4 and 3.5. Spark 3.4’s last maintenance release was in 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> October 2024, and
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> it is now considered end-of-life.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > What are your thoughts on marking Spark 3.4 as
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> deprecated in 1.11 and removing it in 1.12?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > For reference, here's the previous discussion thread on
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> deprecating Spark 3.3.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Reply via email to