emkornfield commented on code in PR #461: URL: https://github.com/apache/parquet-format/pull/461#discussion_r1868818645
########## VariantEncoding.md: ########## @@ -39,13 +39,41 @@ Another motivation for the representation is that (aside from metadata) each nes For example, in a Variant containing an Array of Variant values, the representation of an inner Variant value, when paired with the metadata of the full variant, is itself a valid Variant. This document describes the Variant Binary Encoding scheme. -[VariantShredding.md](VariantShredding.md) describes the details of the Variant shredding scheme. +The [Variant Shredding specification](VariantShredding.md) describes the details of shredding Variant values as typed Parquet columns. + +## Variant in Parquet -# Variant in Parquet A Variant value in Parquet is represented by a group with 2 fields, named `value` and `metadata`. -Both fields `value` and `metadata` are of type `binary`, and cannot be `null`. -# Metadata encoding +* The Variant group must be annotated with the `VARIANT` logical type. +* Both fields `value` and `metadata` must be of type `binary` (called `BYTE_ARRAY` in the Parquet thrift definition). +* The `metadata` field is required and must be a valid Variant metadata, as defined below. +* The `value` field is required for unshredded Variant values. +* The `value` field is optional when parts of the Variant value are shredded according to the [Variant Shredding specification](VariantShredding.md). +* When present, the `value` field must be a valid Variant value, as defined below. + +This is the expected unshredded representation in Parquet: + +``` +optional group variant_name (VARIANT) { + required binary metadata; + required binary value; +} +``` + +This is an example representation of a shredded Variant in Parquet: Review Comment: Added concrete suggestion, this is more about flow, and what the reader is expected to understand at this point. -- This is an automated message from the Apache Git Service. To respond to the message, please log on to GitHub and use the URL above to go to the specific comment. To unsubscribe, e-mail: issues-unsubscr...@parquet.apache.org For queries about this service, please contact Infrastructure at: us...@infra.apache.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: issues-unsubscr...@parquet.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: issues-h...@parquet.apache.org