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ORC file format has many advantages such as:
- a single file as the output of each task, which reduces the NameNode's load
- Hive type support including datetime, decimal, and the complex types (struct, list, map, and union)
- light-weight indexes stored within the file
- skip row groups that don't pass predicate filtering
- seek to a given row
- block-mode compression based on data type
- run-length encoding for integer columns
- dictionary encoding for string columns
- concurrent reads of the same file using separate RecordReaders
- ability to split files without scanning for markers
- bound the amount of memory needed for reading or writing
- metadata stored using Protocol Buffers, which allows addition and removal of fields
Tags:
format
storage
columnar
Last modified 23 August 2025