Parquet Logical Type Definitions

Logical types are used to extend the types that parquet can be used to store, by specifying how the primitive types should be interpreted. This keeps the set of primitive types to a minimum and reuses parquet's efficient encodings. For example, strings are stored as byte arrays (binary) with a UTF8 annotation.

This file contains the specification for all logical types.

Metadata

The parquet format's LogicalType stores the type annotation. The annotation may require additional metadata fields, as well as rules for those fields. There is an older representation of the logical type annotations called ConvertedType. To support backward compatibility with old files, readers should interpret LogicalTypes in the same way as ConvertedType, and writers should populate ConvertedType in the metadata according to well defined conversion rules.

Compatibility

The Thrift definition of the metadata has two fields for logical types: ConvertedType and LogicalType. ConvertedType is an enum of all available annotation. Since Thrift enums can't have additional type parameters, it is cumbersome to define additional type parameters, like decimal scale and precision (which are additional 32 bit integer fields on SchemaElement, and are relevant only for decimals) or time unit and UTC adjustment flag for Timestamp types. To overcome this problem, a new logical type representation was introduced into the metadata to replace ConvertedType: LogicalType. The new representation is a union of struct of logical types, this way allowing more flexible API, logical types can have type parameters.

However, to maintain compatibility, Parquet readers should be able to read and interpret old logical type representation (in case the new one is not present, because the file was written by older writer), and write ConvertedType field for old readers.

Compatibility considerations are mentioned for each annotation in the corresponding section.

String Types

STRING

STRING may only be used to annotate the binary primitive type and indicates that the byte array should be interpreted as a UTF-8 encoded character string.

The sort order used for STRING strings is unsigned byte-wise comparison.

Compatibility

STRING corresponds to UTF8 ConvertedType.

ENUM

ENUM annotates the binary primitive type and indicates that the value was converted from an enumerated type in another data model (e.g. Thrift, Avro, Protobuf). Applications using a data model lacking a native enum type should interpret ENUM annotated field as a UTF-8 encoded string.

The sort order used for ENUM values is unsigned byte-wise comparison.

UUID

UUID annotates a 16-byte fixed-length binary. The value is encoded using big-endian, so that 00112233-4455-6677-8899-aabbccddeeff is encoded as the bytes 00 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 aa bb cc dd ee ff (This example is from wikipedia's UUID page).

The sort order used for UUID values is unsigned byte-wise comparison.

Numeric Types

Signed Integers

INT annotation can be used to specify the maximum number of bits in the stored value. The annotation has two parameter: bit width and sign. Allowed bit width values are 8, 16, 32, 64, and sign can be true or false. For signed integers, the second parameter should be true, for example, a signed integer with bit width of 8 is defined as INT(8, true) Implementations may use these annotations to produce smaller in-memory representations when reading data.

If a stored value is larger than the maximum allowed by the annotation, the behavior is not defined and can be determined by the implementation. Implementations must not write values that are larger than the annotation allows.

INT(8, true), INT(16, true), and INT(32, true) must annotate an int32 primitive type and INT(64, true) must annotate an int64 primitive type. INT(32, true) and INT(64, true) are implied by the int32 and int64 primitive types if no other annotation is present and should be considered optional.

The sort order used for signed integer types is signed.

Unsigned Integers

INT annotation can be used to specify unsigned integer types, along with a maximum number of bits in the stored value. The annotation has two parameter: bit width and sign. Allowed bit width values are 8, 16, 32, 64, and sign can be true or false. In case of unsigned integers, the second parameter should be false, for example, an unsigned integer with bit width of 8 is defined as INT(8, false) Implementations may use these annotations to produce smaller in-memory representations when reading data.

If a stored value is larger than the maximum allowed by the annotation, the behavior is not defined and can be determined by the implementation. Implementations must not write values that are larger than the annotation allows.

INT(8, false), INT(16, false), and INT(32, false) must annotate an int32 primitive type and INT(64, true) must annotate an int64 primitive type.

The sort order used for unsigned integer types is unsigned.

Deprecated integer ConvertedType

INT_8, INT_16, INT_32, and INT_64 annotations can be also used to specify signed integers with 8, 16, 32, or 64 bit width.

INT_8, INT_16, and INT_32 must annotate an int32 primitive type and INT_64 must annotate an int64 primitive type. INT_32 and INT_64 are implied by the int32 and int64 primitive types if no other annotation is present and should be considered optional.

UINT_8, UINT_16, UINT_32, and UINT_64 annotations can be also used to specify unsigned integers with 8, 16, 32, or 64 bit width.

UINT_8, UINT_16, and UINT_32 must annotate an int32 primitive type and UINT_64 must annotate an int64 primitive type.

Backward compatibility:

ConvertedType	LogicalType
INT_8	IntType (bitWidth = 8, isSigned = true)
INT_16	IntType (bitWidth = 16, isSigned = true)
INT_32	IntType (bitWidth = 32, isSigned = true)
INT_64	IntType (bitWidth = 64, isSigned = true)
UINT_8	IntType (bitWidth = 8, isSigned = false)
UINT_16	IntType (bitWidth = 16, isSigned = false)
UINT_32	IntType (bitWidth = 32, isSigned = false)
UINT_64	IntType (bitWidth = 64, isSigned = false)

Forward compatibility:

LogicalType			ConvertedType
IntType	isSigned	bitWidth = 8	INT_8
		bitWidth = 16	INT_16
		bitWidth = 32	INT_32
		bitWidth = 64	INT_64
	!isSigned	bitWidth = 8	UINT_8
		bitWidth = 16	UINT_16
		bitWidth = 32	UINT_32
		bitWidth = 64	UINT_64

DECIMAL

DECIMAL annotation represents arbitrary-precision signed decimal numbers of the form unscaledValue * 10^(-scale).

The primitive type stores an unscaled integer value. For byte arrays, binary and fixed, the unscaled number must be encoded as two's complement using big-endian byte order (the most significant byte is the zeroth element). The scale stores the number of digits of that value that are to the right of the decimal point, and the precision stores the maximum number of digits supported in the unscaled value.

If not specified, the scale is 0. Scale must be zero or a positive integer less than the precision. Precision is required and must be a non-zero positive integer. A precision too large for the underlying type (see below) is an error.

DECIMAL can be used to annotate the following types:

int32: for 1 <= precision <= 9
int64: for 1 <= precision <= 18; precision < 10 will produce a warning
fixed_len_byte_array: precision is limited by the array size. Length n can store <= floor(log_10(2^(8*n - 1) - 1)) base-10 digits
binary: precision is not limited, but is required. The minimum number of bytes to store the unscaled value should be used.

The sort order used for DECIMAL values is signed comparison of the represented value.

If the column uses int32 or int64 physical types, then signed comparison of the integer values produces the correct ordering. If the physical type is fixed, then the correct ordering can be produced by flipping the most-significant bit in the first byte and then using unsigned byte-wise comparison.

Compatibility

To support compatibility with older readers, implementations of parquet-format should write DecimalType precision and scale into the corresponding SchemaElement field in metadata.

Date/Time Types

DATE

DATE is used to for a logical date type, without a time of day. It must annotate an int32 that stores the number of days from the Unix epoch, 1 January 1970.

The sort order used for DATE is signed.

TIME

TIME is used for a logical time type without a date with millisecond or microsecond precision. The type has two type parameters: UTC adjustment (true or false) and precision (MILLIS or MICROS, NANOS).

TIME with precision MILLIS is used for millisecond precision. It must annotate an int32 that stores the number of milliseconds after midnight.

TIME with precision MICROS is used for microsecond precision. It must annotate an int64 that stores the number of microseconds after midnight.

TIME with precision NANOS is used for nanosecond precision. It must annotate an int64 that stores the number of nanoseconds after midnight.

The sort order used for TIME is signed.

Deprecated time ConvertedType

TIME_MILLIS is the deprecated ConvertedType counterpart of a TIME logical type that is UTC normalized and has MILLIS precision. Like the logical type counterpart, it must annotate an int32.

TIME_MICROS is the deprecated ConvertedType counterpart of a TIME logical type that is UTC normalized and has MICROS precision. Like the logical type counterpart, it must annotate an int64.

Backward compatibility:

ConvertedType	LogicalType
TIME_MILLIS	TimeType (isAdjustedToUTC = true, unit = MILLIS)
TIME_MICROS	TimeType (isAdjustedToUTC = true, unit = MICROS)

Forward compatibility:

LogicalType			ConvertedType
TimeType	isAdjustedToUTC = true	unit = MILLIS	TIME_MILLIS
		unit = MICROS	TIME_MICROS
		unit = NANOS	-
	isAdjustedToUTC = false	unit = MILLIS	-
		unit = MICROS	-
		unit = NANOS	-

TIMESTAMP

TIMESTAMP is used for a combined logical date and time type, with millisecond or microsecond precision. The type has two type parameters: UTC adjustment (true or false) and precision (MILLIS or MICROS, NANOS).

TIMESTAMP with precision MILLIS is used for millisecond precision. It must annotate an int64 that stores the number of milliseconds from the Unix epoch, 00:00:00.000 on 1 January 1970, UTC.

TIMESTAMP with precision MICROS is used for microsecond precision. It must annotate an int64 that stores the number of microseconds from the Unix epoch, 00:00:00.000000 on 1 January 1970, UTC.

TIMESTAMP with precision NANOS is used for nanosecond precision. It must annotate an int64 that stores the number of nanoseconds from the Unix epoch, 00:00:00.000000000 on 1 January 1970, UTC. Valid values for nanosecond precision are between 00:12:43 21 September 1677 UTC and 23:47:16 11 April 2262 UTC.

The sort order used for TIMESTAMP is signed.

Deprecated timestamp ConvertedType

TIMESTAMP_MILLIS is the deprecated ConvertedType counterpart of a TIMESTAMP logical type that is UTC normalized and has MILLIS precision. Like the logical type counterpart, it must annotate an int64.

TIMESTAMP_MICROS is the deprecated ConvertedType counterpart of a TIMESTAMP logical type that is UTC normalized and has MICROS precision. Like the logical type counterpart, it must annotate an int64.

Backward compatibility:

ConvertedType	LogicalType
TIMESTAMP_MILLIS	TimestampType (isAdjustedToUTC = true, unit = MILLIS)
TIMESTAMP_MICROS	TimestampType (isAdjustedToUTC = true, unit = MICROS)

Forward compatibility:

LogicalType			ConvertedType
TimestampType	isAdjustedToUTC = true	unit = MILLIS	TIMESTAMP_MILLIS
		unit = MICROS	TIMESTAMP_MICROS
		unit = NANOS	-
	isAdjustedToUTC = false	unit = MILLIS	-
		unit = MICROS	-
		unit = NANOS	-

INTERVAL

INTERVAL is used for an interval of time. It must annotate a fixed_len_byte_array of length 12. This array stores three little-endian unsigned integers that represent durations at different granularities of time. The first stores a number in months, the second stores a number in days, and the third stores a number in milliseconds. This representation is independent of any particular timezone or date.

Each component in this representation is independent of the others. For example, there is no requirement that a large number of days should be expressed as a mix of months and days because there is not a constant conversion from days to months.

The sort order used for INTERVAL is undefined. When writing data, no min/max statistics should be saved for this type and if such non-compliant statistics are found during reading, they must be ignored.

Embedded Types

Embedded types do not have type-specific orderings.

JSON

JSON is used for an embedded JSON document. It must annotate a binary primitive type. The binary data is interpreted as a UTF-8 encoded character string of valid JSON as defined by the JSON specification

The sort order used for JSON is unsigned byte-wise comparison.

BSON

BSON is used for an embedded BSON document. It must annotate a binary primitive type. The binary data is interpreted as an encoded BSON document as defined by the BSON specification.

The sort order used for BSON is unsigned byte-wise comparison.

Nested Types

This section specifies how LIST and MAP can be used to encode nested types by adding group levels around repeated fields that are not present in the data.

This does not affect repeated fields that are not annotated: A repeated field that is neither contained by a LIST- or MAP-annotated group nor annotated by LIST or MAP should be interpreted as a required list of required elements where the element type is the type of the field.

Implementations should use either LIST and MAP annotations or unannotated repeated fields, but not both. When using the annotations, no unannotated repeated types are allowed.

Lists

LIST is used to annotate types that should be interpreted as lists.

LIST must always annotate a 3-level structure:

<list-repetition> group <name> (LIST) {
  repeated group list {
    <element-repetition> <element-type> element;
  }
}

The outer-most level must be a group annotated with LIST that contains a single field named list. The repetition of this level must be either optional or required and determines whether the list is nullable.
The middle level, named list, must be a repeated group with a single field named element.
The element field encodes the list's element type and repetition. Element repetition must be required or optional.

The following examples demonstrate two of the possible lists of string values.

// List<String> (list non-null, elements nullable)
required group my_list (LIST) {
  repeated group list {
    optional binary element (UTF8);
  }
}

// List<String> (list nullable, elements non-null)
optional group my_list (LIST) {
  repeated group list {
    required binary element (UTF8);
  }
}

Element types can be nested structures. For example, a list of lists:

// List<List<Integer>>
optional group array_of_arrays (LIST) {
  repeated group list {
    required group element (LIST) {
      repeated group list {
        required int32 element;
      }
    }
  }
}

Backward-compatibility rules

It is required that the repeated group of elements is named list and that its element field is named element. However, these names may not be used in existing data and should not be enforced as errors when reading. For example, the following field schema should produce a nullable list of non-null strings, even though the repeated group is named element.

optional group my_list (LIST) {
  repeated group element {
    required binary str (UTF8);
  };
}

Some existing data does not include the inner element layer. For backward-compatibility, the type of elements in LIST-annotated structures should always be determined by the following rules:

If the repeated field is not a group, then its type is the element type and elements are required.
If the repeated field is a group with multiple fields, then its type is the element type and elements are required.
If the repeated field is a group with one field and is named either array or uses the LIST-annotated group's name with _tuple appended then the repeated type is the element type and elements are required.
Otherwise, the repeated field's type is the element type with the repeated field's repetition.

Examples that can be interpreted using these rules:

// List<Integer> (nullable list, non-null elements)
optional group my_list (LIST) {
  repeated int32 element;
}

// List<Tuple<String, Integer>> (nullable list, non-null elements)
optional group my_list (LIST) {
  repeated group element {
    required binary str (UTF8);
    required int32 num;
  };
}

// List<OneTuple<String>> (nullable list, non-null elements)
optional group my_list (LIST) {
  repeated group array {
    required binary str (UTF8);
  };
}

// List<OneTuple<String>> (nullable list, non-null elements)
optional group my_list (LIST) {
  repeated group my_list_tuple {
    required binary str (UTF8);
  };
}

Maps

MAP is used to annotate types that should be interpreted as a map from keys to values. MAP must annotate a 3-level structure:

<map-repetition> group <name> (MAP) {
  repeated group key_value {
    required <key-type> key;
    <value-repetition> <value-type> value;
  }
}

The outer-most level must be a group annotated with MAP that contains a single field named key_value. The repetition of this level must be either optional or required and determines whether the list is nullable.
The middle level, named key_value, must be a repeated group with a key field for map keys and, optionally, a value field for map values.
The key field encodes the map's key type. This field must have repetition required and must always be present.
The value field encodes the map's value type and repetition. This field can be required, optional, or omitted.

The following example demonstrates the type for a non-null map from strings to nullable integers:

// Map<String, Integer>
required group my_map (MAP) {
  repeated group key_value {
    required binary key (UTF8);
    optional int32 value;
  }
}

If there are multiple key-value pairs for the same key, then the final value for that key must be the last value. Other values may be ignored or may be added with replacement to the map container in the order that they are encoded. The MAP annotation should not be used to encode multi-maps using duplicate keys.

Backward-compatibility rules

It is required that the repeated group of key-value pairs is named key_value and that its fields are named key and value. However, these names may not be used in existing data and should not be enforced as errors when reading.

Some existing data incorrectly used MAP_KEY_VALUE in place of MAP. For backward-compatibility, a group annotated with MAP_KEY_VALUE that is not contained by a MAP-annotated group should be handled as a MAP-annotated group.

Examples that can be interpreted using these rules:

// Map<String, Integer> (nullable map, non-null values)
optional group my_map (MAP) {
  repeated group map {
    required binary str (UTF8);
    required int32 num;
  }
}

// Map<String, Integer> (nullable map, nullable values)
optional group my_map (MAP_KEY_VALUE) {
  repeated group map {
    required binary key (UTF8);
    optional int32 value;
  }
}

Null

Sometimes when discovering the schema of existing data values are always null and there's no type information. The NULL type can be used to annotates a column that is always null. (Similar to Null type in Avro)

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LogicalTypes.md

LogicalTypes.md

Parquet Logical Type Definitions

Metadata

Compatibility

String Types

STRING

ENUM

UUID

Numeric Types

Signed Integers

Unsigned Integers

Deprecated integer ConvertedType

DECIMAL

Date/Time Types

DATE

TIME

Deprecated time ConvertedType

TIMESTAMP

Deprecated timestamp ConvertedType

INTERVAL

Embedded Types

JSON

BSON

Nested Types

Lists

Backward-compatibility rules

Maps

Backward-compatibility rules

Null

Files

LogicalTypes.md

Latest commit

History

LogicalTypes.md

File metadata and controls

Parquet Logical Type Definitions

Metadata

Compatibility

String Types

STRING

ENUM

UUID

Numeric Types

Signed Integers

Unsigned Integers

Deprecated integer ConvertedType

DECIMAL

Date/Time Types

DATE

TIME

Deprecated time ConvertedType

TIMESTAMP

Deprecated timestamp ConvertedType

INTERVAL

Embedded Types

JSON

BSON

Nested Types

Lists

Backward-compatibility rules

Maps

Backward-compatibility rules

Null