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Databricks tables

Databricks provides multiple table types and storage formats to meet different data management needs. This section covers managed, external, and foreign tables, along with the Delta Lake and Apache Iceberg storage formats that power advanced features like Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability (ACID) transactions and time travel.

Core concepts

Learn the fundamentals of table types, storage formats, and Unity Catalog integration.

Topic

Description

Tables concepts

Core concepts and foundational information about table types, storage formats, and Unity Catalog integration.

Table types

Explore different table types and their capabilities for various data management scenarios.

Table type

Description

Managed tables

Tables where Databricks manages both metadata and data files. Recommended for new tables with optimized performance and storage.

External tables

Tables that reference data stored in external storage systems while managing metadata in Unity Catalog.

Foreign tables

Read-only tables representing data in external systems connected through Lakehouse Federation.

Storage formats

Work with open table formats that provide advanced data management capabilities.

Format

Description

Delta Lake

Default storage format providing ACID transactions, time travel, and schema enforcement for managed and external tables.

Apache Iceberg

Open table format for integration with the Iceberg ecosystem, supporting advanced metadata management.

Table management

Configure and optimize table behavior, structure, and performance.

Feature

Description

Table constraints

Define and enforce data quality rules with check constraints and not null constraints.

Schema enforcement

Control how Databricks handles schema changes and data type enforcement during writes.

Table partitioning

Organize data by partition keys to improve query performance and data management.

Table size monitoring

Monitor and analyze table storage usage and growth patterns.

Convert external to managed

Migrate external tables to managed tables for improved performance and management.

External partition discovery

Automatically discover and register partitions in external tables stored in cloud storage.