Liquid clustering vs partitioning

[Avinash_Narala]

Hi,

Is liquid clustering a replacement to partitioning?

should we use still partitioning when we use liquid clustering?

Can we use liquid clustering for all cases and ignore partitioning?

[szymon_dybczak · Accepted solution]

Hi @Avinash_Narala 

Yeah, you can think of it as a partitioning replacement. 

According with documentation: 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/databricks/delta/clustering

Delta Lake liquid clustering replaces table partitioning and ZORDER to simplify data layout decisions and optimize query performance. Liquid clustering provides flexibility to redefine clustering keys without rewriting existing data, allowing data layout to evolve alongside analytic needs over time.

[canadiandataguy]

I have built a decision tree on how to think about it https://www.canadiandataguy.com/p/optimizing-delta-lake-tables-liquid?triedRedirect=true