Z-order or Partitioning? Which is better for Data skipping?

[brickster_2018]

For Delta tables, among Z-order and Partioning which is recommended technique for efficient Data Skipping

[brickster_2018 · Accepted solution]

Partition pruning is the most efficient way to ensure Data skipping. However, choosing the right column for partitioning is very important. It's common to see choosing the wrong column for partitioning can cause a large number of small file problems and in such scenarios, Z-order is the preferred option.