The File Format Renaissance: Parquet, Lance, Vortex, Nimble, BtrBlocks, and the New Physics of Columnar Storage

The world of data storage formats has seen a seismic shift, with a flurry of new columnar storage formats emerging in just three years. Once dominated by Apache Parquet and ORC, the landscape now buzzes with innovations like BtrBlocks, Lance, Vortex, Nimble, and others. This surge is driven by the need for more efficient, AI-friendly storage solutions, reshaping how data is processed and accessed. The rapid evolution of these formats underscores a broader trend towards optimizing data infrastructure to keep pace with growing data demands and technological advancements.