[IMPALA-528] Support ALTER TABLE SET ROW FORMAT

• Type: Improvement
• Status: Closed
• Priority: Minor
• Resolution: Duplicate
• Affects Version/s: Impala 1.1
• Component/s: Catalog
• Labels: ramp-up
• Target Version: Product Backlog
• Assignee: Unassigned
• Reporter: John Russell
• Created: 13/Aug/13 17:47
• Updated: 03/Jan/18 14:36
• Resolved: 03/Jan/18 14:36

Description

I created a TEXTFILE table and loaded some data into it, not realizing I had left off the FIELDS TERMINATED BY clause to specify the delimiter. ALTER TABLE has a SET FILEFORMAT clause which can be used to say the data files are TEXTFILE if that part was specified wrong, but SET FILEFORMAT doesn't recognize the rest of the text-related clauses.

I suggest making syntax like the following work the intuitive way:

alter table raw_data_ymd set fileformat textfile fields terminated by '|';
alter table raw_data_ymd set fields terminated by '|'; – If already a TEXTFILE with the wrong delimiter.

Since ROW FORMAT DELIMITED is kind of a no-op currently, I don't suggest making that a required or optional part of these ALTER STATEMENT clauses.

Issue Links

• is duplicated by: IMPALA-4323 It is not possible to set row format through alter table