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feat(spec): formally split catalog, namespace, table and index specs#6566

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jackye1995 merged 11 commits into
lance-format:mainfrom
jackye1995:ns-catalog-split-main
May 13, 2026
Merged

feat(spec): formally split catalog, namespace, table and index specs#6566
jackye1995 merged 11 commits into
lance-format:mainfrom
jackye1995:ns-catalog-split-main

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@jackye1995

@jackye1995 jackye1995 commented Apr 18, 2026

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Summary

  • refactor the Lance format specification so index formats are a top-level section
  • split catalog specs and namespace client spec into distinct sections in the published docs
  • move full website assembly into reusable docs scripts and CI wiring
  • keep the docs buildable with placeholders when external repos are absent

Namespace PR: lance-format/lance-namespace#326
Vote: #6567
Preview: https://jackye1995.github.io/lance/

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jackye1995 force-pushed the ns-catalog-split-main branch from 795ebbd to 1ea93e1 Compare May 13, 2026 18:50
@wjones127

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issue(non-blocking): there's a minor bug where if you make your screen wide enough it goes to two lines for some reason. It does this also when the screen is narrow, but that's expected. I think the actual lines need more margin or something so they aren't so vertically closer together. Right now the buttons overlap
Screenshot 2026-05-13 at 1 27 34 PM

Comment thread docs/src/format/index.md Outdated
- The **catalog specs** define how tables are discovered, registered, and coordinated across engines and services.

### 2. File Format
The architecture is designed around Apache Arrow boundaries. Once data is in memory, Arrow is the interchange format. Only table readers, table writers, and index readers or writers need to know the on-disk Lance file layout.

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nitpick: Honestly, I think that the Arrow in-memory format is a library implementation detail. If another library was implemented to read and write Lance tables, it could choose whatever in-memory representation it want.

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updated, let me know what you think about the new wording.

jackye1995 added a commit to lance-format/lance-namespace that referenced this pull request May 13, 2026
## Summary
- split the catalog and namespace specification docs for downstream
assembly
- fix supported catalog links for the new layout
- restore the overview and Java SDK diagrams on the namespace spec page

Lance PR: lance-format/lance#6566
Preview: https://jackye1995.github.io/lance/
@jackye1995 jackye1995 changed the title docs: refactor Lance format specification structure spec: formally split catalog, namespace, table and index specs May 13, 2026
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ACTION NEEDED
Lance follows the Conventional Commits specification for release automation.

The PR title and description are used as the merge commit message. Please update your PR title and description to match the specification.

For details on the error please inspect the "PR Title Check" action.

@jackye1995

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issue(non-blocking): there's a minor bug where if you make your screen wide enough it goes to two lines for some reason. It does this also when the screen is narrow, but that's expected. I think the actual lines need more margin or something so they aren't so vertically closer together. Right now the buttons overlap

I will do that as a separate fix. I already squeezed quite some style and ci changes to this PR, should probably not touch anything else at this point

@jackye1995 jackye1995 changed the title spec: formally split catalog, namespace, table and index specs feat(spec): formally split catalog, namespace, table and index specs May 13, 2026
@github-actions github-actions Bot added the enhancement New feature or request label May 13, 2026
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jackye1995 requested a review from wjones127 May 13, 2026 21:33
@jackye1995
jackye1995 merged commit 551654c into lance-format:main May 13, 2026
5 of 6 checks passed
@hpvd

hpvd commented May 14, 2026

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there is just a tiny typo in new diagram: 2 times a missing c in lance:
2026-05-14_18h45_53

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3 participants