Work with semi-structured data

Semi-structured data is any data that does not follow a strict tabular schema and often includes fields that are not standard SQL data types. This data typically has a nested structure and supports complex types such as arrays, maps, and structs.

Common formats of semi-structured data include:

• JSON— A widely used format for semi-structured data. For information on loading JSON data with Firebolt, see Load semi-structured JSON data.
• Parquet and ORC— Serialization formats that support nested structures and complex data types. For information on loading Parquet data with Firebolt, see Load semi-structured Parquet data.

Firebolt’s approach to semi-structured data

Firebolt transforms semi-structured data using arrays, enabling efficient querying. Arrays in Firebolt represent the following data constructs:

• Variable-length arrays— Arrays with unpredictable lengths in the source data are supported by Firebolt. These arrays can have arbitrary nesting levels, provided the nesting level is consistent within a column and known during table creation.
• Maps— Maps, also known as dictionaries, are represented using two coordinated arrays—one for keys and one for values. This approach is particularly useful for JSON-like data where objects have varying keys.

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• Load semi-structured JSON data
• Load semi-structured Parquet data
• Work with arrays