Why don't we add `totalBytes` and have `avgValueSize` calculate the value from it?
On Thu, Oct 1, 2026 at 7:38 AM Eduard Tudenhöfner <[email protected]> wrote: > It appears the rename in the Java implementation caught bad timing because > *avgValueSizes()* was just recently added to a few central places like > *ContentFile/Metrics/BaseFile/ContentFileParser > *and the REST spec and then released with 1.12.0. > Typically we would deprecate those and then introduce *totalBytes()* in > all places where *avgValueSizes()* exists today to maintain API stability. > Steven brought up the option to replace all *avgValueSizes()* places with > the new method and add those API breakages to RevAPI since those methods > shouldn't be used by anyone today. > > I'm raising this here to get people's thoughts on this > > > > On Wed, Sep 30, 2026 at 12:40 AM Ryan Blue <[email protected]> wrote: > >> +1 for using total rather than average. >> >> On Tue, Sep 29, 2026 at 8:30 AM Steven Wu <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Dan, >>> >>> Here is the slack thread: >>> https://apache-iceberg.slack.com/archives/C0BDHBAGARG/p1790113027624689 >>> >>> Yes, your assumption is correct. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Steven >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Tue, Sep 29, 2026 at 8:28 AM Daniel Weeks <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Eduard, >>>> >>>> Could you link to the slack discussion (I wasn't able to find it)? >>>> >>>> Is it safe to assume that we can determine the average via the >>>> combination of *total_bytes* and *value_count*? If that's true, it >>>> seems that *total_bytes* would be more valuable for estimation >>>> purposes since you have an explicit upper bound on size. >>>> >>>> -Dan >>>> >>>> On Tue, Sep 29, 2026 at 8:03 AM Eduard Tudenhöfner < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hey everyone, >>>>> >>>>> We had a few discussions around the *avg_value_size_in_bytes* field >>>>> on the Iceberg slack and how it makes e.g. aggregations more difficult >>>>> than >>>>> necessary. We concluded that it's probably best to track the *total* >>>>> instead of the *avg.* >>>>> That being said, the field is being renamed to *total_bytes* in >>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/18308. >>>>> >>>>> Please speak up if you have any concerns about this change. >>>>> >>>>> Thanks, >>>>> Eduard >>>>> >>>>
