rdblue commented on code in PR #15630:
URL: https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/15630#discussion_r2997639268


##########
format/spec.md:
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@@ -123,6 +139,35 @@ Tables do not require random-access writes. Once written, 
data and metadata file
 
 Tables do not require rename, except for tables that use atomic rename to 
implement the commit operation for new metadata files.
 
+### Paths in Metadata
+
+Path strings stored in Iceberg metadata files are classified as one of two 
types:
+
+* **Absolute path** -- A path string that includes a [URI 
scheme](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3986#section-3.1) (e.g., 
`s3://`, `gs://`, `hdfs://`, `file:///`). Absolute paths are used as-is without 
modification.
+* **Relative path** -- A path string that does not include a URI scheme. 
Relative paths must be resolved against the table's base location before use.
+
+Prior to v4, all path fields must contain absolute paths. Starting with v4, 
path fields may contain either absolute or relative paths. Directory navigation 
symbols (`.` and `..`) and other file system conventions are not supported in 
relative paths.

Review Comment:
   I think that we do want it to be "not supported". That is, if `a/../b` 
represents the literal string then `..` is not supported. If a file system does 
support those things in its paths, then it is up to the FileIO implementation 
to _reject_ them to ensure they are not supported.
   
   I don't think it adds value to say that you can't have certain constructs in 
paths, like `..`. But they must have no special meaning, or should be rejected 
if that is not possible.



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