BigData / Apache Iceberg Interview questions
What is the difference between a Hive catalog and a REST catalog?
Both serve the same fundamental role — mapping a table name to its current metadata location — but they differ in what technology backs that mapping and how tightly coupled a client needs to be to that specific backing technology.
| Hive Catalog | REST Catalog |
| Backed by an existing Hive Metastore service. | Backed by any implementation speaking the REST spec. |
| Clients need Hive Metastore-specific client libraries. | Clients only need a standard HTTP client speaking the REST protocol. |
| Natural fit for organizations already running Hive infrastructure. | Natural fit for multi-vendor, cloud-native, or greenfield deployments. |
| Coupling tends to be tighter to the specific metastore deployment. | Backing implementation is an interchangeable detail behind the API. |
A practical way to think about the distinction: the Hive catalog is one specific catalog implementation (useful especially for organizations already operating Hive infrastructure), while the REST catalog is a protocol that many different implementations — including, in principle, one backed by a Hive Metastore itself — can expose, which is why the REST catalog has become the more forward-looking standard for new, multi-engine deployments not otherwise tied to existing Hive infrastructure.
What does a REST catalog client need, compared to a Hive catalog client?
When is a Hive catalog a natural fit?
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