Ian Cook

📣 Just released: Version 25 of the ADBC libraries. Release highlights: C# core libraries at 1.0, Windows on ARM packages, Python 3.15 wheels, separate Go modules for core and drivers, less unsafe Rust, and PostgreSQL and SQLite driver improvements. arrow.apache.org/blog/2026/10...

This release is cool for a lot of reasons but my favorite is that the new Observable does database access with ADBC and returns results as Arrow. And, as a bonus, it uses @columnar.tech 's dbc (dbc.how) to install drivers.

This week we announced a new ADBC driver for Apache DataFusion. DataFusion is Rust-native, but now you can use it from 10+ other languages through the same zero-copy Arrow ADBC interface that connects to 30+ other databases and query engines. Learn more: docs.adbc-drivers.org/drivers/data...

📣 Introducing databow: one command-line tool to query them all, built with Rust and ADBC. Query any SQL source that has an ADBC driver (30+ and counting) right from your terminal with one simple CLI. To install 👉 uv tool install databow More details at columnar.tech/blog/databow-cli

This week we released an ADBC driver for Quack, @duckdb.org’s new native client-server protocol. Now you can query remote DuckDB servers using the same ADBC interface you already use for local DuckDB across 7+ languages—no third-party server extensions required. columnar.tech/blog/quack-a...

This week we released version 0.3.0 of dbc, the package manager for modern database drivers. This release makes dbc: 🧩 Easier to embed inside apps 🤖 Easier to run with AI agents ⚙️ Easier to set up in CI workflows Read the announcement and install or upgrade 👇 columnar.tech/blog/dbc-0.3.0

AI coding tools speed up how we build data-driven apps. But legacy database access patterns slow us down. Join us for a live hands-on workshop to learn how ADBC makes database access faster, more portable, and better suited to analytical and agentic work. Register on Luma: luma.com/3lt47cj9

Released this week: Version 23 of the ADBC libraries. Highlights include TOML-based connection profiles and a new Node.js driver manager on npm. See the blog post for details: arrow.apache.org/blog/2026/04...

We heard you: ADBC is great, but you need it on mainframes. Introducing ADBC for COBOL. The same connectors that work with Python, Rust, and Go now work with a language originally designed for punch cards. columnar.tech/blog/adbc-co...

The fastest operation is the one you don’t have to do. When a database natively supports @arrow.apache.org, ADBC can speed up fetching and ingestion by eliminating costly row/column conversions. How much faster is it in practice? We ran some benchmarks to find out. Link below 👇

This week we shipped 4 updated ADBC drivers with major performance gains: ⏱️ 3× faster queries (BigQuery, MSSQL) ⚡ >30× faster ingest (MySQL, Trino) How we achieved it, what’s next, and what vendors can do to unlock even more speed: columnar.tech/blog/adbc-dr...

This week we shipped the second release of dbc, the command-line tool for installing and managing ADBC drivers: 📦 More drivers (Oracle & Teradata) 🔐 Private registries 🛠️ Easier to embed in other tools 🧑‍💻 Better human UX 🤖 Better agent experience Full details in comments 👇

Apache Arrow is 10 years old 🎉 The first git commit landed on 2016-02-05. Now Arrow has 10+ official implementations and a growing third-party ecosystem. Read our celebratory blog post for some tidbits of Arrow history, and our outlook on the present and future. arrow.apache.org/blog/2026/02...

Fetch query results without ODBC / JDBC bottlenecks. The new ADBC driver for Databricks is now available in early release. Install it with dbc.

Data plumbing has never mattered more. From the maturation of open standards like ADBC and Iceberg to the infrastructure needed for agentic workflows, here are our 10 predictions for 2026 🔮 columnar.tech/blog/2026-pr...

dbc is a command-line tool that makes installing ADBC drivers 10× easier. Haven’t tried it yet? Get started with our new cheatsheet. 📥Download it at t.co/JcD9ElEwqS

Was anyone else like me, wondering if you can use ADBC with $5 Postgres from @planetscale.com? Well, you can! (No surprise) I wrote up my test at brycemecum.com/2025/11/15/a... #apachearrow #adbc

ADBC drivers in #Java? Yes. The latest release of ADBC adds a JNI layer that lets Java apps load drivers, run queries, and fetch results fast in @arrow.apache.org format. Read the new blog post from @ian.columnar.tech and David Li for examples and perf comparisons vs. JDBC. Link in comments👇

A new startup, @columnar.tech, looks to streamline the copying of tabular data across systems, using @arrow.apache.org and the ADBC API. By @joabj.bsky.social

At Row Zero we get amazing speeds ingesting data from Snowflake and other databases that can export column-oriented data. But there's a long tail of data stores that we're forced to slow down for, because they only allow row-oriented export. Here's hoping we can change that!

The future of data connectivity is columnar. Today we launched @columnar.tech to accelerate the shift from slow, row-oriented APIs like ODBC and JDBC to >10x faster alternatives powered by @arrow.apache.org. Learn more 👇

ODBC is getting tired. It just can't keep up with the fast new kids in the data world these days. The next generation is ready to take the torch. Meet ADBC, a fast, modern data connectivity standard built on @arrow.apache.org. Watch my new talk from the @db.cs.cmu.edu seminar: youtu.be/TjlmNGNx77E

Today's Future Data Systems Seminar Speaker: Ian Cook (@ian.columnar.tech) will present @columnar.tech's work on Apache Arrow's database connectivity API (ADBC). ADBC is available in modern DBMSs. Zoom talk open to public at 4:30pm ET. YouTube video available after: db.cs.cmu.edu/events/futur...

Register for the Apache Arrow Summit Paris 25 (October 2nd) at: www.meetup.com/pydata-paris... The event is hosted by @pydataparis.bsky.social We are looking forward to seeing you there and talking about all things Arrow.

In September the @columnar.tech crew are headed to PyData Paris 2025 and the first ever Apache Arrow Summit. The organizer @quantstack.bsky.social is a dedicated supporter of @arrow.apache.org. We’re delighted to be sponsoring the event.

Next Tuesday, get ready to meet the mind behind #Pandas & #ApacheArrow! @wesmckinney.com shares his origin story (Part 1) on #TheTestSet. From speedruns to shaping the data stack, this is one you won't want to miss. Mark your calendar for Tuesday & subscribe at thetestset.co! #DataScience #Python

@duckdb.org 🤝 @arrow.apache.org

🚀 Introducing **Bauplan** A serverless, code-native platform for building data and AI pipelines — directly on your object store. No clusters. No notebooks. No GUI based workflows. Just Python + SQL + S3. 👉 www.bauplanlabs.com/blog/hello-b...

2025 is shaping up to be a breakout year for fast query result transfer with Apache Arrow. But what exactly makes it so fast? David Li, Matt Topol, and I break it down in this new blog post: arrow.apache.org/blog/2025/01...

[🎥 Watch] Apache Arrow is a columnar format and multi-language toolbox for fast data interchange and in-memory analytics. Matt Topol, Arrow PMC member, talks about Arrow subprojects and how you can get involved with the project. https://buff.ly/40qNPAL #opensource

The best illustration of how users and buyers of a product can have opposite priorities

Would love to see more discussion of this. To Andy's point we have this wonderful Arrow eco system that's underdeveloped. In a world of columnar data we're still stuck using ODBC/JDBC for connectivity to most data systems. Hard to get some vendors to even talk about ADBC.

Base64 decoding error on my Food Lion receipt today

It's 2024 and there's still no way to download just one subdirectory of a Git repo without using a sketchy third-party website or tool? Wild.