Files
lancedb/java
Dan RammerandClaude Opus 5 fe34eb3549 refactor!: rename LSM APIs to MemWAL and align SSTable/table shard naming (#4075)
## What

Renames the MemWAL surface in two passes, across Rust, Python,
TypeScript, and Java, including the wire format.

### 1. MemWAL APIs drop "LSM"

The write path these APIs drive is Lance's MemWAL; "LSM" described its
shape rather than naming it. Turning it on and off now reads as enabling
a feature rather than installing a spec.

| Before | After |
|---|---|
| `set_lsm_write_spec` | `enable_memwal` |
| `unset_lsm_write_spec` | `disable_memwal` |
| `get_lsm_write_spec` | `get_memwal_spec` |
| `flush_lsm` / `compact_lsm` / `checkpoint_lsm` | `flush_memwal` /
`compact_memwal` / `checkpoint_memwal` |
| `get_lsm_stats` | `get_memwal_stats` |
| `close_lsm_writers` | `close_memwal_writers` |
| `use_lsm` (query, merge insert) | `use_memwal` |
| `LsmWriteSpec` / `LsmStats` | `MemWalWriteSpec` / `MemWalStats` |
| Java `LanceDbTableLsm` | `LanceDbTableMemWal` |

TypeScript and Java use camelCase (`enableMemWal`, `getMemWalStats`,
...); the napi methods set `js_name` so the generated names keep the
`MemWal` casing. flush/compact/checkpoint keep a `_memwal` suffix so
`compact_memwal` is not confused with `compact_files` / `optimize`,
which compact the base table.

Internal names (`LsmMode`, `LsmScanner`, the `merge::lsm` / `query::lsm`
modules) are unchanged.

### 2. Stats use SSTable and table shard

Aligns the stats surface with the MemWAL naming settled upstream in
lance-format/lance#7943 and #7957, where the persisted unit became an
**SSTable**.

**Generation → SSTable.** A `GenerationStats` describes one flushed
MemTable, which is an SSTable. The generation *number* is kept — an
SSTable is identified by its generation — so only the noun moved.

**Bucket → table shard.** Each entry is one MemWAL shard. "Bucket" names
only the hash sharding *transform*, so it was already wrong for
`identity` and `year` sharding, which produce shards and no buckets at
all.

| Before | After |
|---|---|
| `GenerationStats` | `SsTableStats` |
| `BucketStats` | `TableShardStats` |
| `stats.buckets` | `stats.table_shards` |
| `BucketStats.generations` | `TableShardStats.sstables` |
| `include_generation_rows` | `include_sstable_rows` |
| `newest_generation` | `newest_sstable_generation` |
| `outstanding_generations` | `outstanding_sstables` |

Docs and comments follow suit: "seal" → "freeze", "L0" / "flushed
generations" → SSTables, "bucket" (meaning a shard) → table shard.

`MemWalWriteSpec::bucket`, `num_buckets`, and the `"Sealed"` shard
status value are **unchanged** — those name the sharding transform or a
server value, not the shard.

## Compatibility

Breaking, for an experimental API. The wire format changes with the
SDKs, so this must roll out together with the matching server change:

- Routes: `/set_lsm_write_spec/` → `/enable_memwal/`,
`/unset_lsm_write_spec/` → `/disable_memwal/`, `/get_lsm_write_spec/` →
`/get_memwal_spec/`, `/flush_lsm/` → `/flush_memwal/`, `/compact_lsm/` →
`/compact_memwal/`, `/get_lsm_stats/` → `/get_memwal_stats/`
- Response keys: `lsm_write_spec` → `memwal_spec`, `lsm_stats` →
`memwal_stats`, `buckets` → `table_shards`, `generations` → `sstables`
- Request fields: `include_generation_rows` → `include_sstable_rows`;
`use_lsm` → `use_memwal` on query and merge-insert bodies

## Validation

- Rust: `cargo test --features remote -p lancedb --lib --tests` — 1467
lib tests and all integration test targets pass; `cargo clippy` clean
- Python: rebuilt the extension; `test_remote_db`, `test_memwal_spec`,
`test_merge_insert_lsm`, `test_query`, `test_permutation`, `test_table`
— 655 passed; `ruff format` / `ruff check` clean
- TypeScript: `pnpm build`; `table`, `merge`, `query` tests — 593
passed; `biome check` clean; `docs/src/js` regenerated with `npm run
docs`
- Java: `mvn test` — 37 passed (Spotless applied with JDK 11; the pinned
google-java-format does not run on JDK 21)

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-16 13:33:57 -05:00
..

LanceDB Java Enterprise Client

Configuration and Initialization

LanceDB Cloud

For LanceDB Cloud, use the simplified builder API:

import com.lancedb.LanceDbNamespaceClientBuilder;
import org.lance.namespace.LanceNamespace;

// If your DB url is db://example-db, then your database here is example-db
LanceNamespace namespaceClient = LanceDbNamespaceClientBuilder.newBuilder()
    .apiKey("your_lancedb_cloud_api_key")
    .database("your_database_name")
    .build();

LanceDB Enterprise

For Enterprise deployments, use your custom endpoint:

LanceNamespace namespaceClient = LanceDbNamespaceClientBuilder.newBuilder()
    .apiKey("your_lancedb_enterprise_api_key")
    .database("your_database_name")
    .endpoint("<your_enterprise_endpoint>")
    .build();

MemWAL write path

Most table operations reach LanceDB through the LanceNamespace above, which is generated from the Lance Namespace specification. The MemWAL LSM routes are not part of that specification, so they are issued through a separate client:

import com.lancedb.LanceDbRestClient;
import com.lancedb.LanceDbTableMemWal;
import com.lancedb.MemWalWriteSpec;

LanceDbRestClient client = LanceDbNamespaceClientBuilder.newBuilder()
    .apiKey("your_lancedb_cloud_api_key")
    .database("your_database_name")
    .buildRestClient();

LanceDbTableMemWal memWal = new LanceDbTableMemWal(client, "my_table");

// Route future merge_insert upserts through the MemWAL, hash-bucketed by `id`.
memWal.enableMemWal(MemWalWriteSpec.bucket("id", 16));

// ... merge_insert traffic ...

// Converge the fresh tier into the base table.
memWal.checkpointMemWal();

// Inspect live per-table-shard state.
memWal.getMemWalStats().ifPresent(stats -> stats.tableShards().forEach(tableShard ->
    System.out.println(tableShard.shardId() + ": " + tableShard.sstables().size() + " SSTables")));

client.close();

maintainedIndexes is tri-state, and the null default is the opposite of what a Java reader usually expects:

Value Meaning
unset (null) Maintain every index the table has, including ones created later
Collections.emptyList() Maintain none
Arrays.asList("id_idx") Maintain exactly those

Development

The parent POM includes https://maven.lance.org to resolve Lance beta and RC dependencies. Use an explicit lance-core.version; numbered beta and RC versions are Maven releases, not snapshots. Maven Central remains available for stable and historical versions, as well as other dependencies.

Build:

./mvnw install -pl lancedb-core -am

Run tests:

./mvnw test -pl lancedb-core