Principle:Apache Flink File Sink Builder Configuration
| Knowledge Sources | |
|---|---|
| Domains | Stream_Processing, File_IO |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-09 00:00 GMT |
Overview
A builder-based configuration pattern that constructs file sink connectors by specifying the base output path, serialization format, and chaining additional settings before materialization.
Description
The File Sink Builder Configuration principle enables the construction of file-based data sinks through a step-by-step builder pattern. It separates the concern of what data format to write (row-wise or bulk) from where to write it and how to manage file lifecycle (bucket assignment, rolling policies). This addresses the complexity of configuring distributed file writing by providing a type-safe, composable API that validates settings at build time rather than at runtime.
The principle distinguishes between two fundamental serialization approaches:
- Row Format: Records are serialized one at a time using an Encoder, suitable for text-based formats (CSV, JSON lines)
- Bulk Format: Records are accumulated and written in batches using a BulkWriter.Factory, suitable for columnar formats (Parquet, ORC)
Usage
Use this principle when designing a data pipeline that needs to write streaming or batch data to a filesystem. Choose Row Format when records can be independently serialized and the output should be human-readable or appendable. Choose Bulk Format when using columnar storage for analytical workloads where batch-oriented writing yields better compression and query performance.
Theoretical Basis
The builder pattern provides a fluent API for constructing complex objects:
// Abstract algorithm
1. Select format type (row or bulk) and specify base path
2. Optionally configure bucket assigner (defaults to DateTimeBucketAssigner)
3. Optionally configure rolling policy (defaults to DefaultRollingPolicy)
4. Optionally configure output file naming
5. Build the immutable FileSink instance
The key invariant is that the format type determines which builder subclass is returned, constraining subsequent configuration options at the type level.