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DeleteFile

DeleteFile describes a delete artifact tracked by an Iceberg table. Delete files let engines represent row-level deletes without rewriting every underlying data file immediately.

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Delete file types

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Position deletes

Position deletes identify rows by data-file path and row position.

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Equality deletes

Equality deletes identify rows by matching one or more column values.

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Common usage

You usually encounter DeleteFile when working with RowDelta, merge workflows, and maintenance tasks that rewrite or compact delete files. 
DeleteFile deletes = FileMetadata.deleteFileBuilder(table.spec())
    .ofPositionDeletes()
    .withPath("s3://warehouse/db/table/delete-file.parquet")
    .withFileSizeInBytes(4_096L)
    .withRecordCount(25L)
    .build();

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