Spark Connect has several advantages compared to Spark Classic:
Spark Connect is easier to maintain because the Client and Spark Driver don't necessarily need to run the same software versions. The Spark Driver can be updated independently from the Client.
Spark Connect lets you build Spark connectors in non-JVM languages without any Java/JVM dependency. See the Spark Connect Go and Spark Connect Rust connectors as examples. They don't have any external dependencies.
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