Pure Ruby Apache Arrow reader/writer
Kouhei Sutou • Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan • Japanese • Talk

Held on: April 24, 2026
Published: not published

Apache Arrow is the de fact standard data format in modern data processing systems. We can use the official Red Arrow gem to process Apache Arrow data. It's suitable for fast large data processing but it's over-performance for only low cost data exchange needs. Red Arrow is larger and a bit difficult to install than pure Ruby gems because Red Arrow is implemented as bindings.

I'm implementing the official pure Ruby Apache Arrow reader/writer for only low cost data exchange needs. I expect that more Ruby libraries and applications add support for Apache Arrow inputs/outputs by the pure Ruby Apache Arrow reader/writer. Ruby can be used more for data processing by it.

This talk describes how to implement fast pure Ruby binary data reader/writer and the future of data processing in Ruby.

This is a 2025 Ruby Association Grant project: https://www.ruby.or.jp/en/news/20251030

RubyKaigi 2026