Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

TiDB VS Apache Spark

Compare TiDB VS Apache Spark and see what are their differences

TiDB logo TiDB

A distributed NewSQL database compatible with MySQL protocol

Apache Spark logo Apache Spark

Apache Spark is an engine for big data processing, with built-in modules for streaming, SQL, machine learning and graph processing.
  • TiDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-26
  • Apache Spark Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-31

TiDB features and specs

  • Scalability
    TiDB offers horizontal scalability, allowing you to add more nodes to handle increased loads seamlessly. This makes it suitable for applications expected to grow rapidly.
  • MySQL Compatibility
    TiDB is highly compatible with MySQL, enabling easy migration from MySQL databases and allowing developers to use familiar MySQL tools and syntax.
  • Distributed Architecture
    TiDB's distributed architecture allows it to maintain high availability and reliability, with the ability to continue operating even if some nodes fail.
  • HTAP Capabilities
    TiDB supports Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing (HTAP), which lets users perform real-time analytical queries on fresh transactional data without needing separate systems.
  • Strong Consistency
    TiDB ensures strong consistency across distributed transactions, maintaining data integrity without sacrificing performance.

Possible disadvantages of TiDB

  • Complex Deployment
    TiDB's distributed nature can make deployment and management more complex compared to traditional single-node databases, requiring specialized knowledge.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running a TiDB cluster can be resource-intensive, requiring more hardware resources compared to monolithic databases for optimal performance.
  • Evolving Ecosystem
    As a relatively new system, TiDB's surrounding ecosystem is still evolving, potentially leading to a lack of comprehensive ecosystem tools and third-party integrations.
  • Operational Overheads
    Maintaining and monitoring a TiDB cluster can introduce additional operational overheads due to its numerous components and dependencies.
  • Learning Curve
    For teams accustomed to traditional databases, there may be a steep learning curve when adopting TiDB, especially in understanding its distributed features and best practices.

Apache Spark features and specs

  • Speed
    Apache Spark processes data in-memory, significantly increasing the processing speed of data tasks compared to traditional disk-based engines.
  • Ease of Use
    Spark offers high-level APIs in Java, Scala, Python, and R, making it accessible to a broad range of developers and data scientists.
  • Advanced Analytics
    Spark supports advanced analytics, including machine learning, graph processing, and real-time streaming, which can be executed in the same application.
  • Scalability
    Spark can handle both small- and large-scale data processing tasks, scaling seamlessly from a single machine to thousands of servers.
  • Support for Various Data Sources
    Spark can integrate with a wide variety of data sources, including HDFS, Apache HBase, Apache Hive, Cassandra, and many others.
  • Active Community
    Spark has a vibrant and active community, providing a wealth of extensions, tools, and support options.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Spark

  • Memory Consumption
    Spark's in-memory processing can be resource-intensive, requiring substantial amounts of RAM, which can drive up costs for large-scale deployments.
  • Complexity in Configuration
    To optimize performance, Spark requires careful configuration and tuning, which can be complex and time-consuming.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its ease of use, mastering the full range of Spark's features and best practices can take considerable time and effort.
  • Latency for Small Data
    For smaller datasets or low-latency requirements, Spark might not be the most efficient choice, as other technologies could offer better performance.
  • Integration Overhead
    Though Spark integrates with many systems, incorporating it into an existing data infrastructure can introduce additional overhead and complexity.
  • Community Support Variability
    While the community is active, the support and quality of third-party libraries and tools can be inconsistent, leading to potential challenges in implementation.

TiDB videos

Hands-On TiDB - Episode 1: A Brief Introduction to TiDB

More videos:

  • Review - TiDB Contributor 学习之路
  • Tutorial - TiDB Binlog Tutorial

Apache Spark videos

Weekly Apache Spark live Code Review -- look at StringIndexer multi-col (Scala) & Python testing

More videos:

  • Review - What's New in Apache Spark 3.0.0
  • Review - Apache Spark for Data Engineering and Analysis - Overview

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to TiDB and Apache Spark)
Databases
23 23%
77% 77
Relational Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Big Data
0 0%
100% 100
NoSQL Databases
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare TiDB and Apache Spark

TiDB Reviews

20+ MongoDB Alternatives You Should Know About
TiDB is another take on MySQL compatible sharding. This NewSQL engine is MySQL wire protocol compatible but underneath is a distributed database designed from the ground up.
Source: www.percona.com

Apache Spark Reviews

15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Apache Spark is an open source data processing and analytics engine that can handle large amounts of data -- upward of several petabytes, according to proponents. Spark's ability to rapidly process data has fueled significant growth in the use of the platform since it was created in 2009, helping to make the Spark project one of the largest open source communities among big...
Top 15 Kafka Alternatives Popular In 2021
Apache Spark is a well-known, general-purpose, open-source analytics engine for large-scale, core data processing. It is known for its high-performance quality for data processing – batch and streaming with the help of its DAG scheduler, query optimizer, and engine. Data streams are processed in real-time and hence it is quite fast and efficient. Its machine learning...
5 Best-Performing Tools that Build Real-Time Data Pipeline
Apache Spark is an open-source and flexible in-memory framework which serves as an alternative to map-reduce for handling batch, real-time analytics and data processing workloads. It provides native bindings for the Java, Scala, Python, and R programming languages, and supports SQL, streaming data, machine learning and graph processing. From its beginning in the AMPLab at...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Spark should be more popular than TiDB. It has been mentiond 70 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

TiDB mentions (17)

  • TiDB – cloud-native, distributed SQL database written in Go
    I do want to clarify a few points, on the project page it does provide the following information: > Distributed Transactions: TiDB uses a two-phase commit protocol to ensure ACID compliance, providing strong consistency. Transactions span multiple nodes, and TiDB's distributed nature ensures data correctness even in the presence of network partitions or node failures. > … > High Availability: Built-in Raft... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • TiDB – cloud-native, distributed SQL database written in Go
    Note that TiDB did subject itself to Jepsen testing (relatively) early. Here's their 2019 results: https://jepsen.io/analyses/tidb-2.1.7 The devil is in the details, and anyone who is looking to implement TiDB for data correctness should read through not just this but other currently-open correctness-related Github issues: e.g., https://github.com/pingcap/tidb/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aopen%20correctness. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • A MySQL compatible database engine written in pure Go
    Tidb has been around for a while, it is distributed, written in Go and Rust, and MySQL compatible. https://github.com/pingcap/tidb. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (January 2023)
    PingCAP | https://www.pingcap.com | Database Engineer, Product Manager, Developer Advocate and more | Remote in California | Full-time We work on a MySQL compatible distributed database called TiDB https://github.com/pingcap/tidb/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Apache Pegasus – A a distributed key-value storage system
    Isn't TiDB built on top of TiKV?[0] [0]: https://github.com/pingcap/tidb. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
View more

Apache Spark mentions (70)

  • Every Database Will Support Iceberg — Here's Why
    Apache Iceberg defines a table format that separates how data is stored from how data is queried. Any engine that implements the Iceberg integration — Spark, Flink, Trino, DuckDB, Snowflake, RisingWave — can read and/or write Iceberg data directly. - Source: dev.to / 24 days ago
  • How to Reduce Big Data Analytics Costs by 90% with Karpenter and Spark
    Apache Spark powers large-scale data analytics and machine learning, but as workloads grow exponentially, traditional static resource allocation leads to 30–50% resource waste due to idle Executors and suboptimal instance selection. - Source: dev.to / 25 days ago
  • Unveiling the Apache License 2.0: A Deep Dive into Open Source Freedom
    One of the key attributes of Apache License 2.0 is its flexible nature. Permitting use in both proprietary and open source environments, it has become the go-to choice for innovative projects ranging from the Apache HTTP Server to large-scale initiatives like Apache Spark and Hadoop. This flexibility is not solely legal; it is also philosophical. The license is designed to encourage transparency and maintain a... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • The Application of Java Programming In Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence
    [1] S. Russell and P. Norvig, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach. Pearson, 2020. [2] F. Chollet, Deep Learning with Python. Manning Publications, 2018. [3] C. C. Aggarwal, Data Mining: The Textbook. Springer, 2015. [4] J. Dean and S. Ghemawat, "MapReduce: Simplified Data Processing on Large Clusters," Communications of the ACM, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 107-113, 2008. [5] Apache Software Foundation, "Apache... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Automating Enhanced Due Diligence in Regulated Applications
    If you're designing an event-based pipeline, you can use a data streaming tool like Kafka to process data as it's collected by the pipeline. For a setup that already has data stored, you can use tools like Apache Spark to batch process and clean it before moving ahead with the pipeline. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing TiDB and Apache Spark, you can also consider the following products

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Apache Flink - Flink is a streaming dataflow engine that provides data distribution, communication, and fault tolerance for distributed computations.

OceanBase - Unlimited scalable distributed database for data intensive transaction & real-time operational analytics workload, with ultra fast performance of maintaining the world record of both TPC-C and TPC-H benchmark tests.

Hadoop - Open-source software for reliable, scalable, distributed computing

ClickHouse - ClickHouse is an open-source column-oriented database management system that allows generating analytical data reports in real time.

Apache Kafka - Apache Kafka is an open-source message broker project developed by the Apache Software Foundation written in Scala.