**Source**: How data is stored—S3 path (dt=2024-01-01/), Kafka topic partition. **Sink**: How we write—table partition columns, file layout. **Mismatch**: Source flat, sink partitioned—repartition in pipeline. Source partitioned, sink different key—repartition. **Align when possible**: Same partition key = partition pruning on read. **Over-partitioning sink**: Many small files; coalesce....
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