**Why it matters**: At scale, design choices directly impact reliability, latency, and cost. Wrong decisions compound across jobs and teams.
Grade assignment with UDF: `from pyspark.sql.functions import udf`; `def grade(score): return 'A' if score>=90 else 'B' if score>=80 else 'C'`; `grade_udf = udf(grade, StringType())`; `df.withColumn('grade', grade_udf(col('score')))`....
The complete answer continues with detailed implementation patterns, architectural trade-offs, and production-grade considerations. It covers performance optimization strategies, common pitfalls to avoid, and real-world examples from companies like Capgemini. The answer also includes follow-up discussion points that interviewers commonly explore.
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