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Alex Merced

I like to code, teach and promote. Subscribe to the Web Dev 101 and Datanation podcasts. Blogs and videos at devNursery.com and GrokOverflow.com. Find everything at AlexMerced.com

Location Orlando, FL Joined Joined on  Personal website https://www.alexmerced.com github website

Work

Head of DevRel @ Dremio

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Single-Node Data Engineering: DuckDB, DataFusion, Polars, and LakeSail

Single-Node Data Engineering: DuckDB, DataFusion, Polars, and LakeSail

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18 min read

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An In-Depth Overview of the Apache Iceberg 1.11.0 Release

An In-Depth Overview of the Apache Iceberg 1.11.0 Release

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14 min read
Semantic Layer Best Practices: 7 Mistakes to Avoid

Semantic Layer Best Practices: 7 Mistakes to Avoid

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5 min read
How a Self-Documenting Semantic Layer Reduces Data Team Toil

How a Self-Documenting Semantic Layer Reduces Data Team Toil

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4 min read
Migrating to Apache Iceberg: Strategies for Every Source System

Migrating to Apache Iceberg: Strategies for Every Source System

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7 min read
Hands-On with Apache Iceberg Using Dremio Cloud

Hands-On with Apache Iceberg Using Dremio Cloud

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7 min read
Approaches to Streaming Data into Apache Iceberg Tables

Approaches to Streaming Data into Apache Iceberg Tables

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6 min read
Using Apache Iceberg with Python and MPP Query Engines

Using Apache Iceberg with Python and MPP Query Engines

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7 min read
Apache Iceberg Metadata Tables: Querying the Internals

Apache Iceberg Metadata Tables: Querying the Internals

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7 min read
Maintaining Apache Iceberg Tables: Compaction, Expiry, and Cleanup

Maintaining Apache Iceberg Tables: Compaction, Expiry, and Cleanup

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6 min read
How Data Lake Table Storage Degrades Over Time

How Data Lake Table Storage Degrades Over Time

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7 min read
When Catalogs Are Embedded in Storage

When Catalogs Are Embedded in Storage

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7 min read
Headless BI: How a Universal Semantic Layer Replaces Tool-Specific Models

Headless BI: How a Universal Semantic Layer Replaces Tool-Specific Models

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3 min read
Data Virtualization and the Semantic Layer: Query Without Copying

Data Virtualization and the Semantic Layer: Query Without Copying

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4 min read
What Are Lakehouse Catalogs? The Role of Catalogs in Apache Iceberg

What Are Lakehouse Catalogs? The Role of Catalogs in Apache Iceberg

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7 min read
Writing to an Apache Iceberg Table: How Commits and ACID Actually Work

Writing to an Apache Iceberg Table: How Commits and ACID Actually Work

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7 min read
Hidden Partitioning: How Iceberg Eliminates Accidental Full Table Scans

Hidden Partitioning: How Iceberg Eliminates Accidental Full Table Scans

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7 min read
Partition Evolution: Change Your Partitioning Without Rewriting Data

Partition Evolution: Change Your Partitioning Without Rewriting Data

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7 min read
Performance and Apache Iceberg's Metadata

Performance and Apache Iceberg's Metadata

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7 min read
AI Weekly: Google Reshapes the Coding Stack, Claude Pulls Ahead, and the Agent Protocol Stack Hardens (Week of May 13-20, 2026)

AI Weekly: Google Reshapes the Coding Stack, Claude Pulls Ahead, and the Agent Protocol Stack Hardens (Week of May 13-20, 2026)

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17 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: May 13-20, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: May 13-20, 2026

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18 min read
The Role of the Semantic Layer in Data Governance

The Role of the Semantic Layer in Data Governance

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4 min read
Why Your AI Initiatives Fail Without a Semantic Layer

Why Your AI Initiatives Fail Without a Semantic Layer

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4 min read
AI Weekly: Voice Models, Custom Silicon, MCP Goes Enterprise (May 7–13, 2026)

AI Weekly: Voice Models, Custom Silicon, MCP Goes Enterprise (May 7–13, 2026)

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16 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: May 7–13, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: May 7–13, 2026

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17 min read
AI Weekly: Free Web Tools, MCP Production Wins, Trusted-Compute Models (April 30–May 6, 2026)

AI Weekly: Free Web Tools, MCP Production Wins, Trusted-Compute Models (April 30–May 6, 2026)

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5 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 30–May 6, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 30–May 6, 2026

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9 min read
Performance and Apache Iceberg's Metadata

Performance and Apache Iceberg's Metadata

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7 min read
What is Dremio? The Unified Lakehouse and AI Platform

What is Dremio? The Unified Lakehouse and AI Platform

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5 min read
Semantic Layer: The Definitive Guide

Semantic Layer: The Definitive Guide

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16 min read
The Metadata Structure of Modern Table Formats

The Metadata Structure of Modern Table Formats

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7 min read
What Are Table Formats and Why Were They Needed?

What Are Table Formats and Why Were They Needed?

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8 min read
AI Weekly: Google's TPU Split, Cursor's $60B, and MCP at Scale

AI Weekly: Google's TPU Split, Cursor's $60B, and MCP at Scale

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4 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 23–29, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 23–29, 2026

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8 min read
The Journey from Scattered Data to an Apache Iceberg Lakehouse with Governed Agentic Analytics

The Journey from Scattered Data to an Apache Iceberg Lakehouse with Governed Agentic Analytics

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6 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 16–22, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 16–22, 2026

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7 min read
AI Weekly: Opus 4.7, Kimi K2.6, and a $25B Amazon Deal, April 16–22, 2026

AI Weekly: Opus 4.7, Kimi K2.6, and a $25B Amazon Deal, April 16–22, 2026

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5 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 9–15, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 9–15, 2026

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7 min read
AI Weekly: Agents, Models, and Chips — April 9–15, 2026

AI Weekly: Agents, Models, and Chips — April 9–15, 2026

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5 min read
Agentic Analytics on the Apache Lakehouse

Agentic Analytics on the Apache Lakehouse

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4 min read
Assembling the Apache Lakehouse: The Modular Architecture

Assembling the Apache Lakehouse: The Modular Architecture

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3 min read
What is Apache Arrow? Erasing the Serialization Tax

What is Apache Arrow? Erasing the Serialization Tax

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3 min read
What is Apache Polaris? Unifying the Iceberg Ecosystem

What is Apache Polaris? Unifying the Iceberg Ecosystem

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3 min read
What is Apache Iceberg? The Table Format Revolution

What is Apache Iceberg? The Table Format Revolution

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4 min read
What is Apache Parquet? Columns, Encoding, and Performance

What is Apache Parquet? Columns, Encoding, and Performance

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4 min read
Apache Software Foundation: History, Purpose, and Process

Apache Software Foundation: History, Purpose, and Process

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4 min read
AI Tools Race Heats Up: Week of April 3–9, 2026

AI Tools Race Heats Up: Week of April 3–9, 2026

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6 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 3–9, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: April 3–9, 2026

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7 min read
AI Tools Race Heats Up: Week of March 16 – April 2, 2026

AI Tools Race Heats Up: Week of March 16 – April 2, 2026

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4 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: March 16 – April 2, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: March 16 – April 2, 2026

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7 min read
# Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: March 20–27, 2026

# Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: March 20–27, 2026

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7 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: March 10–17, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: March 10–17, 2026

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8 min read
AI Weekly: Agents Take Over, MCP Evolves, and Models Battle for Code

AI Weekly: Agents Take Over, MCP Evolves, and Models Battle for Code

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4 min read
AI Weekly: March 3–10, 2026

AI Weekly: March 3–10, 2026

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5 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: March 3–10, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: March 3–10, 2026

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5 min read
My Non-Fiction Library: Books on Data Lakehouses, Apache Iceberg, AI, and Beyond

My Non-Fiction Library: Books on Data Lakehouses, Apache Iceberg, AI, and Beyond

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9 min read
Stories I Created: A Tour of My Fiction Books

Stories I Created: A Tour of My Fiction Books

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6 min read
How to Use Dremio with Claude CoWork: Connect, Query, and Build Data Apps

How to Use Dremio with Claude CoWork: Connect, Query, and Build Data Apps

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10 min read
How to Use Dremio with Claude Code: Connect, Query, and Build Data Apps

How to Use Dremio with Claude Code: Connect, Query, and Build Data Apps

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13 min read
Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: February 26 – March 5, 2026

Apache Data Lakehouse Weekly: February 26 – March 5, 2026

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6 min read
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