What About Schema Changes?

Concepts: paSchemaEvolution, paDependencyMgmt

Schema evolution is not a one-off problem you solve - it is a platform capability you build. The question shifts from 'how do I handle a schema change' to 'how do I make schema changes a routine, safe operation across hundreds of pipelines and dozens of teams.' The interviewer wants to hear platform thinking. Breaking vs Non-Breaking Changes The last row is the most insidious. If a column called revenue changes from gross revenue to net revenue, the schema looks identical but every downstream calculation is wrong. Semantic changes must be treated as breaking even though no tooling can detect them automatically. Mention this in your interview and you show the interviewer you have been burned by the sneakiest kind of schema change. Contract Testing A data contract is a machine-readable speci