> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://george-jen.gitbook.io/data-science-and-apache-spark/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://george-jen.gitbook.io/data-science-and-apache-spark/apache-arrow.md).

# Apache Arrow

Apache Arrow is an in-memory columnar data format that is used in Spark to efficiently transfer data between JVM and Python processes. This currently is most beneficial to Python users that work with Pandas/NumPy data. Its usage is not automatic and might require some minor changes to configuration or code to take full advantage and ensure compatibility.

![](https://2100080250-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-M1PNTHVApkPePuMdTu3%2F-M4hEvFEMpxghDGK0acG%2F-M4jXzcKtUGUVhcrgZAp%2Farrow.png?alt=media\&token=f908884f-970d-4c4e-9006-2b43cd92bcbf)