Skip to main content
PYSPARK • LESSON 175

Inspecting Physical Execution Plans with explain()

How do we print the full parsed, analyzed, optimized, and physical execution plans generated by Catalyst?

Expert2 Minutes1000 XP
🤔 THE QUESTION

How do we print the full parsed, analyzed, optimized, and physical execution plans generated by Catalyst?

💡 WHAT IS IT?

explain(extended=True) displays Catalyst's step-by-step optimization plan from logical AST to physical JVM bytecode.

🎯 WHAT IS IT USED FOR?

Diagnosing join strategies, verifying predicate pushdown, and identifying whole-stage code generation stages.

💻 EXAMPLE
df.explain(extended=True)

🎯 Mission Objectives

Practice typing production-grade PySpark code for Inspecting Physical Execution Plans with explain().

  • Execute explain(extended=True)
  • Inspect Catalyst optimizer physical plan
  • Verify predicate pushdown and join strategies