Apache Spark, the in-memory processing system that’s fast become a centerpiece of modern big data frameworks, has officially released its long-awaited version 2.0. Aside from some major usability and performance improvements, Spark 2.0’s mission is to become a total solution for streaming and real-time data. This comes as a number of other projects — including others from the Apache Foundation — provide their own ways to boost real-time and in-memory processing.

Most of Spark 2.0’s big changes have been known well in advance, which has made them even more hotly anticipated. One of the largest and most technologically ambitious additions is Project Tungsten, a reworking of Spark’s treatment for memory and code generation.

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