What is schema evolution and why is it important in large-scale pipelines?

Schema evolution allows data structures to change over time without breaking existing pipelines.

In real-world systems, data schemas evolve due to new business requirements. Schema evolution ensures backward and forward compatibility when columns are added, removed, or modified. Formats like Avro, Parquet, and Protobuf support schema evolution using versioning. Without it, pipelines break when upstream systems change unexpectedly.