Ibis vs Rocky

Ibis is a free, open-source Python dataframe library that provides a consistent API across more than 20 query backends. It lets users compose SQL and Python dataframe code, bringing data engineering and data science workflows together. For local dataframes, Ibis uses DuckDB by default and also names Polars and DataFusion. The project describes a workflow that can start locally and move to remote execution by changing a single line of code.

Ibis supports and tests Google BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks Cloud, and Amazon Athena; support for those cloud backends could move to best effort if funding ends. Supported data formats include CSV, TSV, JSON, Parquet, Delta Lake, and Avro. Install Ibis with a supported backend using pip, conda, mamba, or pixi. One package distinction matters: the PyPI package named ibis is separate from ibis-framework, and the two cannot coexist in one Python environment because both use the ibis module name. Operation coverage varies by backend due to differences in SQL dialects and upstream support. The project recommends GitHub and Zulip for help, and Voltron Data offers commercial support.

Rocky has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.