API: remove the table keyword, replaced by fmt='s|t' by jreback · Pull Request #4645 · pandas-dev/pandas (original) (raw)

tables are fundamentally different than fixed

they can be appended and queried (via expression)

see put vs append

the default is for back compat

they are two different storage back ends

think hard disk vs tape (not a great analogy because fixed are much faster)

PyTables supports many different types of storage formats (because HDF5 does)

the impetuous for the format parameter in general is really to support a new table type at some point

ctable - or column oriented tables

the user has to select a backend at creation time and they each have fundamental different access patterns and perf characteristics and so can/should be used in diverse situations

u basically pick the format depending in the problem