Class ExternalMetadataAttribute

All Implemented Interfaces:
NamedWriteable, Writeable, Resolvable, VirtualAttribute

public class ExternalMetadataAttribute extends TypedAttribute implements VirtualAttribute
Virtual column for external data sources (file metadata, partition columns). Behaves like a regular column for resolution and filtering but is excluded from wildcard (*) expansion — users must name it explicitly.

Mirrors MetadataAttribute's shape but extends TypedAttribute directly because MetadataAttribute is final. Implements the VirtualAttribute marker so format-level pushdown rules (filter and aggregate) reject it - values are materialized by VirtualColumnIterator on the producer thread and have no presence in the underlying file's schema.