Creating and using RDD versus DataFrame versus Dataset from a text file in Spark 2.0

In this recipe, we explore the subtle differences in creating RDD, DataFrame, and Dataset from a text file and their relationship to each other via a short sample code:

Dataset: spark.read.textFile()
RDD: spark.sparkContext.textFile()
DataFrame: spark.read.text()

Note

Assume spark is the session name

How to do it...

1. Start a new project in IntelliJ or in an IDE of your choice. Make sure the necessary JAR files are included.
2. Set up the package location where the program will reside:

package spark.ml.cookbook.chapter4

3. Import the necessary packages for the Spark session to gain access to the cluster and log4j.Logger to reduce the amount of output produced by Spark:

import org.apache.log4j.{Level, Logger}
import org.apache.spark.sql.SparkSession

4. We also define a case class to host the data used:

case class Beatle(id: Long, name: String)

5. Set the output level to ERROR to reduce Spark's logging output:

Logger.getLogger("org...