Is there a need of seperate Key Schema(other than a schema for fields) while writing Avro producer?

Question

I am writing Java Avro Producer code for my project. I have registered an Avro schema for all the fields which need to be passed.

My Registered Schema-

{

"name": "Claim",

"type": "record",

"namespace": "com.schema.avro",

"fields": [

{

  "name": "icn",

  "type": "string"

},

{

  "name": "fln,

  "type": "int"

},

]

}

I am using "icn" field value as a key but I don't have a key schema registered separately. I am not sure if that is required.

i) Can I directly use a field already in my current schema("icn" in this case) as the key without having to register a key schema?

ii) Do I need to register the key schema separately? If so, is that part of the schema already created for fields or is it different?

Answer 1

You are not required to use avro for keys. If your key is of type string you may use org.apache.kafka.common.serialization.StringSerializer. If you want to use avro, you need to register the schema for each object type.