Is your feature request related to a problem or challenge?

DataFusion currently uses arrow-json's LineDelimitedReader, which is optimized for NDJSON format. When we encounter data sources that provide JSON arrays (i.e., [{...}, {...}]), we run into parsing issues.

Describe the solution you'd like

Add a format_array option to JsonOptions to support reading JSON array format:

CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE my_table
STORED AS JSON
OPTIONS ('format.format_array' 'true')
LOCATION 'path/to/array.json';

• Backward compatible - existing code continues to work unchanged (default is line-delimited)
• Explicit control - users can specify which format they're working with

Implementation approach

Since arrow-json's ReaderBuilder only supports line-delimited JSON directly, the implementation:

1. Parses JSON array [{...}, {...}] with serde_json
2. Converts to NDJSON format for arrow-json's ReaderBuilder to process

Note: JSON array format does not support range-based file scanning (repartition_file_scans) since the entire array must be read to parse correctly.

Describe alternatives you've considered

• Auto-detection of format: Rejected due to potential errors with large files and added complexity
• Waiting for arrow-json native support: No timeline for this feature upstream

Additional context