Apache Avro is a framework used for serializing and deserializing data, primarily in the context of data interchange between different components of a distributed system. It uses a binary format for efficient data storage and transmission, and it supports rich data structures such as records, arrays, and maps. One of Avro’s key features is its support for schema evolution, which allows for changes to the data schema without breaking compatibility with existing data. This makes it suitable for use cases where the schema may evolve over time, such as in big data processing and streaming data applications. Avro is commonly used with Apache Hadoop and other data processing frameworks to ensure efficient and reliable data serialization.