Metadata.json is duplicated when creating Iceberg table in catalog directly from ClickHouse

[alsugiliazova]

Comparison of the Two JSON Metadata Files

The two files (I compare two files written at the same time 12:50) are almost identical in content. The main difference is one timestamp value, plus formatting and key ordering.

Area	File 1	File 2	Meaning
metadata-log[0].timestamp-ms	1782384448119	1782384616592	Different
JSON key order	Different order	Different order	No semantic difference
Formatting	More compact, 2-space style	More expanded, 4-space style	No semantic difference
Schema, snapshots, partition spec, sort order, properties, UUID, location	Same	Same	No meaningful difference

Main Difference

The only meaningful structural difference is:

metadata-log[0].timestamp-ms

[alsugiliazova]

On table drop one of these two sets of metadata is not dropped even though I set SET iceberg_delete_data_on_drop = 1;

which causes this exception after I try to recreate table with the same name and path:

Received exception from server (version 26.3.13):
Code: 57. DB::Exception: Received from localhost:9000. DB::Exception: Iceberg table with path data/namespace_2bf04ed4_708f_11f1_bdcd_de7b9eea3491/iceberg_table1/ already exists. (TABLE_ALREADY_EXISTS)