Release notes

Firebolt continuously releases updates so that you can benefit from the latest and most stable service. These updates might happen daily, but we aggregate release notes to cover a longer time period for easier reference. The most recent release notes from the latest version are below.

Firebolt might roll out releases in phases. New features and changes may not yet be available to all accounts on the release date shown.

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.17

New Features

Introduced the IF function to enhance query readability and simplify conditional expressions
The new IF function simplifies query writing as a more concise alternative to the CASE WHEN expression.
You can now use IF(<cond_expr>, <then_expr>, <else_expr>) as a shorter equivalent to CASE WHEN <cond_expr> THEN <then_expr> ELSE <else_expr> END.

Added INCREMENTAL index optimization with VACUUM
The VACUUM statement now supports an INDEXES = INCREMENTAL option, allowing incremental optimization of related indexes. This new mode uses fewer resources compared to a full reevaluation, improving index layouts. Although incremental optimization may not achieve the optimal layout of a full reevaluation, it maintains a balance between performance and resource usage.

Added MAX_CONCURRENCY option to VACUUM statement
The VACUUM command now supports the MAX_CONCURRENCY option, enabling you to limit concurrent processes during optimization. This allows for control of the number of concurrent processes in a VACUUM operation, optimizing resource usage and improving performance in multi-threaded environments.

Added longitude wrapping for GEOGRAPHY data
Firebolt now automatically wraps longitude values outside the range of -180 to 180 degrees when parsing GEOGRAPHY data from WKT, GeoJSON, WKB, or using the ST_GeogPoint function. For example, POINT(180.5 1) is now correctly interpreted as POINT(-179.5 1). This improvement simplifies geographic data handling.

Enhanced the EXPLAIN function to support all SQL statements except for DDL and DCL
The EXPLAIN feature now supports analysis of all SQL statements. However, it does not provide output details for DDL (Data Definition Language) and DCL (Data Control Language) statements.

Performance Improvements

Optimized COPY FROM filtering performance
Filters applied to pseudo columns, such as $SOURCE_FILE_NAME and $SOURCE_FILE_TIMESTAMP, are now pushed down to the file listing during the COPY FROM process when using multiple URL and pattern locations. This enhancement improves performance by reducing unnecessary data processing and speeds up data loading operations.

Bug Fixes

Fixed latitude handling for LineString in WKT
Fixed an issue where latitudes outside the valid range of -90 to 90 degrees, in LineString data were incorrectly accepted when parsing from WKT. For example, LINESTRING(0.5 1, 1 90.5) now correctly returns an error instead of being interpreted as LINESTRING(0.5 1, -179 89.5). This fix enhances data integrity and prevents erroneous geographic entries.