Release notes archive

We provide an archive of release notes for your historical reference.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.21

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New Features

Enabled renaming of databases with the ALTER DATABASE <existing name> RENAME TO <new name> command

Users can now rename databases using the ALTER DATABASE <existing name> RENAME TO <new name> command. This update provides greater flexibility in managing database names, allowing for easier organization and management.

Expanded the information_schema.engine_query_history table with NODE_ORDINAL, CLUSTER_ORDINAL, and NUMBER_OF_CLUSTERS columns to enhance query distribution insights and engine scaling behavior analysis

The information_schema.engine_query_history table now includes three new columns: NODE_ORDINAL, CLUSTER_ORDINAL, and NUMBER_OF_CLUSTERS. NODE_ORDINAL identifies the node that received the query, CLUSTER_ORDINAL indicates the engine cluster that handled the query, and NUMBER_OF_CLUSTERS shows the number of clusters active during the query.

These additions help users understand query distribution across clusters and provide insights into engine scaling behavior, such as automatic upscaling and downscaling.

Add preliminary support for STRUCT data type

Added preliminary support for STRUCT data type. This feature is in public preview. We are gathering feedback and further refining this feature. For details, please refer to the Firebolt SQL reference.

Added evicted_bytes to information_schema.engine_metrics_history

Added a new metric that tracks the total amount of data (in bytes) that has been evicted from disk. This metric helps users monitor disk space management and understand how much data is being evicted from the cache. For details, please refer to the Information schema for engine metrics history.

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Performance Improvements

Enhanced REGEXP_LIKE_ANY performance

We have significantly improved the performance of REGEXP_LIKE_ANY by up to 10x when the pattern list (<pattern>) contains no regular expression metacharacters. By intelligently detecting these cases, we now leverage Hyperscan, a high-performance regex engine, in combination with the Volnitsky text search algorithm to deliver substantial speedups in text matching workloads.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.20

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New Features

Introduced the ARRAYS_OVERLAP function to identify shared elements in input arrays
Introduced the ARRAYS_OVERLAP function to determine if two or more input arrays share common elements. This enhancement enables users to identify overlapping array elements, improving data analysis capabilities.

Added the NGRAM function to generate overlapping n-grams from text
Added a new scalar function: NGRAM. The function NGRAM(n, text) generates a sequence of overlapping n-grams from the given text. Each n-gram is a contiguous substring of n characters. It returns the result as an SQL array of text. This function is useful for text analysis and can help in search queries.

Example:

SELECT ngram(4, 'abc😊def');

Results:

{abc😊,bc😊d,c😊de,😊def}

Added support for VALUES lists to create constant tables
Added support for VALUES lists to create an in-memory constant table with one or multiple rows for use in queries. For example:

SELECT * FROM (VALUES (1, 'one'), (2, 'two'), (3, 'three')) AS t (num, letter);

is effectively equivalent to:

SELECT 1 AS num, 'one' AS letter
UNION ALL
SELECT 2, 'two'
UNION ALL
SELECT 3, 'three';

Syntactically, VALUES can be used anywhere a SELECT is allowed.

Added support for $$ to quote multiline string literals containing newlines and single quotes
Added support for $$ to quote string literals that contain newlines and single quotes. This enhancement helps users create multiline strings without needing to escape special characters, making SQL scripts easier to read and maintain. For example:

SELECT $$
That's a 
   multi-line
     string
       literal
$$

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Performance Improvements

Improved Aggregating index scan performance by eliminating unnecessary re-aggregation
The Aggregating index scan now detects when data is already fully aggregated. It directly projects results without re-aggregating. This improvement reduces query latency and increases performance for applicable workloads.

Enhanced schema discovery performance for Parquet files in COPY FROM and READ_PARQUET() functions
Enhanced the performance of Automatic Schema Discovery for Parquet files in the COPY FROM command and the READ_PARQUET() function. This improvement accelerates data loading and processing for users.

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Bug Fixes

Fixed the information_schema.tables.ddl output for tables using TO_... family of functions in the partition expression
Fixed the information_schema.tables.ddl output for tables with a partition expression such as TO_YYYYMMDD. This update ensures that the expression no longer incorrectly results in the TO_YEARMONTHDAY function.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.19

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New Features

Added support for GROUPING SETS, ROLLUP and CUBE clauses
Expanded SQL support with the addition of GROUPING SETS, ROLLUP and CUBE clauses for GROUP BY operations. These clauses enable more flexible and efficient multi-level aggregations in a single query, simplifying complex reporting and analytics workflows.

• GROUPING SETS: Specify multiple groupings in a single query.
• ROLLUP: Create subtotals that roll up from the most detailed level to a grand total.
• CUBE: Generate subtotals for all combinations of a set of columns. These enhancements unlock more powerful data summarization directly within SQL.

Added COVAR_POP, COVAR_SAMP and CORR functions
Added support for advanced statistical analysis directly in SQL with the introduction of the following aggregate functions:

• COVAR_POP : Calculates the population covariance between two sets of values.
• COVAR_SAMP : Computes the sample covariance.
• CORR : Returns the Pearson correlation coefficient. These functions enable deeper insight into relationships between variables, making it easier to perform in-database analytics without external tools.

Added ARRAY_INTERSECT function to find common elements in arrays
Added a new function ARRAY_INTERSECT, which finds common elements across given arrays. This functionality simplifies operations that require comparing multiple arrays to identify shared items, enhancing data analysis capabilities.

Added the ability to attach a certificate’s public key to a service account using ALTER SERVICE ACCOUNT.

Added the ability to control an engine’s Auto VACUUM behavior
CREATE ENGINE and ALTER ENGINE statements now support an AUTO_VACUUM parameter.

Added the ability to revoke a privilege for a specific object, even if the privilege is inherited via an ANY-privilege from its parent object.
We’ve added the ability to revoke a privilege for a specific object, even when that privilege is inherited through an ANY-privilege granted to the parent object. For example, if a SELECT ANY privilege is granted on a schema, it is now possible to revoke the SELECT privilege for a specific table within that schema.

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Performance Improvements

Reduced memory usage for the COPY TO function with SINGLE_FILE=true
Memory usage was reduced when using the COPY TO function with SINGLE_FILE=true. This change optimizes performance and resource efficiency, especially for users dealing with large datasets.

Enabled RESULT and SUBRESULT cache to reuse query results between user interface and JDBC connector
The RESULT and SUBRESULT cache now reuses query results between those sent from the user interface and those sent from the JDBC connector. This improves performance by reducing redundant computations.

Rearchitected the Parquet reader for more predictable memory usage with external tables and the READ_PARQUET function
We have significantly rearchitected our parquet reader. This should lead to more predictable memory usage when reading from external tables or using the READ_PARQUET function and improve performance for many parquet workloads. More improvements, including bringing these changes to COPY FROM, will follow in upcoming releases.

Improved join pruning to support more join types and pruning through window operators
Join pruning now supports almost any join between the table scan being pruned and the probe side of the join where pruning is applied. It now also supports pruning through window operators when the column used for pruning is included in all windows’ PARTITION BY clause. This enhancement improves query performance by reducing unnecessary data processing.

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Behavior Changes

Updated how ANY privileges are displayed in information_schema.object_privileges
The representation of privileges in the information_schema.object_privileges has been updated so that all objects privileges granted to the user are explicitly enumerated. So usage any database on account privilege will be expanded to:

• usage any database on account
• usage database db1
• usage database db2 …

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.18

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New Features

Users can now ALTER their corresponding USER object without administrative or RBAC permissions
Users can now ALTER their corresponding USER object and change its properties without needing role-based access control permissions (RBAC). This enhancement simplifies user self-management by reducing the dependency on administrative permissions. Restrictions remain for sensitive properties including logins or service accounts, which require higher-level permissions.

Use a LOCATION object to store credentials for authentication
You can now use CREATE LOCATION to create a LOCATION object in your Firebolt account. Use LOCATION to store credentials and authenticate to external systems without needing to provide static credentials each time you run a query or create a table. LOCATION works with (RBAC) so you can manage permissions securely. You can view detailed information about your locations including source type, URL, description, owner, and creation time in information_schema.locations.

Added creation timestamps for tables, views, indexes, and locations
Use creation timestamps in information_schema views for tables, views, indexes, and locations to help track objects for data management.

Added support for SQL pipe syntax
Firebolt now supports SQL Pipe syntax, an alternative way to structure SQL queries using the |> operator. This syntax allows for a linear, step-by-step flow of query transformations, improving readability and simplifying query composition. It supports all standard SQL operations and can be combined with traditional SQL syntax.

Added wildcard character functionality to READ_PARQUET and READ_CSV to simultaneously read multiple files
You can use wildcard characters such as * or ? to specify a file URL as a glob pattern in the READ_PARQUET and READ_CSV table-valued functions to read multiple files simultaneously. This enhancement simplifies managing large datasets by reducing the need to make multiple function calls.

Added functionality to transfer ownership of objects in the Firebolt Workspace
You can now transfer ownership of Firebolt objects through the Firebolt Workspace user interface (UI). You can transfer ownership of individual objects or bulk transfer owned by a specific user. You can also delete individual objects or in bulk, helping to simplify the management of object ownership within the UI.

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Performance Improvements

Enabled result and subresult caching for queries with window functions
Enabled result and subresult caching for queries that contain window functions, which can reduce query runtimes by storing previous results and enhance overall query performance and efficiency.

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Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where CREATE VIEW statements did not preserve the order of named function parameters
An issue was resolved where CREATE VIEW statements did not maintain the correct order of named function parameters, which could lead to syntax errors when querying the view. This fix improves query reliability by ensuring the proper order of function parameters.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.17

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.16

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New Features

Added MAX_CONCURRENCY option to the VACUUM statement for enhanced concurrency control
The VACUUM statement now includes the MAX_CONCURRENCY option, allowing users to limit the number of concurrent streams. This improves control over resource usage during VACUUM operations.

Introduced the INDEXES = ALL | NONE for the VACUUM statement
The VACUUM statement now supports the INDEXES = ALL | NONE option, giving users control over whether indexes are optimized during VACUUM operations.

VACUUM now runs automatically
Firebolt now automatically evaluates the data layout of tables and runs VACUUM to optimize performance and storage efficiency. After INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE operations modify data, the engine that performed the operation determines whether VACUUM is required. This decision is based on factors such as the number of deleted rows and the need to consolidate storage for faster query performance and reduced disk space usage.

Added support for casting text literals to interval literals
Firebolt now supports casting text literals to interval literals using expressions like '1 month'::INTERVAL, making it easier to define time intervals in queries.

Added default value support for GEOGRAPHY columns
Firebolt now supports default values for columns with the GEOGRAPHY data type. For example, CREATE TABLE geo_table (geo_column GEOGRAPHY DEFAULT 'GEOMETRYCOLLECTION EMPTY') ensures consistency across database entries when no explicit value is provided.

Added MIN_CLUSTERS and MAX_CLUSTERS columns to INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ENGINES
The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ENGINES table now includes MIN_CLUSTERS and MAX_CLUSTERS columns, providing visibility into cluster configuration for improved database management.

Added support for STATEMENT_TIMEOUT to manage query run time limits
Added support for STATEMENT_TIMEOUT. This feature specifies the number of milliseconds a statement is allowed to run. Any statement or query exceeding the specified time is canceled. A value of zero disables the timeout by default. Using STATEMENT_TIMEOUT helps prevent excessively long-running queries, improving system efficiency and resource use.

Added the PostgreSQL function DATE(<arg>) as an alternative to <arg>::DATE
Firebolt now supports the DATE(<arg>) function, offering an alternative to the <arg>::DATE syntax for improved readability and usability in SQL queries.

Added support for FROM first syntax
SQL queries can now use FROM before SELECT, allowing for more flexible query structures such as FROM t SELECT a, SUM(b) GROUP BY a or even FROM t without a SELECT clause.

Support for AWS PrivateLink is now in public preview
Firebolt now supports AWS PrivateLink, allowing Firebolt Enterprise customers to securely access the Firebolt API without exposing traffic to the public internet. AWS PrivateLink enhances security, minimizes data exposure, and improves network reliability by keeping traffic within AWS.

Added concurrency auto-scaling
Engines can now be created with concurrency auto-scaling enabled, or modified to enable concurrency auto-scaling. Setting the MIN_CLUSTERS and MAX_CLUSTERS parameters on CREATE ENGINE and ALTER ENGINE commands turns on concurrency auto-scaling: the engine will dynamically resize between the specified MIN_CLUSTERS and MAX_CLUSTERS values to match demand.

Firebolt introduces three fully managed editions

Firebolt now offers Standard, Enterprise, and Dedicated editions, each designed for different capabilities, security, and scalability needs.

• Standard: High-performance, elastic scaling – in and out, up and down – for cost-efficient, fully managed analytics on a single cluster.
• Enterprise & Dedicated: Includes scaling capabilities like multi-cluster scaling, as well as advanced security features like AWS PrivateLink.
• Dedicated: Built for regulated industries (finance, healthcare) with single-tenant infrastructure and compliance with HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO.

Enterprise and Dedicated customers also get 24/7 support with faster support response times, Slack-based support, and support from a designated engineer. For more information on Firebolt’s editions, refer to the Pricing and billing page.

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Performance Improvements

Introduced pruning for GEOGRAPHY columns at the tablet level to enhance query performance
Firebolt now prunes GEOGRAPHY data at the tablet level to enhance query performance. To activate spatial pruning on tables created before this release, run VACUUM. For additional details, see our blog post.

Added INDEX_GRANULARITY storage parameter to optimize table storage
The CREATE TABLE statement now supports the INDEX_GRANULARITY storage parameter, allowing users to configure internal tablet range sizes for better performance based on query patterns.

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Bug Fixes

Fixed permission conflicts on public schemas across multiple databases
Resolved an issue where granting identical permissions on public schemas in different databases caused conflicts. This fix ensures correct permission application for improved database security.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.15

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New Features

Improved EXPLAIN (STATISTICS) to include estimated row counts and column distinct counts

The EXPLAIN (STATISTICS) function now provides estimated row counts and column distinct counts, when available. This enhancement offers more detailed insights for analyzing query performance.

Added a Tableau connector for the current version of Firebolt

Tableau is a visual analytics platform that empowers users to explore, analyze, and present data through interactive visualizations. The current Firebolt connector in Tableau Exchange supports only an older version of Firebolt. You can now download the latest connector directly from Firebolt and integrate it with Tableau Desktop or Tableau Server. Follow the installation instructions in Integrate with Tableau to set up the updated connector.

Added a DBeaver connector for the current version of Firebolt

DBeaver is a free, open-source database administration tool that supports multiple database types, provides a graphical interface for managing databases, running queries, and analyzing data. You can now connect to DBeaver using the Firebolt JDBC driver. Follow the instructions in Integrate with DBeaver to set up a connection to DBeaver.

Added the Firebolt Resource Center to the Firebolt Workspace

The Firebolt Resource Center is now accessible from the Firebolt Workspace. Select the Firebolt icon in the bottom-right corner to access resources including the Get started guide, Knowledge Center, Documentation, Release notes, Announcements, and a unified search tool covering all Firebolt resources.

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Performance Improvements

Optimized LEFT JOIN conversion for better query performance

A nested LEFT JOIN can now be automatically replaced with a more efficient join when its results are not needed due to filtering in a later step. This optimization occurs when a LEFT JOIN removes rows where the right-hand side contains NULL values, effectively discarding the extra rows introduced by the earlier LEFT JOIN. In such cases, simplifying the join structure improves efficiency without altering query results. This conversion reduces unnecessary operations, lowering computational overhead and enhancing performance.

Improved performance by allowing multiple INSERT INTO <tbl> VALUES ... statements to be combined in a single request

Workloads that send multiple consecutive INSERT INTO <tbl> VALUES ... statements into the same table can now run much faster by sending all statements in a single request separated by semicolons. These statements are now automatically merged and processed together on the server within a single transaction, which means that either all of them succeed or fail. This improvement reduces network overhead and enhances performance for batch data insertion.

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Behavior Changes

Use NULL instead of empty strings for passing unset TVF parameters

Table-valued functions (TVFs) such as LIST_OBJECTS, READ_PARQUET, and READ_CSV that accept string named parameters like aws_access_key_id and aws_role_arn will no longer treat empty strings ('') as unset arguments. The empty strings will instead be forwarded to the credential provider and may return errors. If you want to pass an explicitly unset parameter, use NULL instead.

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Bug Fixes

Resolved issue in distributed GROUP BY and JOIN planning

Resolved a bug in the optimization process for distributed GROUP BY and JOIN operators. This bug sometimes led to missed optimization opportunities and, in rare cases, incorrect results.

Fixed a bug in correlated EXISTS subqueries that caused duplicated outer tuples in query results

Fixed a bug with non-trivial correlated EXISTS subquery, which is a dependent subquery inside an EXISTS condition that references a column from an outer query. An example of this kind of query follows:

SELECT *,
  EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM table2 where COALESCE(table2.col_1, table2.col_2) = table1.col_1)
FROM table1

Previously, if an outer table contained a value, and the inner table had two matching values, the outer table’s row would appear twice in the final result instead of just once. This happened because the query checked for matches individually for each row in the inner table, rather than treating the condition as a simple existence check.

This bug fix corrected this issue by ensuring that the EXISTS condition only determines whether at least one match exists, without duplicating rows in the outer table. Now, each row in the outer table correctly appears once, with TRUE if a match exists and FALSE otherwise, improving the accuracy of query results.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.14

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New Features

Added E2E_DURATION_US to include total query time in Firebolt infrastructure for enhanced performance monitoring and optimization

Added a new column E2E_DURATION_US in the system tables INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ENGINE_RUNNING_QUERIES, INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ENGINE_QUERY_HISTORY, and INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ENGINE_USER_QUERY_HISTORY which shows the total time a query has spent within the Firebolt infrastructure. In contrast, DURATION_US measures only the time spent using the engine without considering retries or routing. The E2E_DURATION_US metric measures the total time a query takes from initiation to final result delivery, and includes all sub-components of latency such as routing, preparation, queuing, compilation, retries, and runtimes. For example, if a query starts a stopped engine, the engine’s startup time is included in the query’s end-to-end duration. This update provides a more accurate representation of total query latency, for performance monitoring and optimization.

Unhid scanned_storage_bytes and scanned_cache_bytes from information schema views

Unhid scanned_storage_bytes and scanned_cache_bytes columns from information_schema.engine_query_history and information_schema.engine_user_query_history views. These columns were previously accessible when explicitly used in a SELECT clause, but will now appear by default when you use SELECT *.

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Performance Improvements

Enhanced data ingestion performance for GEOGRAPHY objects of type POINT

Improved data loading performance for GEOGRAPHY objects of type POINT, enabling up to four times faster loading of geographical point data for more efficient data integration and analysis.

Improved file listing times for large external scans

In operations that read data from Amazon S3 buckets such as external table scans or COPY FROM queries, Firebolt lists files in a URL to an Amazon S3 bucket. This process is constrained by the AWS API, which limits file listing to 1,000 files per request. Firebolt has increased the number of concurrent operations so that listing a large number of files is up to 3.5 times faster.

Added result cache support for cross and complex joins for improved performance

The query result cache now supports queries using cross joins or complex joins with OR conditions and inequalities. This change reduces redundant calculations, improving query performance.

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Bug Fixes

USAGE permissions are now required to access INFORMATION_SCHEMA views

Accessing INFORMATION_SCHEMA views now requires USAGE permissions on the database. Queries to INFORMATION_SCHEMA will fail if these permissions are missing, ensuring consistent enforcement across permission-restricted queries. Ensure that your database has the necessary permissions to prevent access issues.

Improved EXPLAIN command accuracy for default values of DATE, TIMESTAMP, and TIMESTAMPTZ columns

The EXPLAIN command now displays default values for columns of type DATE, TIMESTAMP, and TIMESTAMPTZ columns. This update fixes a bug that previously caused default values to be shown incompletely, improving clarity and accuracy in query plan analysis.

Resolved filtering issue for views in information_schema.tables to enforce user permissions

Fixed a bug in information_schema.tables which previously listed views that users were not authorized to access. Even though querying these views would fail, users could still see that they existed. Now information_schema.tables only lists views that users are allowed to access.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.13

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New Features

GRANT ALL ON ACCOUNT and REVOKE ALL ON ACCOUNT statements for role-based privileges
The statements GRANT ALL ON ACCOUNT account_name TO role_name and REVOKE ALL ON ACCOUNT account_name FROM role_name are now supported. They grant or revoke all account-related privileges to the specified role role_name.

Support for nested arrays in Parquet files
You can now ingest Parquet files containing nested array structures at any depth. For example: array(array(array(string))).

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Behavior Changes

Removed secured objects from information_schema views
Users can now only access information about objects for which they have the appropriate permissions or ownership for in information_schema views.

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Bug Fixes

@ character support restored in usernames
The usage of character @ is allowed in usernames again, which was previously restricted. The following statements are now valid and will not cause errors:

CREATE USER "user@example.com";
ALTER USER user_name RENAME TO "user@example.com";

Resolved memory overuse during CSV import
Resolved a memory overconsumption problem that occurred when importing CSV files into existing tables.

Resolved EXPLAIN VACUUM and EXPLAIN to improve error handling and result accuracy
The following behavior of EXPLAIN VACUUM has been updated:

1. If a table is fully vacuumed, no further actions are performed, and the message “Table is fully vacuumed, no vacuum jobs were executed” is returned to the user.
2. The EXPLAIN VACUUM output no longer returns an empty result when the vacuumed object is an aggregating index.
3. EXPLAIN has been updated to show an error if the specified relation does not exist.

Fixed incorrect evaluation of IS NULL in outer joins
Fixed an issue where IS NULL predicates on non-nullable columns from the non-preserving side of an outer join were incorrectly reduced to FALSE during common table expression (CTE) optimization. When the optimizer attempted to fuse multiple CTEs, it mistakenly replaced t2.x IS NULL with FALSE, altering query semantics and producing incorrect results. This occurred because t2.x, though defined as non-nullable, became nullable when used in a left join. The fix ensures that IS NULL predicates are correctly preserved during optimization.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.12

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New Features

Added ST_S2CELLIDFROMPOINT to retrieve the S2 Cell ID of a GEOGRAPHY Point

You can now use ST_S2CELLIDFROMPOINT to retrieve the S2 cell ID, which identifies the region on Earth that fully contains, or covers, a single Point GEOGRAPHY object. You can also specify a cell resolution level.

Added keyboard shortcuts to the Firebolt Develop Space

The Firebolt Develop Space user interface added the following Windows/Mac keyboard shortcuts:

• Ctrl + Alt + E / Ctrl + ⌘ + E – Toggle expanding or collapsing query results.
• Ctrl + Alt + N / Ctrl + ⌘ + N – Create a new script.
• Ctrl + Alt + [ / Ctrl + ⌘ + [ – Jump to the previous script.
• Ctrl + Alt + ] / Ctrl + ⌘ + ] – Jump to the next script.

Introduced the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ROUTINES view for built-in functions and operators

Added the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ROUTINES view to return information about all of Firebolt’s built-in functions and operators including their database, schema, name, type, return data type, parameter data types, and whether they are deterministic.

Added support for the GEOGRAPHY data type in external tables using CSV and JSON formats

Firebolt can now read columns of type GEOGRAPHY from external tables in CSV or JSON format, which allows the querying of geospatial data including Points and Polygons.

Added a new MONITOR USAGE privilege

You can use the MONITOR USAGE privilege to view all queries running on an engine using information_schema.engine_query_history or information_schema.engine_running_queries views.

Introduced support for network policy ADD/REMOVE commands
Admins can now append or remove specific IP addresses in ALLOW or BLOCK lists without overriding existing values. This update simplifies network policy management when handling large IP lists and reduces the risk of concurrent updates overwriting each other.

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Performance Improvements

Improved performance of the ST_COVERS, ST_CONTAINS, and ST_INTERSECTS functions

Optimized the ST_COVERS, ST_CONTAINS, and ST_INTERSECTS functions to improve performance when processing LineStrings and Points with non-intersecting inputs, and Polygons with inputs that do not intersect their boundaries.

Improved performance of the REGEXP_LIKE_ANY function

The REGEXP_LIKE_ANY function now performs more efficiently when matching against multiple patterns by compiling a single combined RE2 regular expression object instead of evaluating each pattern separately.

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Behavior Changes

Updated user name rules to improve consistency and validation

The following changes affect the use of user names in CREATE USER AND ALTER USER:

• The @ character is no longer allowed in user names.
• The range of permissible characters in user names is expanded. For more information, see CREATE USER.
• When renaming a user with ALTER USER old_name RENAME TO new_name, the new_name must now comply with the updated user name rules.
• Any new names created with CREATE USER must now comply with the updated user name rules.

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Bug Fixes

Fixed an error where APACHE_DATASKETCHES_HLL_ESTIMATE failed for NULL inputs

Resolved an error in the APACHE_DATASKETCHES_HLL_ESTIMATE function that occurred if any of its input values were NULL. The function can now process NULL inputs.

Resolved issue that allowed account lockout on last login

Fixed an issue where the ALTER USER SET LOGIN/SERVICE_ACCOUNT=... statement could lock out the only active login in an account, rendering the account inaccessible. The operation now fails with an explicit error message in such cases.

Fixed incorrect ownership modification for information_schema

The statement ALTER SCHEMA information_schema SET OWNER owner_name; previously succeeded, which was incorrect, because information_schema cannot be modified. The operation now fails with an explicit error message.

Fixed an out-of-memory error during large CSV imports

Updated the ingestion pipeline for COPY FROM to ensure that large CSV files without a predefined schema can load into new tables without causing memory errors. This error did not affect external tables.

Prevent running queries when using a dropped database

When the current database does not exist, such as when it has been dropped, most queries fail as expected. We fixed a bug where some queries against specific information_schema views, such as engines, catalogs, applicable_roles, would still succeed in such cases. These queries now fail consistently, like all other queries against a non-existent database. For example, running SELECT * FROM information_schema.engines when the database is dropped previously worked, but now fails.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.11

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New Features

Introduced the GEOGRAPHY data type and functions for geospatial data handling [public preview]

Added a new GEOGRAPHY data type and functions for working with geospatial data. Firebolt supports the three industry standard formats Well-Known Text (WKT), Well-Known Binary (WKB), and GeoJSON for geospatial data.

This public preview release includes the following functions:

• ST_ASBINARY – Converts shapes of the GEOGRAPHY data type to the Well-Known Binary (WKB) format for geographic objects.
• ST_ASEWKB – Converts shapes of the GEOGRAPHY data type to the extended Well-Known Binary (EWKB) format using Spatial Reference Identifier (SRID) 4326, which corresponds to the WGS84 coordinate system.
• ST_ASGEOJSON – Converts shapes of the GEOGRAPHY data type to the GeoJSON format.
• ST_ASTEXT – Converts shapes of the GEOGRAPHY data type to the Well-Known Text (WKT) format.
• ST_CONTAINS – Determines if one GEOGRAPHY object fully contains another.
• ST_COVERS – Determines if one GEOGRAPHY object fully encompasses another.
• ST_DISTANCE – Calculates the shortest distance, measured as a geodesic arc between two GEOGRAPHY objects, measured in meters.
• ST_GEOGFROMGEOJSON – Constructs a GEOGRAPHY object from a GeoJSON string.
• ST_GEOGFROMTEXT – Constructs a GEOGRAPHY object from a Well-Known Text (WKT) string.
• ST_GEOGFROMWKB – Constructs a GEOGRAPHY object from a Well-Known Binary (WKB) byte string.
• ST_GEOGPOINT – Constructs a Point in the GEOGRAPHY data type created from specified longitude and latitude coordinates.
• ST_INTERSECTS – Determines whether two input GEOGRAPHY objects intersect each other.
• ST_X – Extracts the longitude coordinate of a GEOGRAPHY Point.
• ST_Y – Extracts the latitude coordinate of a GEOGRAPHY Point.

Added keyboard shortcuts to the Firebolt Develop Space

The user interface in the Firebolt Develop Space added the following keyboard shortcuts:

• Cmd + Enter – Runs the current query.
• Cmd+Shift+Enter – Runs all queries in a script.

Added the window function FIRST_VALUE

Added a new FIRST_VALUE window function that returns the first value evaluated in a specified window frame.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.10

​

New Features

Added CREATE TABLE CLONE to clone an existing table in a database

You can create a clone of an existing table in a database using CREATE TABLE CLONE, which is extremely fast because it copies the table structure and references without duplicating the data. The clone functions independently of the original table. Any changes to the data or schema of either table will not affect the other.

Added 3-part identifier support for specifying databases in queries

You can now reference a database other than the current one in queries by using 3-part identifiers, which specify the database, schema, and object. For example, even if you previously selected a database db by using USE DATABASE db, you can still query a different database by using a query such as SELECT * FROM other_db.public.t. The limitation still exists that every query only addresses a single database.

Added ALTER TABLE ADD COLUMN to add a column to an existing table

You can now use ALTER TABLE ADD COLUMN to add columns to Firebolt-managed tables. This functionality is temporarily limited to tables that were created on Firebolt version 4.10 or higher.

Added support of ALTER TABLE RENAME command You can use ALTER TABLE RENAME to change the name of Firebolt-managed tables. This functionality is temporarily limited to tables created on Firebolt version 4.10 or higher.

Added support for external file access using AWS session tokens

You can now use <AWS_SESSION_TOKEN> with access keys to securely authenticate and access external files on AWS with the following features:

• The COPY TO and COPY FROM commands.
• External tables located in an Amazon S3 bucket.
• The following table-valued functions: read_parquet, read_csv, and list_objects.

​

Behavior Changes

Enhanced PostgreSQL compliance for casting data types from text to float

Cast from text to floating-point types is now compliant with PostgreSQL with the following improvements:

1. The correct parsing of positive floats – A plus sign (+) preceding a float is now handled correctly. Example: '+3.4'.
2. Exponent-only input – Float values starting with an exponent 'e' or 'E' are rejected. Example: 'E4'.
3. Incomplete exponents – Float values ending with an exponent without a subsequent exponent value are rejected. Example: '4e+'.

Account-level rate limits implemented for the system engine

Firebolt has implemented account-level rate limits to ensure equitable resource usage among all users of the system engine. When these limits are exceeded, requests will be rejected with the following error message: 429: Account system engine resources usage limit exceeded. This rate limit targets accounts with exceptionally high resource consumption. Accounts with typical resource usage should not be affected and require no further action.

​

Bug Fixes

Corrected runtime reporting

Resolved an issue where the runtime displayed in Firebolt’s user interface and JSON responses omitted including processing times for some query steps.

Resolved “Invalid Input Aggregate State Type” error with aggregating indexes

Fixed an issue where the “invalid input aggregate state type” error could occur when queries read from aggregating indexes that defined a COUNT(*) aggregate function before other aggregate functions. After this fix, such aggregating indexes can now be queried correctly without needing to be rebuilt.

Fixed a rare bug in subresult caching logic

Addressed a rare issue in the logic for caching and reusing subresults that could cause query failures with specific query patterns. This issue did not impact the correctness of query results.

Resolved issue preventing schema owners from granting “ANY” privileges

Fixed an issue where schema owners were unable to grant “ANY” privileges on their schema to other users.
For example:

GRANT SELECT ANY ON SCHEMA public TO ...

Schema owners can now execute this command which allows the specified user or role to perform SELECT operations on any table.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.9

​

New Features

Added the enable_result_cache setting for controlling query result caching during benchmarking

You can set enable_result_cache to FALSE to disable the use of Firebolt’s result cache, which is set to TRUE by default. Disabling result cashing can be useful for benchmarking query performance. When enable_result_cache is disabled, resubmitting the same query will recompute the results rather than retrieving them from cache. For more information, see Result Cache.

Added LAG and LEAD support for negative offsets.

The second parameter in both LAG and LEAD can now accept negative numbers. Given a negative number, a LAG will become a LEAD and vice versa. For example, LAG(x,-5,3) is the same as LEAD(x,5,3).

​

Performance Improvements

Faster string searches for case-insensitive simple regular expressions in REGEXP_LIKE

Simple regular expressions in REGEXP_LIKE with case-insensitive matching, using the i flag, now use the same optimized string search implementation as ILIKE, achieving up to three times faster runtimes in observed cases.

​

Bug Fixes

Empty character classes in regular expressions

Fixed a rare case where empty character classes were mistakenly interpreted as valid character classes instead of being treated as raw characters. In cases like []a], the expression is now correctly interpreted as a pattern that matches any single character from the list ]a, rather than treating [] as an empty character class followed by a].

Trailing backslash in regular expressions

Fixed a rare case where invalid regular expressions with a trailing backslash \ were accepted.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.8

​

New Features

Introduced new bitwise shift functions BIT_SHIFT_RIGHT and BIT_SHIFT_LEFT

The following bitwise shift functions are now supported:

• BIT_SHIFT_RIGHT shifts the bits of a number to the right by a specified number of positions, which effectively divides the number by 2 for each position shifted.
• BIT_SHIFT_LEFT shifts the bits of a number to the left by a specified number of positions, which effectively multiples the number by 2 for each position shifted.

Introduced new trigonometric functions ACOS, ATAN, ASIN, COS, COT, TAN, DEGREES, and PI

The following trigonometric functions are now supported:

• ACOS calculates the arccosine of a value in radians.
• ATAN calculates the arctangent of a value in radians.
• ASIN calculates the arcsine of a value in radians.
• COS calculates the cosine of a value in radians.
• COT calculates the cotangent of a value in radians.
• TAN calculates the tangent of a value in radians.
• DEGREES converts a value in radians to degrees.
• PI returns π as a value of type DOUBLE PRECISION.

Introduced the timezone query-level setting with time_zone as an alias

Added the timezone query-level setting. The previous time_zone query setting still works, and is now an alias for timezone.

Introduced new PERCENTILE_CONT and MEDIAN aggregate functions

Added the following aggregate functions:

• PERCENTILE_CONT calculates a specified percentile of values in an ordered dataset.
• MEDIAN returns the median of a given column. It is equivalent to PERCENTILE_CONT(0.5): half the values in the column are smaller, and half are bigger than the returned value. If the number of values in the column is even, MEDIAN returns the arithmetic mean of the two middle values.

Added support to meet HIPAA regulations for health information

Added support to meet federal HIPAA regulations to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information within the Firebolt platform.

​

Performance Improvements

Improved expression comparison logic within queries

Improved expression comparison logic to better recognize identical expressions within queries. This enhancement supports a broader range of queries and boosts the overall quality of query plans.

Improving cold reads by reducing the amount of Amazon S3 requests needed to load data

Improved the performance of cold reads by minimizing the number of Amazon S3 requests required to load data. In the case of tiny tablets, this improvement lead to a 50% improvement in performance.

​

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug preventing view creation with type conversions to array types

Fixed an issue that prevented users from creating database views that involve type conversion to array types.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.7

​

New Features

Added Snappy compression support to the COPY TO command for PARQUET output format
You can now apply Snappy compression, which is faster than GZIP, when using COPY TO with TYPE=PARQUET. Specify COMPRESSION=SNAPPY within COPY TO to enable this.

Added information_schema.engine_user_query_history view to log only user-initiated queries
Added a new query history view, information_schema.engine_user_query_history, which shows all queries initiated by users. This view filters information from information_schema.engine_query_history view, which logs all engine queries including system-generated ones like UI updates and page-load requests.

Added support for information_schema.enabled_roles
Added a new view information_schema.enabled_roles which lists the roles available in the account.

Added a system setting enable_subresult_cache for controlling subresult reuse
A new system setting enable_subresult_cache allows users to enable or disable caching of query subresults for subsequent reuse. Caching remains enabled by default. This setting allows users to temporarily disabling caching, e.g. for benchmarking purposes.

Added “FROM first” syntax allowing the FROM clause to precede the SELECT clause
Added support for the “FROM first” syntax, which allows placing the FROM clause before the SELECT clause, for example FROM t SELECT a, SUM(b) GROUP BY a. You can now also omit the SELECT clause, as in FROM t.

Introduced a new function GEN_RANDOM_UUID_TEXT to generate a universally unique identifier (UUID)
The new function GEN_RANDOM_UUID_TEXT accepts no arguments and returns a version 4 UUID as defined by RFC-4122 as a TEXT value.

Introduced ~ and !~ operators as aliases for REGEXP_LIKE and NOT REGEXP_LIKE
Added the ~ operator as an alias for REGEXP_LIKE, and the !~ operator, which serves as an alias for NOT REGEXP_LIKE.

Introduced JSON functions JSON_POINTER_EXTRACT_KEYS, JSON_POINTER_EXTRACT_VALUES, JSON_POINTER_EXTRACT_TEXT
The following new JSON functions are now supported:

• JSON_POINTER_EXTRACT_KEYS extracts keys from a JSON object
• JSON_POINTER_EXTRACT_VALUES extracts values from a JSON object
• JSON_POINTER_EXTRACT_TEXT extracts the JSON string value as SQL TEXT

Introduced trigonometric functions RADIANS, SIN, ATAN2
The following trigonometric functions are now supported:

• RADIANS to convert degrees into radians
• SIN to compute the sine in radians
• ATAN2 to calculate the arctangent with two arguments. ATAN2(y,x) is the angle between the positive x-axis and the line from the origin to the point (x,y), expressed in radians.

Introduced new functions to calculate standard deviation and variance for both samples and populations
New functions that accept REAL and DOUBLE inputs and return standard deviations and variances:

• STDDEV_SAMP - Returns the sample standard deviation of all non-NULL numeric values produced by an expression, which measures how spread out values are in a sample.
• STDDEV_POP - Returns the population standard deviation of all non-NULL numeric values produced by an expression, which measures how spread out values are in an entire population.
• VAR_SAMP - Returns the sample variance of all non-NULL numeric values produced by an expression, which measures the average of the squared differences from the sample mean, indicating how spread out the values are within a sample.
• VAR_POP - Returns the population variance of all non-NULL numeric values produced by an expression. The population variance measures the average of the squared differences from the population mean, indicating how spread out the values are within the entire population.

Introduced new array functions ARRAY_ALL_MATCH and ARRAY_ANY_MATCH
The new functions ARRAY_ALL_MATCH and ARRAY_ANY_MATCH accept an (optional) lambda function and an array and return TRUE if all elements (ARRAY_ALL_MATCH) or any element (ARRAY_ANY_MATCH) satisfy the lambda condition, and FALSE otherwise. When no lambda is passed, the array has to be of type BOOLEAN, and the identity lambda x -> x is used.

​

Performance Improvements

Improved performance of JSON_EXTRACT, JSON_EXTRACT_ARRAY, and JSON_VALUE functions
Enhanced the performance of the JSON_EXTRACT, JSON_EXTRACT_ARRAY, and JSON_VALUE functions.

​

Behavior Changes

Updated sorting method for array columns with NULL values to align with PostgreSQL behavior

The sorting method for array columns containing NULL values has been updated to ensure that ASC NULLS FIRST places NULL values before arrays, and DESC NULLS LAST places NULL values after arrays, which aligns with PostgreSQL behavior.

The following code example creates a temporary table tbl which contains three rows: a NULL array, an array with the value 1, and an array with a NULL element. Then, a SELECT statement sorts all rows in ascending order:

WITH tbl(i) AS (
  SELECT NULL::INT[]
  UNION ALL
  SELECT ARRAY[1]::INT[]
  UNION ALL
  SELECT ARRAY[NULL]::INT[]
)
SELECT * FROM tbl ORDER BY i ASC NULLS FIRST;

The query previously returned {NULL}, {1}, NULL, but now returns NULL, {1}, {NULL}.

NULLS FIRST and NULLS LAST apply to the array itself, not to its elements. By default, ascending order (ASC) assumes NULLS LAST, while descending order (DESC) assumes NULLS FIRST when sorting arrays.

Allowed use of the SESSION_USER function without parentheses

The SESSION_USER function can now be used without parentheses, like this: SELECT SESSION_USER. As a result, any column named session_user now needs to be enclosed in double quotes as follows: SELECT 1 AS "session_user" or SELECT "session_user" FROM table.

​

Bug Fixes

Corrected JSON output format to display NaN values consistently as nan
The JSON output format previously showed some NaN values as -nan. This was corrected to consistently display NaN values as nan in the JSON output.

Resolved an issue with CHECKSUM and HASH_AGG failing when combining literals and table columns
Fixed an issue where the CHECKSUM and HASH_AGG functions failed when used with a combination of literals and table columns.

Fixed a rare inaccuracy that could cause incorrect results on multi-node engines when performing certain UNION ALL operations
Fixed a rare inaccuracy when performing certain UNION ALL operations on subqueries that are the result of aggregations or joins on overlapping but distinct keys, followed by an aggregation or join on the common keys of the subqueries’ aggregations or joins.

Fixed a rare inaccuracy that could cause incorrect results with CTEs using RANDOM() in specific join scenarios
Fixed a rare inaccuracy that caused incorrect results when a common table expression using the RANDOM() function was used multiple times, and at least one of these uses was on the probe side of a join involving a primary index key of the underlying table.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.6

September 2024

​

New Features

COPY TO support for the SNAPPY compression type

COPY TO now supports SNAPPY as a new compression option for Parquet files. This enhancement offers greater flexibility for managing file size and performance, particularly for workloads requiring faster compression. Each file is written in Parquet format, with the specified compression applied to the data pages in the column chunks.

COPY FROM support for filtering by source file metadata

COPY FROM now supports filtering by source file metadata using the WHERE clause.

Added support for vector distance calculations with new functions

Firebolt has added support for vector distance and similarity calculations with the following new functions: VECTOR_COSINE_DISTANCE, VECTOR_MANHATTAN_DISTANCE, VECTOR_EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE, VECTOR_SQUARED_EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE, VECTOR_COSINE_SIMILARITY, and VECTOR_INNER_PRODUCT.

​

Behavior Changes

Introduced SHOW CATALOGS statement and aliased SHOW DATABASES to it while deprecating SHOW DATABASE X

A new statement SHOW CATALOGS now acts as an alias for SHOW DATABASES. The statement SHOW DATABASE X is no longer supported.

COPY FROM now unzips Parquet files with gzip extensions

Before version 4.6, the COPY FROM command did not apply file-level decompression to Parquet files with a .gzip or .gz extension. The command treated these files as standard Parquet files, assuming that any compression existed only within the internal Parquet format structure.

With the release of version 4.6, COPY FROM now processes Parquet files similarly to other formats. When a Parquet file has a .gz or .gzip extension, the command will first decompress the file before reading it as a Parquet format file. Hence, it will now fail while reading internally compressed Parquet files with gzip extensions. Users experiencing issues with loading files after this change should contact the support team at support@firebolt.io for assistance.

​

Bug Fixes

Fixed a rare bug that caused some query failures from incorrect computation of cacheable subresults

Fixed a rare bug impacting the logic that determined which subresults could be cached and reused. This issue could have caused query failures in certain patterns, but it did not impact the accuracy of the query outcomes.

Updated name of aggregatefunction2 to aggregatefunction in explain output

The name aggregatefunction2 has been updated to aggregatefunction in the EXPLAIN output.

Fixed incorrect results in ARRAY_AGG expressions by excluding NULL values for false conditions in aggregating indexes

Aggregate expressions like ARRAY_AGG(CASE WHEN <cond> THEN <column> ELSE NULL END) previously returned incorrect results by excluding NULL values for rows when the condition was FALSE.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.5

September 2024

​

New Features

Allowed casting from TEXT to DATE with truncation of timestamp-related fields Casting from TEXT to DATE now supports text values containing fields related to timestamps. These fields are accepted, but truncated during conversion to DATE.

The following code example casts the TEXT representation of the timestamp 2024-08-07 12:34:56.789 to the DATE data type. The conversion truncates the time portion, leaving only the date, as follows:

Example:

SELECT '2024-08-07 12:34:56.789'::DATE`

Results in

DATE `2024-08-07`

Added the CONVERT_FROM function

Added the CONVERT_FROM function that converts a BYTEA value with a given encoding to a TEXT value encoded in UTF-8.

Added the BITWISE aggregate functions

Added support for the following functions: BIT_OR (bitwise OR), BIT_XOR (bitwise exclusive OR), and BIT_AND (bitwise AND).

Added the REGEXP_LIKE_ANY function

Added the REGEXP_LIKE_ANY function that checks whether a given string matches any regular expression pattern from a specified list of patterns.

​

Bug Fixes

Updated created and last_altered column types in information_schema.views from TIMESTAMP to TIMESTAMPTZ The data types of the created and last_altered columns in information_schema.views have been changed from TIMESTAMP to TIMESTAMPTZ.

Fixed runtime constant handling in the sort operator Fixed the handling of runtime constants in the sort operator. Now, the sort operator can be correctly combined with GENERATE_SERIES. For example, the query SELECT x, GENERATE_SERIES(1,7,3) FROM GENERATE_SERIES(1,3) t(x) now correctly displays values 1 to 3 in the first column, instead of just 1.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.4

August 2024

​

New Features

Extended support for date arithmetic

Now you can subtract two dates to get the number of elapsed days. For example, DATE '2023-03-03' - DATE '1996-09-03' produces 9677.

Role-based permissions for COPY FROM and external tables

Added support for role-based permissions (ARNs) to the COPY FROM command and external table operations.

Added trust_policy_role column to information_schema.accounts view for S3 access

Added a new column trust_policy_role to the information_schema.accounts view. This column shows the role used by Firebolt to access customer S3 buckets.

Enabled selection of external tables’ pseudo columns without adding data columns

Users can now select an external table’s pseudo columns (source file name, timestamp, size, and etag) without adding any data columns. For example, select $source_file_timestamp from t_external returns the file timestamps for each row. The query select count($source_file_timestamp) from t_external returns the total number of rows in the external table, similar to count(*). The query select count(distinct $source_file_name) from t_external returns the number of distinct objects containing at least one row in the source S3 location. Regarding count(*) performance, formats like CSV or JSON still require reading the data fully to determine an external file’s row count. However, Parquet files provide the row count as part of the file header, and this is now used instead of reading the full data.

Extended support for arbitrary join conditions, including multiple inequality predicates

We now support more join conditions. As long as there is one equality predicate comparing a left column to a right column of the join (not part of an OR expression), the remaining join condition can now be an arbitrary expression. The limitation on the number of inequality predicates was removed.

New functions URL_ENCODE and URL_DECODE

We added support for the URL_ENCODE and URL_DECODE functions.

New logarithm functions ln, log

We added support for calculating logarithms. The natural logarithm is available using ln(val double precision). The base 10 logarithm is available using log(val double precision). Logarithms with custom bases are available using log(base double precision, val double precision).

New function `SQRT

Added support for the SQRT function to compute the square root.

New functions JSON_VALUE, JSON_VALUE_ARRAY, JSON_EXTRACT_ARRAY

Added support for the functions JSON_VALUE, JSON_VALUE_ARRAY, and JSON_EXTRACT_ARRAY.

New function SESSION_USER

Support has been added for the SESSION_USER function, which retrieves the current user name.

New columns in information_schema.engine_query_history

Added two new columns to information_schema.engine_query_history: query_text_normalized_hash and query_text_normalized.

​

Breaking Changes

Reserved the keyword GEOGRAPHY, requiring double quotes for use as an identifier

The word GEOGRAPHY is now a reserved keyword and must be quoted using double quotes for use as an identifier. For example, create table geography(geography int); will now fail, but create table "geography" ("geography" int); will succeed.

Deprecated the legacy HTTP ClickHouse headers

We no longer accept or return the legacy HTTP ClickHouse header format X-ClickHouse-*.

Fixed json_value zero-byte handling

The json_value function no longer returns null characters (0x00), as the TEXT datatype does not support them. For example, select json_value('"\u0000"'); now results in an error.

Change default values for NODES and TYPE during CREATE ENGINE

When performing a CREATE ENGINE, the default values for NODES and TYPE parameters have changed. NODES defaults to 2 (previously 1) and TYPE defaults to M (previously S). To create an engine with the previous default values, run the following command:

CREATE ENGINE my_engine WITH NODES=1 TYPE=S

​

Bug Fixes

Fixed directory structure duplication in the S3 path when using the COPY TO statement with SINGLE_FILE set to FALSE

Fixed an issue in COPY TO when SINGLE_FILE=FALSE. Previously, the specified directory structure in the location was repeated twice in the S3 path. For example, files were output to “s3://my-bucket/out/path/out/path/” instead of “s3://my-bucket/out/path/”.

Fixed the file extension in the S3 path when using the COPY TO statement with GZIP-Parquet format

Fixed an issue in COPY TO when TYPE=PARQUET and COMPRESSION=GZIP, which uses the Parquet file format with internal GZIP compression for the columns. Previously, the output files would have the extension “.parquet.gz”. Now, the extension is “.gz.parquet”.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.3

August 2024

​

New Features

Role-based permissions for COPY FROM and External Table processes

Enabled role-based permissions for COPY FROM and External Table processes.

HLL-based count distinct functions compatible with the Apache DataSketches library

Firebolt now supports count-distinct functions using the HLL (HyperLogLog) algorithm, compatible with the Apache DataSketches library. For details and examples, see documentation on the functions APACHE_DATASKETCHES_HLL_BUILD, APACHE_DATASKETCHES_HLL_MERGE, and APACHE_DATASKETCHES_HLL_ESTIMATE.

Supported additional join conditions and removed the restriction on the number of inequality predicates

Firebolt has added enhanced support for more join conditions. As long as there is one equality predicate comparing a left column to a right column of the join, which is not part of a disjunctive (OR) expression, the remaining join condition can be arbitrary. The previous limitation on the number of inequality predicates has been removed.

​

Performance Improvements

Multi-node query performance

Firebolt has improved the performance of data transfer between nodes, resulting in faster overall query execution times.

Enhanced Interval Arithmetic Support

Firebolt has enhanced support for interval arithmetic. You can now use expressions of the form date_time + INTERVAL * d, where date_time is a expression of type Date, Timestamp, TimestampTz, and d is an expression of type DOUBLE PRECISION. The interval is now scaled by d before being added to date_time. For example, writing INTERVAL '1 day' * 3 is equivalent to writing INTERVAL '3 days'.

Optimized selective inner and right joins on primary index and partition by columns to reduce rows scanned

Selective inner and right joins on primary index and partition by columns now can now benefit from pruning. This reduces the number of rows scanned by filtering out rows that are not part of the join result early in the process. This optimization works best when joining on the first primary index column or a partition by column. The optimization is applied automatically when applicable, and no action is required. Queries that used this optimization will display “Prune:” labels on the table scan in the EXPLAIN (PHYSICAL) or EXPLAIN (ANALYZE) output.

​

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug in the combination of cross join and the index_of function

Resolved an issue where the index_of function would fail when applied to the result of a cross join that produced a single row.

​

Breaking Changes

Temporarily restricted column DEFAULT expressions in CREATE TABLE statements

Column DEFAULT expressions in CREATE TABLE statements have been temporarily restricted, they can only consist of literals and the following functions: CURRENT_DATE(), LOCALTIMESTAMP(), CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(), NOW(). Existing tables with column DEFAULT expressions are not affected.

Underflow detection while casting from TEXT to floating point data types

Firebolt now detects underflow, a condition where a numeric value becomes smaller than the minimum limit that a data type can represent, when casting from TEXT to floating point data types. For example, the query select '10e-70'::float4; now returns an error, while it previously returned 0.0.

Returning query execution errors in JSON format through the HTTP API

Firebolt’s HTTP API now returns query execution errors in JSON format, allowing for future enhancements like including metadata such as error codes, or the location of a failing expression within the SQL script.

Changed default of case_sensitive_column_mapping parameter in COPY FROM

The default value for the CASE_SENSITIVE_COLUMN_MAPPING parameter in COPY FROM is now FALSE, meaning that if a target table contains column names in uppercase and the source file to ingest has the same columns in lowercase, the ingestion will consider them the same column and ingest the data.

extract function returns Numeric(38,9) for Epoch, second, and millisecond extraction

The result data type of the extract function for epoch, second, and millisecond was changed to return the type Numeric(38,9) instead of a narrower Numeric type. For example, select extract(second from '2024-04-22 07:10:20'::timestamp); now returns Numeric(38,9) instead of Numeric(8,6).

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.2

July 2024

​

New features

New ntile window function

Firebolt now supports the ntile window function. Refer to our NTILE documentation for examples and usage.

​

Enhancements, changes and new integrations

Improved query performance

Queries with “SELECT [project_list] FROM [table] LIMIT [limit]” on large tables are now significantly faster.

Updated table level RBAC

Table level RBAC is now supported by Firebolt. This means that RBAC checks also cover schemas, tables, views and aggregating indexes. Refer to our RBAC docs for a detailed overview of this new feature. The new Firebolt version inhibits the following change:

• System built-in roles are promoted to contain table level RBAC information. This means that new privileges are added to account_admin, system_admin and public roles. The effect is transparent— any user assigned with those roles will not be affected.

Removal of Deprecated Columns from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ENGINES

We removed the following columns from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ENGINES that were only for FB 1.0 compatibility: region, spec, scale, warmup, and attached_to. These columns were always empty. (These columns are hidden and do not appear in SELECT * queries, but they will still work if referenced explicitly.)

​

Breaking Changes

Improved rounding precision for floating point to integer casting

Casting from floating point to integers now uses Banker’s Rounding, matching PostgreSQL’s behavior. This means that numbers that are equidistant from the two nearest integers are rounded to the nearest even integer:

Examples:

SELECT 0.5::real::int

This returns 0.

SELECT 1.5::real::int

This returns 2.

Rounding behavior has not changed for numbers that are strictly closer to one integer than to all others.

JSON functions update

Removed support for json_extract_raw, json_extract_array_raw, json_extract_values, and json_extract_keys. Updated json_extract function: the third argument is now path_syntax, which is a JSON pointer expression. See JSON_EXTRACT for examples and usage.

Cluster ordinal update

Replaced engine_cluster with cluster_ordinal in information_schema.engine_metrics_history. The new column is an integer representing the cluster number.

Configurable cancellation behavior on connection drop

Introduced the cancel_query_on_connection_drop setting, allowing clients to control query cancellation on HTTP connection drop. Options include NONE, ALL, and TYPE_DEPENDENT. Refer to system settings for examples and usage.

JSON format as default for error output

The HTTP API now returns query execution errors in JSON format by default. This change allows for the inclusion of meta information such as error codes and the location of failing expressions in SQL scripts.

STOP ENGINE will drain currently running queries first

STOP ENGINE command now supports graceful drain, meaning any currently running queries will be run to completion. Once all the queries are completed, the engine will be fully stopped and terminated. If you want to stop the engine immediately, you can issue a STOP ENGINE command use the TERMINATE option. For example, to immediately stop an engine, my_engine, you can use:

 STOP ENGINE myEngine WITH TERMINATE = TRUE

Scaling engines will not terminate currently running queries

ALTER ENGINE command now supports graceful drain, meaning when you scale an engine (vertically or horizontally), any currently running queries will not be terminated. New queries after the scaling operation will be directed to a new cluster, while queries running on the old cluster will be run to completion.

Updated RBAC ownership management

We have introduced several updates to role and privilege management:

• The security_admin role will be removed temporarily and re-introduced in a later release.
• Information_object_privileges includes more privileges. Switching to to a specific user database (e.g by executing use database db) will only show privileges relevant for that database. Account-level privileges no longer show up when attached to a specific database.
• Every newly created user is granted with a public role. This grant can be revoked.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.1

June 2024

• Resolved issues

​

Resolved issues

• Fixed an issue causing errors when using WHERE column IN (...) filters on external table scans.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 4.0

June 2024

• Enhancements, changes, and new integrations
• Breaking Changes

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Enhancements, changes and new integrations

Query Cancelation on HTTP Connection Drop

Going forward, when the network connection between the client and Firebolt is dropped (for example because the Firebolt UI tab was closed or due to network issues), DML queries (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, etc) are no longer canceled automatically, but will keep running in the background. You can continue to monitor their progress in information_schema.engine_running_queries or cancel them manually using the cancel query statement if desired. DQL queries (SELECT) are still canceled automatically on connection drop.

New Aggregate Functions: CHECKSUM and hash_agg

CHECKSUM and hash_agg functions are now supported for aggregating indexes. Note that when the hash_agg function doesn’t receive rows, the result is 0.

​

Breaking Changes

Array Casting Nullability Update

Cast to array will no longer support specifying nullability of the inner type. Example:

a::array(int null)

or

cast(a as array(int not null)) 

will now fail, and need to be rewritten as:

a::array(int) 

or

cast(a as array(int)). 

Postgres-compliant Cast

Casts now behave the same across the product and adhere to the list of supported casts. Some usages of casts (explicit, implicit, or assignment cast) that were previously allowed are no longer supported and now result in errors. For more details on list of supported casts, see the documentation here.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 3.34

May 2024

• Enhancements, changes, and new integrations
• Resolved issues

​

Enhancements, changes and new integrations

Removed MATCH function

The match function has been removed and replaced with regexp_like.

Producing an error for array function failure instead of NULL

Array function queries that accept two or more array arguments now produce an error. If you call an array function such as array_transform(..) or array_sort(..) with multiple array arguments, the arrays must have the same size. For example:

array_transform(x, y -> x + y, arr1, arr2)

This raises an error if array_length(arr1) != array_length(arr2). We now also perform this check for NULL literals. If you previously used array_transform(x, y -> x + y, NULL::INT[], Array[5, 6]), you got back NULL. Now, the query using that expression will raise an error.

Added ARRAY_FIRST function

The array_first function has been added. It returns the first element in the given array for which the given function returns true.

New name for any_match

A new name for any_match has been added: array_any_match. any_match will be kept as an alias.

Updated ARRAY_SUM return types

The array_sum function of bigint[] now returns a numeric value and array_sum of real[] returns a real value.

Precedence of operators

Breaking change in operator precedence between comparison operators such as =, <, >, and IS operator. New behavior is compatible with Postgres.

Examples of query that changed behavior:

select 1 is null = 2 is null

This used to be true, because it was interpreted as select (1 is null) = (2 is null). It now becomes an error of incompatible types in =

select false = false is not null

The result used to be false - select false = (false is not null), but now is true - select (false = false) is not null.

Dropping the role

Role cannot be dropped if there are permissions granted to the role. The error message will be displayed if you need to manually drop permissions associated to the role.

Coalesce Short-Circuiting

COALESCE now supports short-circuiting in Firebolt. Queries such as COALESCE(a, 1 / 0) FROM t could fail before, even when there were no NULLs in t. Only CASE WHEN supported short circuiting. Firebolt is now aligned with PostgreSQL and supports short circuiting in COALESCE as well.

Create table under I_S schema

You can now execute CREATE TABLE/VIEW/AGGREGATING INDEX only under the public schema.

Improved error message for JSON PARSE_AS_TEXT format

The error message for external tables created with JSON PARSE_AS_TEXT format has been revised. This format reads specifically into a single column of type either TEXT or TEXT NOT NULL. (Note there may be external table partition columns defined after the single TEXT column, and they are okay). Now, only the error message regarding the CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE statement on a user’s first attempt to use SELECT will be seen. Support for reading format JSON PARSE_AS_TEXT=TRUE into a TEXT NOT NULL column has been added.

Implemented column_mismatch

Support for ALLOW_COLUMN_MISMATCH in COPY INTO has been added.

Corrected NULL behavior of STRING_TO_ARRAY

The behavior of string_to_array now matches its behavior in PostgreSQL. The change affects NULL delimiters where the string is split into individual characters, as well as empty strings and where the output is now an empty array.

Changed city_hash behavior for nullable inputs

The behavior for city_hash has changed for nullable inputs. For example:

SELECT CITY_HASH([null]) = CITY_HASH([''])

This is now false.

Function ARRAY_AGG now preserves NULLS

The array_agg function has been changed to return PostgreSQL-compliant results:

• array_agg now preserves NULL values in its input, e.g. select array_agg(x) from unnest(array [1,NULL,2] x) returns {1,NULL,2}
• array_agg now returns NULL instead of an empty array if there are no input values

Lambda parameters are no longer supported by array_sum

Array aggregate functions no longer support lambda parameters. To get the old behavior for conditional lambda functions, use transform instead. For example:

array_sum(transform(...))

Explicit Parquet conversion from DATE to INT is now needed

A breaking change has been implemented in raising an error on reading a Parquet/ORC DATE/TIMESTAMP column if the EXTERNAL TABLE expects the column to have type INT/BIGINT. DATE/TIMESTAMP cannot be cast to INT/BIGINT, and external table scans will no longer allow this cast either. You need to explicitly transform the Parquet/ORC DATE/TIMESTAMP column with EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM col) to insert it into an INT/BIGINT column.

​

Resolved issues

• Fixed a bug where negation did not check for overflows correctly.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 3.33

April 2024

• Enhancements, changes, and new integrations
• Resolved issues

​

Enhancements, changes and new integrations

Removed ‘element_at’ Function

The element_at function for arrays has been removed and replaced with the [] operator.

Change of return type from BIGINT to INTEGER

The index_of/array_position function now returns INTEGER instead of BIGINT.

Removed LIMIT DISTINCT syntax

The LIMIT_DISTINCT syntax is no longer supported by Firebolt.

Updated CAST function behavior

All cast logic has been moved to runtime in Firebolt. The castColumn function is now replaced by fbCastColumn, ensuring consistent casting behavior and resolving issues with the COPY FROM operation and other cast calls. Uses of implicit/explicit CAST may result in errors due to this fix.

​

Resolved issues

• Fixed a bug in array_position where searching for NULL in an array with non-null elements incorrectly returned a match in some cases.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 3.32

April 2024

• New features
• Enhancements, changes, and new integrations
• Resolved issues

​

New features

Expose and document ‘typeof’ as a toTypeName function

The typeof function has been added, which returns the data type of a SQL expression as a string.

​

Enhancements, changes and new integrations

Spilling Aggregations

Firebolt can now process most aggregations that exceed the available main memory of the engine by spilling to the SSD cache when needed. This happens transparently to the user. A query that made use of this capability will populate the spilled_bytes column in information_schema.query_history. Spilling does not support aggregations where a single group exceeds the available memory (e.g., select count(distinct high_cardinality_column) from huge_table) and may not yet work reliably for all aggregate functions or engine specs. We will continue improving the feature in upcoming releases.

No overflow detected in cast from FLOAT to DECIMAL

Fix results of casting from float32 to decimals with precision > 18. In addition to the correct results breaking change, there are certain queries that was working before that now will fail involving overflow.

Example query:

• SELECT 17014118346046923173168730371588410572::REAL::DECIMAL(37,0).

Previously, this was working and returned a wrong result, but now it will fail with an overflow error.

ARRAY_COUNT returns 0 instead of NULL

ARRAY_COUNT on NULL array now returns 0 instead of NULL.

No overflow check in arithmetic operations

Arithmetic operators (i.e. multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division) now perform correct overflow checking. This means that queries that used to return wrong results in the past now throw runtime errors.

Example queries:

• SELECT 4294967296 * 4294967296 -> now throws an error, before it would return 0

• SELECT 9223372036854775807 + 9223372036854775807 -> now throws an error, before it would return -2

• SELECT (a + b) * c -> this might throw runtime errors if there are large values in the column, but this is highly data dependent.

Implement bool_or/bool_and aggregation functions

New aggregate functions bool_or and bool_and have been added.

Remove old deprecate REGENERATE AGGREGATING INDEX

‘REGENERATE AGGREGATING INDEX’ syntax has now been removed.

Align the syntax of our “escape” string literals with PostgreSQL

Escape string literals now support octal and Unicode escape sequences. As a result, escape string literals now behave exactly like PostgreSQL. Example: SELECT E'\U0001F525b\x6F\154t'; returns 🔥bolt. If the setting standard_conforming_strings is not enabled for you, regular string literals (e.g., SELECT 'foo';) will also recognize the new escape sequences. However, we recommend exclusively using escape string literals for using escape sequences. Please be aware that you will get different results if you previously used (escape) string literals containing the syntax we now use for Unicode and octal escape sequences.

Change return value of length and octet_length to INT

Length and array_length now return INTEGER instead of BIGINT.

Subqueries in the GROUP BY/HAVING/ORDER BY clauses change

Subqueries in GROUP BY/HAVING/ORDER BY can no longer references columns from the selection list of the outer query via their aliases as per PG compliance. select 1 + 1 as a order by (select a); used to work, but now fails with unresolved name a error.

Bytea serialization to CSV fix

Changed Bytea to CSV export: from escaped to non escaped.

Example:

• COPY (select ‘a’::bytea) to ‘s3…’; the results will now be “\x61” instead of “\x61”.

​

Resolved issues

• Fixed results of casting literal float to numeric. In the past the float literal was casted to float first then to numeric, this caused us to lose precision.

Examples:

• SELECT 5000000000000000000000000000000000000.0::DECIMAL(38,1); -> 5000000000000000000000000000000000000.0
• SELECT (5000000000000000000000000000000000000.0::DECIMAL(38,1)+5000000000000000000000000000000000000.0::DECIMAL(38 1)); -> ERROR: overflow.

Note that before, it was not an error and resulted in: 9999999999999999775261218463046128332.8.

• Fixed a longstanding bug with >= comparison on external table source_file_name. Whereas this would previously have scraped fewer files than expected off the remote S3 bucket, you will now get all files properly (lexicographically) compared against the input predicate.

• Fixed a bug when USAGE ANY ENGINE (and similar) privileges were shown for * account. Now it is being show for current account.

• Fixed a bug involving ‘btrim’ string characters, where invoking btrim, ltrim, rtrim, or trim with a literal string but non-literal trim characters could result in an error.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 3.31

March 2024

• New features
• Enhancements, changes, and new integrations
• Resolved issues

​

New features

PG compliant division

LQP2 has a new division operator that is PG compliant, by default.

Prevents usage of new line delimeter for schema inference

An error will now occur if schema inference is used with the option “delimiter” set to something other than the default.

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Enhancements, changes and new integrations

Simplified table protobuf representation

Unique constraints in tables will be blocked for new accounts.

Support for nullable arrays

Support has been added to allow the ARRAY_ANY_MATCH lambda function to work with nullable arrays.

Updated AWS billing error message

The error message for an AWS billing issue on Engine Start was on Engine Start was changed to add more information and clarity.

New requirements updated for EXPLAIN

For EXPLAIN queries, we now allow only one of the following options at the same time: ALL, LOGICAL, PHYSICAL, ANALYZE.EXPLAIN (ALL) now returns the plans in multiple rows instead of multiple columns.

Disabled Unix Time Functions

The following functions are not supported anymore: ‘from_unixtime’ ‘to_unix_timestamp’ ‘to_unix_time’

Renamed spilled metrics columns

The columns spilled_bytes_uncompressed and spilled_bytes_compressed of information_schema.query_history have been replaced by a single column spilled_bytes. It contains the amount of data that was spilled to disk temporarily while executing the query.

Aggregating index placement

Aggregating index is now placed in the same namespace as tables and views.

Syntax and planner support for LATERAL scoping

LATERAL is now a reserved keyword. It must now be used within double-quotes when using it as an object identifier.

​

Resolved issues

Changed return for division by 0 from null to fail.

Updated error log for upload failure for clarity.

Fixed a bug in ‘unnest’ table function that occurred when not all of the ‘unnest’ columns were projected.

Changed the behavior of split_part when an empty string is used as delimiter.

Fixed a bug where floating point values -0.0 and +0.0, as well as -nan and +nan were not considered equal in distributed queries.

TRY_CAST from TEXT to NUMERIC now works as expected: if the value cannot be parsed as NUMERIC it produces null.

​

Firebolt Release Notes - Version 3.30

November 2023

• New features
• Enhancements, changes, and new integrations
• Resolved issues

​

New features

New comparison operators

New comparison operators IS DISTINCT FROM and IS NOT DISTINCT FROM have been added.

​

Enhancements, changes and new integrations

Support for nullable arrays

Support has been added to allow the ANY_MATCH lambda function to work with nullable arrays

​

Resolved issues

• Indirectly granted privileges have been removed from the information_schema.object_privileges view.

• Fixed an issue where ARRAY_FIRST and ARRAY_FIRST_INDEX returned an error if the given input was nullable.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 3.29

October 2023

• New features
• Enhancements, changes, and new integrations

​

New features

EXPLAIN ANALYZE now available for detailed query metrics

You can now use the EXPLAIN command to execute EXPLAIN (ANALYZE) <select statement> and get detailed metrics about how much time is spent on each operator in the query plan, and how much data is processed. The query plan shown there is the physical query plan, which you can inspect using EXPLAIN (PHYSICAL) <select statement> without executing the query. It shows how query processing is distributed over the nodes of an engine.

​

Enhancements, changes and new integrations

Virtual column ‘source_file_timestamp’ uses new data type

The virtual column source_file_timestamp has been migrated from the data type TIMESTAMP (legacy timestamp type without time zone) to the type TIMESTAMPTZ (new timestamp type with time zone).

Despite the increased resolution, the data is still in second precision as AWS S3 provides them only as unix seconds.

Use source_file_timestamp - NOW() instead of DATE_DIFF('second', source_file_timestamp, NOW())

New function added

A new alias ARRAY_TO_STRING has been added to function ARRAY_JOIN.

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Firebolt Release Notes - Version 3.28

September 2023

• Resolved issues

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Resolved issues

• IN expressions with scalar arguments now return Postgres-compliant results if there are NULLs in the IN list.

• information_schema.running_queries returns ID of a user that issued the running query, not the current user.

• Update error message to explain upper case behavior