Changes for version 0.019.0 - 2026-11-03
- Enhancements
- Stored lookups: POST /lookups/save adds the columns of another file under data_dir to every matching row, on every page, chart, export and canvas. nolk= skips one for a view; lk= applies one stored for another dataset.
- Field extraction: rx() in a calculated field takes a value out of a column with a regular expression, and POST /extract/save stores a pattern whose named groups become columns everywhere.
- Accelerated datasets: script/bi-extract builds a SQLite copy of a large file under <model_dir>/extracts/, which the pages read while the file is unchanged. Once it changes, the file is read and the page says so.
- A calculated field can read a cross-row column (cs=).
- MariaDB and MySQL: mariadb:server/table opens a table of a server named in mariadb_servers, anywhere a source is taken. The spec holds only the name.
- Export PDF on every chart page.
- Canvas: text cards, for titles and explanations. Cards save as SVG, PNG and PDF, showing the whole chart and a pie's legend.
- Saved charts carry "Database::BI" at the bottom right.
- A website, in website/html/.
- script/database-bi FILE starts the server showing that database.
- Dark mode, chosen on a new Preferences page. Saved charts, printed pages and embedded canvases stay light.
- Every feature can be reached from the pages: Lookups and Extract fields panels, a canvas Share panel (link, embed code, JSON download) with Import canvas to read it back, and Forget remembered columns on the map panel.
- A refused request in a browser shows the reason on a page with a way back.
- POST /geo/save takes repeated col=/kind= pairs, and replace=1.
- Canvases in the main navigation opens a new /canvases page.
- Database::Abstraction 0.54, File::Temp 0.2308 and HTML::D3 0.27 are now required.
- Bug Fixes
- Security: error replies that repeat a parameter were sent as HTML, so a crafted link such as /bar?range=<script> ran script on this site. scheme= reached a chart's script unchecked. A cell holding </script><script> ran on /bar, /pie, /stacked and /graph.
- On Windows, a symlink was not followed when checking that a file is under data_dir, so a link could point a lookup outside it.
- Saved definitions for a path: dataset reached through a symlink were not found by its /open page.
- week() was 0 on Windows.
- A saved definition that could no longer be applied made every page of its dataset a 400, so the panel that mends it could not be reached. The table page is now drawn without it, with a note saying what is wrong.
- A saved group's column was missing from the table page and canvas cards, and groups saved from the panel never matched a row.
- The map panel's Remember columns added to the saved columns rather than replacing them.
- A panel reopened after a save could list what was there before.
- A SQLite .db file holding a table named after the file was read as text.
- A SQLite file could not be opened when its first table's name had characters other than letters, digits and underscores.
- /open, /join and /combine left out calculated fields and span= time buckets. cs= on the table page could not read them.
- A filter on a cross-row column, a calculated column or a time bucket found no rows.
- lt, le, gt and ge treated a blank or a word as zero; they now compare numbers only, and read $1,234.56 and (1,234.56).
- A column of codes (SKU123) or dates was read as numbers; 1e3 was read as 13.
- Merge hung on BSDs with the File::Temp that Perl 5.28 ships.
- hypnotoad script/database-bi never served the application.
- Page links on a table opened with no other query were broken.
- A file with no header row split quoted fields and dropped empty ones. Sorting did nothing on such files, on XLSX and Berkeley DB, and on columns such as "First Name". XLSX and Berkeley DB are now read by Database::Abstraction.
- /api/range ignored joins and combines.
- DataSource->updated() now gives the file's mtime.
- /embed/:id drew no charts. A canvas card's CSV download always failed.
- Writes to analyses.json reported success when nothing was saved; they now answer 503. A store that could not be parsed was replaced by the next save; it is now kept as <file>.corrupt.<time>.
- A canvas or models.json of the wrong shape was a 500. PUT, PATCH and import now refuse or drop what POST does.
- /export and /folder hung on a bad span= or calculated field.
- 500s and exception pages now give a message instead: an unreadable data or staging directory, SQLite export without a driver, a JSON URL that holds no rows, a failing map renderer, a sorted export or a page on a read-only backend, an unknown heatmap scheme.
- Errors no longer show readers Perl source paths, line numbers or @INC.
- An absolute data_dir defeated the check that keeps analyses.json out of it.
- Non-numeric page=, per_page=, topn= and bins= are ignored.
- Line chart exports cut off rotated labels, and saved charts lost their fonts.
- Smaller fixes in Insights, calculated fields, Summary, Ask, the map and links built from non-ASCII text.
- Tutorial: new chapters on navigation, Ask, bi-geocode and the settings file, and the existing ones brought up to date.
Documentation
Modules
Web-based Business Intelligence viewer for data files
Natural language to analysis spec
Safe recursive-descent expression evaluator for Database::BI
Home picker, filesystem browser, table viewer, left-join engine, result filter, export, and file upload
SQLite materialisation cache for Database::BI
Automatic statistical insights for Database::BI (Phase 5.2)
Table-agnostic adapter around Database::Abstraction
Resolve a location column to coordinates, once per distinct value
Narrative summary generation for an analysis result
the chapters of the in-application tutorial
Shared utility functions for Database::BI modules