Kwil Unveils Database Explorer for Enhanced Data Visualisation
Kwil, the team building decentralised databases for Web3, has unveiled its latest creation – the Kwil Database Explorer. This tool introduces a new and intuitive user interface, providing developers, database administrators, and everyday users with an interactive medium to visualise relational data on the Kwil network.
The Kwil Database Explorer comes after the release of the Kwil SQL syntax expansion, released earlier this month, to enhance the overall development experience on Kwil. It empowers teams to monitor real-time database updates and access vital database metadata.
These are Kwil's latest feature updates, but they are nowhere near finished yet!
The Kwil Database Explorer
Previously, data retrieval on Kwil was only possible through one of the Kwil Software Development Kits (SDKs) or the Kwil Command Line Interface (CLI). This limitation affected how users could view and track their data on the network. But with the Database Explorer's launch, users can now directly manage and interact with their databases on Kwil using a straightforward Graphical User Interface (GUI).
The Database Explorer also allows users to search for databases using an Ethereum wallet address or a Kwil database identifier. Given that data composability is a core benefit of Web3, the ability to search for public data sets on the Kwil network is a powerful and much needed tool.
Developers can easily tap into the network's existing data, enriching their applications with diverse datasets from users across the globe. You can explore the new database explorer yourself here.
The Kwil SQL Syntax Expansion
Kwil's SQL Syntax Expansion that was introduced earlier this month represents a significant enhancement of the SQL support on the Kwil network.
Decentralising SQL, according to Kwil's blog post, presents two main challenges: non-determinism and the potential for overly complex query operations. A deterministic system, one that always produces the same results given a particular initial state or condition, is crucial to successful decentralisation. But many operations in SQL are non-deterministic. For instance, Kwil gives the example where a user would call a TIME(now) function (to request the current time), one node's assigned time may differ from another's, leading to discrepancies and challenges in data reconciliation on the decentralised database. Moreover, overly complex query operations could slow down or crash decentralised networks.
And for the digital world to run smoothly, in sync, and in a decentralised fashion, that simply won't cut it.
Kwil's SQL Syntax Expansion aims to resolve these issues by striking a balance between delivering SQL's power and flexibility while also ensuring compatibility with a decentralised system.
The full Kwil SQL syntax tree that expands the SQL functionality Kwil can confidently support, can be found here. Some new features include making subqueries, join clauses, common table expressions, upsert clauses, and more.
