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Implement browse copy feature for improved performance with large datasets
- Introduced a new browse copy mechanism that creates optimized copies of large files with small row groups, significantly reducing load times for deep pages. - Updated the backend to manage browse copy creation, status checking, and deletion, ensuring efficient handling of dataset unloading and version saving. - Enhanced the DataManipulationEngine to utilize browse copies for faster row retrieval, improving overall user experience when working with large datasets. - Added new BrowseCopyStatus schema to track the state of browse copies and updated relevant frontend components to reflect these changes.
1 parent 84acba9 commit bdd9a42

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Lines changed: 559 additions & 15 deletions

‎CHANGELOG.md‎

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@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
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- Open-source project files: license, contributing guide, code of conduct, security policy, issue and pull
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request templates, and CI.
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- Documentation under `docs/`.
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- **Optimize for browsing**: for large files whose deep pages load slowly (Parquet written as huge row groups,
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or big CSV/JSON files), the Browse tab offers to build a copy with small row groups in the background. With it,
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any page of a 3 GB, 1M-row file loads in under 0.15 s (down from 1–2 s). The copy is rebuilt after saving and
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deleted when the dataset is unloaded or you click Remove.
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### Fixed
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@@ -22,6 +26,10 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
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### Changed
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- Much faster opening and browsing of large files. Opening a file reads only metadata: 0.07 s, down from
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14.8 s, for a 3 GB, 1M-row Parquet file. Row pages come from a window cache with a streaming Parquet reader, so
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first pages, next pages and opening a row take under 0.1 s, down from 2–4 s. Saving a version no longer rescans
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the file. Missing % and duplicate counts are skipped for large non-Parquet files.
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- The Search button on the Browse tab shows and hides the search box, like the AI and Filters buttons.
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## [1.0.0]

‎CLAUDE.md‎

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@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ Vite frontend (`frontend/`). Read [docs/architecture.md](docs/architecture.md) b
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on commit, through `services/versioning/service.py`: temporary file, then `os.replace`.
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- Version history lives in `<data folder>/.data-expert-history/<file>/` and is linear. Row edits store reverse
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deltas; transforms store hardlinked snapshots. See [docs/version-control.md](docs/version-control.md).
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- Opening a file must stay instant: `get_stats` reads metadata (Parquet footer), never the data, for large files.
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Plain row pages go through `services/row_cache.py`. Its streaming readers hold files open, so call
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`row_cache.release(path)` before replacing a data file. Opt-in browse copies (`services/browse_copy.py`) are
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read instead when they match the file; `browse_copies.delete(id)` stops a build that holds the file open.
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- Search: files under 256 MB are scanned with Polars (including pending edits); larger files use a background
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Tantivy index. Call `search_engine.delete_index` before replacing a data file, because Windows locks open files.
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- Generated AI functions must pass `services/functions/sandbox.py`. New built-ins go in

‎backend/app/main.py‎

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@@ -19,14 +19,15 @@
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from app.services.directory_scanner import directory_scanner
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from app.services.ai.views import view_store
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from app.services.row_cache import row_cache
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from app.services.browse_copy import browse_copies
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from app.services.profile_store import insights_store
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from app.api.ai_routes import router as ai_router
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from app.api.version_routes import router as version_router
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from app.models.version_schemas import CommitRequest, VersionCommit
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from app.models.schemas import (
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Dataset, LoadDatasetRequest, ScanRequest, ScanResponse,
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PaginationParams, FilterParams, SortParams, FilterRequest, SortRequest,
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SearchRequest, SearchResponse, SearchIndexStatus, RowsResponse, RowData,
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SearchRequest, SearchResponse, SearchIndexStatus, BrowseCopyStatus, RowsResponse, RowData,
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AddRowRequest, UpdateRowRequest, ReplaceRequest, TransformRequest,
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CombineRequest, SeparateRequest, ExportRequest,
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DatasetProfile, AnalyticsOverview, ErrorResponse, SuccessResponse,
@@ -141,12 +142,13 @@ def load_dataset(request: LoadDatasetRequest):
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@app.delete("/api/datasets/{dataset_id}", response_model=SuccessResponse)
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async def unload_dataset(dataset_id: str):
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def unload_dataset(dataset_id: str):
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"""Unload a dataset."""
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dataset = dataset_manager.get_dataset(dataset_id)
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success = dataset_manager.unload_dataset(dataset_id)
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if dataset:
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row_cache.release(dataset.path)
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browse_copies.delete(dataset_id)
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if not success:
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raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=f"Dataset {dataset_id} not found")
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analytics_engine.forget_profile(dataset_id)
@@ -257,6 +259,30 @@ def build_search_index(dataset_id: str):
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return _edit(search_engine.build_index, dataset_id)
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# ==================== Browse copy ====================
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@app.get("/api/datasets/{dataset_id}/browse-copy", response_model=BrowseCopyStatus)
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def browse_copy_status(dataset_id: str):
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"""Whether the dataset has (or would benefit from) a copy with small row groups for fast paging."""
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get_dataset(dataset_id)
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return _edit(browse_copies.status, dataset_id)
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@app.post("/api/datasets/{dataset_id}/browse-copy", response_model=BrowseCopyStatus)
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def build_browse_copy(dataset_id: str):
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"""Start building the browse copy in the background."""
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get_dataset(dataset_id)
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return _edit(browse_copies.build, dataset_id)
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@app.delete("/api/datasets/{dataset_id}/browse-copy", response_model=BrowseCopyStatus)
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def delete_browse_copy(dataset_id: str):
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"""Stop building and delete the browse copy."""
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get_dataset(dataset_id)
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browse_copies.delete(dataset_id)
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return _edit(browse_copies.status, dataset_id)
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# ==================== Analytics ====================
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@app.get("/api/datasets/{dataset_id}/stats", response_model=AnalyticsOverview)

‎backend/app/models/schemas.py‎

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@@ -147,6 +147,15 @@ class SearchIndexStatus(BaseModel):
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error: Optional[str] = None
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class BrowseCopyStatus(BaseModel):
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state: Literal["missing", "building", "ready", "error"]
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needed: bool = False
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done: int = 0
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total: int = 0
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size_bytes: int = 0
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error: Optional[str] = None
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class SearchResponse(BaseModel):
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results: List[SearchResult]
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total: int
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"""Optional browse copies: a file rewritten with small row groups so any page can be read in milliseconds.
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Parquet files written as one huge row group must be decoded up to the requested rows (or completely), so jumping
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deep into them takes seconds; large text formats (CSV, JSON Lines, ...) must be scanned from the start. A browse copy
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holds the same rows as Parquet with BROWSE_GROUP_ROWS-row groups. It is built on request, in the background, and is
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keyed by the source file's size and modification time, so it is never used for a changed file.
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"""
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import logging
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import shutil
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import threading
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from pathlib import Path
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from typing import Dict, Optional
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import pyarrow as pa
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import pyarrow.parquet as pq
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from app.core.config import settings
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from app.models.schemas import BrowseCopyStatus, Dataset, DataFormat
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from app.services.data_loader import dataset_manager
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from app.services.row_cache import row_cache
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logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
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BROWSE_GROUP_ROWS = 10_000
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# A Parquet row group above this (uncompressed) makes deep pages slow; other formats need a copy above this file size.
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SLOW_GROUP_BYTES = 256 * 1024 * 1024
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SLOW_FILE_BYTES = 256 * 1024 * 1024
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class _Job:
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def __init__(self, total: int):
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self.total = total
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self.done = 0
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self.error: Optional[str] = None
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self.cancelled = False
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self.thread: Optional[threading.Thread] = None
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class BrowseCopies:
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def __init__(self, base_path: Optional[str] = None):
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self.base = Path(base_path or Path(settings.data.registry_path).parent / "browse_copies")
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self._jobs: Dict[str, _Job] = {}
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self._lock = threading.RLock()
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# ---------- paths ----------
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def _path(self, dataset: Dataset) -> Path:
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stat = Path(dataset.path).stat()
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return self.base / dataset.id / f"{stat.st_size}-{stat.st_mtime_ns}.parquet"
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def ready_path(self, dataset: Dataset) -> Optional[str]:
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"""The copy to read pages from, if one exists for the file's current version."""
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try:
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path = self._path(dataset)
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except OSError:
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return None
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return str(path) if path.exists() else None
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# ---------- status ----------
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@staticmethod
61+
def needed(dataset: Dataset) -> bool:
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if dataset.format != DataFormat.PARQUET:
63+
return dataset.size_bytes >= SLOW_FILE_BYTES
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try:
65+
meta = pq.ParquetFile(dataset.path).metadata
66+
except (OSError, pa.ArrowException):
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return False
68+
return any(meta.row_group(i).total_byte_size > SLOW_GROUP_BYTES for i in range(meta.num_row_groups))
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def status(self, dataset_id: str) -> BrowseCopyStatus:
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dataset = self._dataset(dataset_id)
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ready = self.ready_path(dataset)
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if ready:
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return BrowseCopyStatus(state="ready", needed=True, done=dataset.row_count, total=dataset.row_count,
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size_bytes=Path(ready).stat().st_size)
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job = self._jobs.get(dataset_id)
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if job and job.error:
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return BrowseCopyStatus(state="error", needed=True, done=job.done, total=job.total, error=job.error)
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if job:
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return BrowseCopyStatus(state="building", needed=True, done=job.done, total=job.total)
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return BrowseCopyStatus(state="missing", needed=self.needed(dataset), total=dataset.row_count)
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# ---------- building ----------
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def build(self, dataset_id: str) -> BrowseCopyStatus:
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"""Start building the copy in the background (no-op if it is ready or already building)."""
87+
with self._lock:
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current = self.status(dataset_id)
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if current.state in ("ready", "building"):
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return current
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dataset = self._dataset(dataset_id)
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job = _Job(dataset.row_count)
93+
self._jobs[dataset_id] = job
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job.thread = threading.Thread(
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target=self._build, args=(dataset, self._path(dataset), job), daemon=True, name=f"browse-{dataset_id}",
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)
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job.thread.start()
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return self.status(dataset_id)
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def _build(self, dataset: Dataset, target: Path, job: _Job) -> None:
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tmp = target.with_suffix(".tmp")
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writer: Optional[pq.ParquetWriter] = None
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try:
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target.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
105+
for batch in self._batches(dataset):
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if job.cancelled:
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raise InterruptedError("cancelled")
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table = pa.Table.from_batches([batch]) if isinstance(batch, pa.RecordBatch) else batch
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if writer is None:
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writer = pq.ParquetWriter(tmp, table.schema, compression="zstd", compression_level=1)
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writer.write_table(table, row_group_size=BROWSE_GROUP_ROWS)
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job.done += table.num_rows
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if writer is None:
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raise ValueError("The file has no rows")
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writer.close()
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writer = None
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tmp.replace(target)
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for old in target.parent.iterdir():
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if old != target:
120+
old.unlink(missing_ok=True)
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with self._lock:
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if self._jobs.get(dataset.id) is job:
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del self._jobs[dataset.id]
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logger.info(f"Browse copy of {dataset.name} built: {job.done} rows")
125+
except Exception as e:
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if writer is not None:
127+
writer.close()
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tmp.unlink(missing_ok=True)
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if not job.cancelled:
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logger.exception(f"Building the browse copy of {dataset.name} failed")
131+
job.error = str(e) or type(e).__name__
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133+
@staticmethod
134+
def _batches(dataset: Dataset):
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"""The source rows in BROWSE_GROUP_ROWS batches, read as a stream so memory stays flat."""
136+
if dataset.format == DataFormat.PARQUET:
137+
file = pq.ParquetFile(dataset.path, buffer_size=1 << 20, pre_buffer=False)
138+
try:
139+
yield from file.iter_batches(batch_size=BROWSE_GROUP_ROWS)
140+
finally:
141+
file.close()
142+
return
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lf = dataset_manager.get_dataframe(dataset.id)
144+
for frame in lf.collect_batches(chunk_size=BROWSE_GROUP_ROWS):
145+
yield frame.to_arrow()
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# ---------- removal ----------
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def delete(self, dataset_id: str) -> bool:
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"""Stop any build and remove the dataset's copies. Returns whether there was a copy or a build."""
151+
with self._lock:
152+
job = self._jobs.pop(dataset_id, None)
153+
if job and job.thread and job.thread.is_alive():
154+
job.cancelled = True
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job.thread.join(timeout=60)
156+
folder = self.base / dataset_id
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existed = bool(job and not job.error) or (folder.exists() and any(folder.glob("*.parquet")))
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if folder.exists():
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for copy in folder.glob("*.parquet"):
160+
row_cache.release(str(copy))
161+
shutil.rmtree(folder, ignore_errors=True)
162+
return existed
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@staticmethod
165+
def _dataset(dataset_id: str) -> Dataset:
166+
dataset = dataset_manager.get_dataset(dataset_id)
167+
if not dataset:
168+
raise KeyError(f"Dataset {dataset_id} not found")
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return dataset
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browse_copies = BrowseCopies()

‎backend/app/services/manipulation.py‎

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from app.models.schemas import (
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ChangeItem, ChangesSummary, DataFormat, FilterParams, ReplaceRequest, RowData, RowsResponse, SortParams,
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)
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from app.services.browse_copy import browse_copies
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from app.services.row_cache import row_cache
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from app.models.version_schemas import VersionCommit
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from app.services.changes import ADDED_BASE, IDX, apply_changes, coerce, replace_match, with_index
@@ -85,6 +86,9 @@ def _saved_rows(self, dataset_id: str, offset: int, limit: int, total: int) -> p
8586
dataset = dataset_manager.get_dataset(dataset_id)
8687
if not dataset:
8788
return lf.slice(offset, limit).collect()
89+
copy = browse_copies.ready_path(dataset)
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if copy:
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return row_cache.rows(copy, pl.scan_parquet(copy), True, offset, limit, total)
8892
return row_cache.rows(dataset.path, lf, dataset.format == DataFormat.PARQUET, offset, limit, total)
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@staticmethod

‎backend/app/services/versioning/service.py‎

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RowDiff, SaveVersionRequest, SchemaChange, VersionColumn, VersionCommit, VersionDiff, VersionHistory, VersionInfo,
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VersionRows, VersionStats,
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)
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from app.services.browse_copy import browse_copies
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from app.services.changes import IDX
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from app.services.data_loader import data_loader, dataset_manager
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from app.services.row_cache import row_cache
@@ -117,21 +118,27 @@ def _write(
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commit_id = self._new_id(message)
118119
tmp = path.with_name(f".{path.stem}.dx-tmp{path.suffix}")
119120
undo_meta: Dict[str, Any] = dict(fields.pop("undo_meta", {}))
121+
had_copy = False
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try:
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write_frame(lf, tmp, dataset.format)
122124
if prepare:
123125
undo_meta.update(prepare(commit_id))
124126
if undo == "snapshot":
125127
repo.take_snapshot(commit_id)
128+
had_copy = browse_copies.delete(dataset.id)
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row_cache.release(str(path))
127130
os.replace(tmp, path)
128131
except Exception:
129132
repo.remove_snapshot(commit_id)
130133
shutil.rmtree(repo.undo_dir(commit_id), ignore_errors=True)
134+
if had_copy:
135+
browse_copies.build(dataset.id)
131136
raise
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finally:
133138
tmp.unlink(missing_ok=True)
134139
reloaded = self._reload(dataset)
140+
if had_copy:
141+
browse_copies.build(reloaded.id)
135142
commit = self._commit(repo, reloaded, commit_id, kind, message, undo=undo, undo_meta=undo_meta, **fields)
136143
repo.add(commit, ops)
137144
self._prune(repo)

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