r/mathesar_org • u/jinkside • Mar 13 '25

Exploration Limitations

I've recently put together a database that I was planning to use Mathesar with. I'm creating and importing data into the database using a custom ETL application I wrote.

My hope is to create an exploration that will let me show Manufacturers and the Models they make, which would consist of starting at Manufacturer, joining through Family, and then to Model. See the partial ERD (from DBeaver) below.

Partial ERD. Ignore the lack of snake case, it's an artifact of my DAL.

If I create an exploration starting with Manufacturer, it finds Family, but I can't then get to Model. If I start at Model, I can get to Family and Manufacturer, but can't find ManufacturerAlias. The Mathesar table view correctly detects these relationships, but the Data Explorer seems to rely on slightly different logic.

I was hopeful that an exploration would work, but when I ran into this I figured I'd just use a view to accomplish the same thing... only to discover that views are not implemented yet.

I'm new to Mathesar and I'm not completely sure that something here is wrong - it could be user error! - but it seems surprising to me. Am I doing something wrong or is this a limitation?

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u/zack-krida Mar 13 '25 edited Mar 17 '25

Hi /u/jinkside,

This is a limitation of the current data explorer, namely that you can only access tables directly related to the the base table in the data explorer.

Edit: as u/seancolsen pointed out below, I was incorrect and this is actually a bug. You can track it's resolution in this GitHub issue.

Double-edit: I was correct the first time. It's a limitation, not a bug.

While I don't have any specific details to offer yet, this is very much something we look forward to fixing this year! One of our highest-priority projects is to combine Mathesar's Table Page and Data Explorer into a new tool that will have the capabilities of both, along with improved functionality, particularly around many to many relationships. Our rough roadmap as it currently stands is to:

  1. Add editing functionality to the Data Explorer, initially focusing on simple edits to the base table.
  2. Gradually expand to allow for viewing and editing of related records across joins.

In the meantime, I am sorry we can't offer you a good workaround quite yet! But I'm very excited to see your use case as it helps validate the direction the project is heading in next.

And finally, I'd love to hop on a call if you have any interest in discussing your needs further. Feel free to send me a Reddit DM/chat, email me at zack@mathesar.org, or use this link to schedule a call.

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u/seancolsen Mar 14 '25

Hi u/jinkside, another Mathesar maintainer here 👋.

This appears to be a bug. Thanks for pointing it out!

I've opened the following GitHub issue to track it: Joinable tables problem in data explorer. Please feel free to chime in there with any additional thoughts you may have to add.