Babase 5.0 was released on May 3, 2022. In this update, all tables (except for those related to warnings) became "temporal" tables. All changes to the data from this date onward will be recorded, in case earlier versions need to be recalled.
Major changes to Babase 5.0 include:
Creation of the babase_history schema and its "history" tables
Addition of a Sys_Period column to every table
Installation of "versioning" triggers to record old versions of data in the "history" tables
For information about how to use this new system, see Temporal Tables and babase_history.
Babase 5.1 was released on June 2, 2022. In this update, three new columns were added to RANKS to assist users with making decisions about the accuracy of rank data, similar to the way "confidence" columns are employed in other tables. New functions were also added to automate the population of these new columns.
Major changes in Babase 5.1 include:
Addition of the Ags_Density, Ags_Reversals, and Ags_Expected columns to the RANKS table
Creation of the rebuild_ranks(), rebuild_ranks_grp_rnktype(), and rebuild_all_ranks() functions to populate the new columns
In Babase 5.1.1 — released on June 16, 2022 — most of the validation for the CYCGAPS table was rewritten. For the most part, the actual rules did not change (exceptions discussed below) but the timing did, such that most of the CYCGAPS rules are now validated on transaction commit. Because of this change, rules that were in place to allow adding/removing/modifying gaps by doing odd things — e.g. "insert a 'start' row with the same date as an 'end' row to remove both" — are no longer needed and were removed.
Babase 5.2 was released on August 9, 2022. In this update, the contents of the PCSKINS table were added to the SEXSKINS table, and PCSKINS was removed. The PCSKINS_SORTED view was likewise removed. To facilitate this change, the Color column was added to SEXSKINS.
In Babase 5.2.1 — released on August 15, 2022 — the REPRO_NOTES table was added, as well as the SEXSKINS_REPRO_NOTES view.
In Babase 5.2.2 — released on September 7, 2022 — the Comments column was added to the WBC_COUNTS table.
In Babase 5.2.3 — released on September 8, 2022
— the HYBRIDGENE_SCORES table was
altered to allow Lower_Conf and Upper_Conf to be NULL.
Babase 5.3 was released on June 21, 2023. In this update, the residency system was revamped. Details of the new system are explained in the residency rules, but in general:
Individuals no longer need to be present in a group for 29 days before their residency begins. Instead, their residency begins on the first day that they were continually present in the group of residency.
When an individual begins to transition out of their resident group, their residency no longer ends at the beginning of that transition period (their first absence). Instead, residency lasts until the end of that transition period (the last day of the last "present" 29-day window).
Residency assignments are no longer limited to study groups. Individuals can be residents of any group (except 9.0 and 10.0), and it is possible to remain resident in a low-frequency (probably non-study) group through lengthy periods of nonobservation.
The system no longer attempts to assign residency in all of an individual's MEMBERS rows. Instead, the system only considers dates between the individual's Entrydate and Statdate, inclusive.
Other changes in Babase 5.3:
A new column added to ENTRYTYPES, telling the system when to use an alternate rule set for assigning residency on and shortly after an individual's Entrydate.
A new column added to STATUSES, telling the system when to use an alternate rule set for assigning residency on and shortly before an individual's Statdate.
A new table, RESIDENCIES, which condenses each individual's day-by-day residency information in MEMBERS into discrete "bouts".
In Babase 5.3.1, released on 17 July 2023, the FLOW_CYTOMETRY table was added.
In Babase 5.3.2, released on 02 November 2023, the Collection_Date_Status column was added to TISSUE_DATA and several related views.
In Babase 5.3.3, released on 09 November 2023, the VAGINAL_PHS table and the related VAGINAL_PH_STATS view were added.
Babase 5.4 was released on November 28, 2023. In this update, the WEATHERHAWK table was renamed to DIGITAL_WEATHER, the Lightning_Strikes column was added to DIGITAL_WEATHER, and the WEATHERHAWK_SOFTWARES table was renamed to WEATHER_SOFTWARES.
Babase 5.5 was released on January 26, 2024. In this update, most of the validation of focal sampling data was rewritten.
Previously, two specific sample types (F for adult females and J for juveniles of any sex) were hard coded into the system as the only legal SAMPLES.SType values. When a rule applied to one of those STypes but not the other, the rule was also hard coded into the system. All of that hard coding was removed in this update.
Instead, the STYPES, STYPES_ACTIVITIES, STYPES_NCODES, and STYPES_POSTURES tables were added. They have been populated so that all previously hard coded rules are still being enforced. In other words, the data and validation on it did not change (with one exception, below). Rather, the way that the validation is written and enforced has changed. This change should allow the system to add focal sampling data that were collected with other sampling protocols.
As mentioned above, there is one exception to the claim that the "data and validation on it did not change". Before this version, a female could not be sampled as a juvenile after the conception date of her first offspring. This rule was deemed unnecessarily restrictive. Now, a female can be sampled as a juvenile until the birth date of her first offspring, thanks to the STYPES.Days_After_FirstBirth column.
In Babase 5.5.1 — released on
February 09, 2024 — the DIGITAL_WEATHER table was adjusted to accommodate
rainfall measurements from devices besides the WeatherHawk.
The YearlyRain column is now
allowed to be NULL, and the automatic calculation of TimeStampRain from the YearlyRain was removed.
In Babase 5.5.2, released on 22 February 2024, the PALMTOPS support table was renamed to SAMPLES_COLLECTION_SYSTEMS, and the SAMPLES.Palmtop column was renamed to Collection_System. The rationale for this change is discussed in the documentation of the SAMPLES_COLLECTION_SYSTEMS table.
In Babase 5.5.3, released on 06 Mar 2024, a few more adjustments were made to the DIGITAL_WEATHER table. Barometer was changed to contain corrected values, not uncorrected ones. This included a slight change in the range of allowed values and the expansion of the column's data type to allow another digit. Also, the TimeStampRain was converted from an integer to a 5-digit number with 2 digits to the right of the decimal.
In Babase 5.5.4, released on 22 Apr 2024, the SWERB views learned about longitude and latitude. Specifically, the SWERB, SWERB_DATA_XY, SWERB_DEPARTS, SWERB_GW_LOC_DATA_XY, SWERB_GW_LOCS, and SWERB_LOC_GPS_XY views added longitude and latitude colums alongside the x and y columns they already had, and the SWERB_UPLOAD view became able to upload data with longitude and latitude coordinates. The bb_makepoint_longlat() function was added, as well.
In Babase 5.5.5, released on 31 May
2024, the INTERACT_DATA table was changed so
that it no longer requires that interactions with a non-NULL
Sid must have a Handwritten of FALSE. Whether or
not an interaction is associated with a focal sample is now
fully independent of whether or not it was recorded by hand.
Admittedly, it could be argued that this is one of the "hard
coded" rules that should have been removed in Babase 5.5. In this case the rule is not being
replaced or enforced elsewhere; it is simply being
removed.