missing data is always forced to 0

[vprus]

Since commit https://github.com/cube-js/cube.js/pull/3664/files if a pivot does not have any values for particular combination of dimensions, '0' is returned. This is suboptimal, because in a number of contexts, missing data and zero have different meaning. For example, I use cubejs to visualize certain business predictions, where missing data can indicate a technical problem, while "0" indicates a business problem.

To reproduce

Start cubejs with docker with

% docker run -p 4000:4000 \
  -v ${PWD}:/cube/conf \
  -e CUBEJS_DEV_MODE=true \
  cubejs/cube

Make sure the version is 0.30.7 (the current one as of today) or later.

Connect to a database (I've used clickhouse)

Define schema as

cube('Test', {
    sql: `
SELECT * FROM VALUES('x Int64, y Int64, value Int64', (1, 1, 7), (2, 2, 19))
`,

    measures: {
    value: {
        sql: `value`,
        type: `sum`
        }
    },

    dimensions: {
    x: {
        sql: `x`,
        type: `number`
    },
    y: {
        sql: `y`,
        type: `number`
    }
    }
})

Go to the build tab, and build the query as follows:

• Select value as measure
• Select x and y as dimensions
• In pivot config, use 'x' for x axis, and 'y,measures' for y axis
• Leave "Fill Missing Dates" at the default state of checked.

Run the query.

Observed effect

Each table cell we have no values for shows "0"

Expected effect

Each table cell we have no value for is empty. Previously (at least in version 0.27.35), that's exactly what happened.

Version: 0.30.7

[vasilev-alex]

Hi @vprus!

Yeah, we missed that part out. But reverting this will cause a breaking change, which we only can do in the next minor release.

[vprus]

Thank you, as soon as it is fixed eventually, I'll be happy, no rush.