Adavanced Analytics hidden for Non-Timeseries Data

[qmb-jschwartz]

Bug description

In this recently merged pulll request:
#28312

it says that

The superset feature allows users to choose a non-temporal column for the x-axis.
However, when a non-temporal column is selected, advanced analytics and forecast options are not compatible.

This not quite true. We use the Rolling Window functions extensively for our charts with non-temporal fields as the x-axis. I imagine some users might be surprised by this new behavior, as a lot of use-cases need Rolling Window functions.

As a workaround, we of course can edit the underlying Datasets. But it was a nice, accessible feature. And now it's gone. And that's sad.

As an aside: As long as we do not update the charts, they still show the desired behavior (with applied rolling window function) - we just cannot edit them :).

Detailed description of current behavior

1. Go to /chart/add create new to create a new Chart
2. Select one of "Line Chart", "Area Chart" or "Bar Chart"
3. Add a date field as the x-Axis
4. The Advanced Analytics View is shown
5. Add a non-date field as the x-Axis
6. The Advanced Analytics View is hidden

Screencast.from.2024-11-22.08-46-17.webm

Proposed Solution

Either rollback the PR:

• fix(explore): hide advanced analytics for non temporal xaxis #28312

Or make the behavior configurable via a FEATURE_FLAG:

• HIDE_ADVANCED_ANALYTICS_FOR_NON_TEMPORAL_X_AXIS

Thank you for considering this.

Screenshots/recordings

No response

Superset version

master / latest-dev

Python version

3.11

Node version

16

Browser

Chrome

Additional context

No response

Checklist

• I have searched Superset docs and Slack and didn't find a solution to my problem.
• I have searched the GitHub issue tracker and didn't find a similar bug report.
• I have checked Superset's logs for errors and if I found a relevant Python stacktrace, I included it here as text in the "additional context" section.

[dosubot]

@qmb-jschwartz Hello there! I'm here to help you with any bugs, questions, or contributions you might have for the project. Let's work together to solve this issue.

The recent change in pull request #28312 hides the Advanced Analytics options for non-temporal x-axis fields in Apache Superset. This was done because advanced analytics and forecast options are generally not compatible with non-temporal data ^[1]. However, as you've noted, the Rolling Window function can still be useful for non-temporal fields.

Currently, the visibility of these options is controlled by the displayTimeRelatedControls function, which checks if the x-axis field is temporal ^[2]. Unfortunately, there isn't a built-in feature flag to override this behavior or make it configurable at the moment ^[3].

Your suggestion to either roll back the change or introduce a feature flag like HIDE_ADVANCED_ANALYTICS_FOR_NON_TEMPORAL_X_AXIS could be a viable solution to address this issue. This would allow users who rely on these functions for non-temporal data to continue using them without disruption.

To continue talking to Dosu, mention @dosu.