TerminusDB 12.0.4: Fast Range Queries and Interval Algebra

TerminusDB 12.0.4 adds fast range queries over triples, ISO 8601 time and Allen interval algebra predicates, Set cardinality constraints, and atomic JSON-LD context management. Released on 25 February 2026, it is the biggest feature release of the 12.0 line so far.

• Triple range queries — O(log n) range lookups pushed into the storage engine.
• Time and interval predicates — ISO 8601 parsing and the 13 Allen relations.
• Set cardinality — cardinality constraints directly on Set properties.
• Atomic context management — versioned prefix changes and JSON @context.

Triple range queries

What it does

triple_slice (and quad_slice for named graphs) adds low/high bound parameters to a triple pattern. The bounds are pushed into the storage engine, which binary-searches the sorted value dictionary and only iterates the matching range — O(log n) lookups instead of a full scan. When the predicate is ground, the XSD type is inferred from the schema, so untyped bounds are cast for you.

triple_slice(v.doc, "timestamp", v.time, "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z", "2025-02-01T00:00:00Z")

Read more: Range queries with triple_slice and quad_slice

Time and interval predicates

What it does

Two groups of predicates land together:

• ISO 8601 time predicates — parse and compare xsd:dateTime values, time points and durations natively, without string comparisons.
• Allen interval algebra — the 13 relations between time intervals (before, meets, overlaps, during, starts, finishes, and their inverses) as first-class WOQL predicates, built for temporal knowledge graphs.

Why it matters

Time processing is crucial in business applications. Intervals are a messy part of that, especially for financial applications where you need to understand how durations really work to get it right. Read more on ISO 8601 for more information. Financial reporting builds on this foundation.

Allen interval algebra is needed to calculate how time relates for building calendars, ensuring all the dates in a year are included in the monthly reporting periods. How do you know if there is a gap between February and March on leap years unless you use Allen interval algebra to verify that all intervals meet?

Additionally, TerminusDB now supports both inclusive and half-open intervals and date ranges, which is an important distinction.

Read more: WOQL time handling · Interval algebra reference · Time processing

Set cardinality

Set properties now take the same cardinality constraints as the deprecated Cardinality type — @cardinality for an exact bound, @min_cardinality and @max_cardinality for ranges. Cardinality itself is deprecated; use Set instead.

{
  "@id": "Person",
  "@type": "Class",
  "name": "xsd:string",
  "friends": {
    "@type": "Set",
    "@class": "Person",
    "@cardinality": 3
  }
}

Documents violating the bounds are rejected at commit time.

Read more: Set with cardinality

Atomic context management

Schema context elements — @context and @metadata — are now managed atomically as JSON objects. Prefix changes go through the /api/prefix/ endpoint and commit with the data that needs them; re-adding a prefix is idempotent. A @context value given as an IRI in the schema context is also served as a JSON-LD header value in the document API.

Why it matters

Prefixes and data now commit together, so a schema change can never leave documents pointing at prefixes that were only half-written. Idempotent re-adds make prefix automation safe to retry.

Also in 12.0.4

• collect keyword, matching member, for collecting a variable without grouping
• comment predicate for documenting WOQL queries in the AST (#2337)
• Commit log records the actual user making the change, not only the author string
• ChangeKey migration keeps subdocument IDs conformant (#2373)
• Builds prepared for NixOS; at least 10% faster reasoning-heavy workloads on SWI-Prolog 10
• @metadata and @context keys starting with @ handled properly (#2344)

Fixes

• xsd:anyURI values are now RFC 3987 compliant for URIs and IRIs (#2338)
• Fixed delegated database access pattern (#2347)
• Fixed incorrect commit of label during optimization (#2353)
• Fixed schema migration bug for inherited properties (#2372)
• Fixed SWI-Prolog 10 stack exhaustion and improved memory management (#2377)
• Fixed eviction of memory for stale layers (#2342)

Upgrade

docker pull terminusdb/terminusdb-server:v12.0.4

No data migration is needed. Docker install guide · Full changelog on GitHub

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