> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kinetica.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 5.2 Release Notes

## Features

### Connectors

* Increased stability & performance across connectors

### Core

* Added support for 32, 64, 128, & 256 byte character strings

* Initial *NULL* support

* Added support for inner, left & right join set operations

* Added filter planner for displaying join path

* Added set concatenation operation

* Aggregation result sets can be made into views

* New functions:

  * Character-based:  `lower`, `upper`, `min`, `max`, `ltrim`,
    `rtrim` & `trim`
  * Geographic:  `wkt_dist` & `wkt_is_within_dist`
  * Null:  `is_null`, `nvl`, `nvl2` & `nullif`

* Collapsed `/alter/table/*` and `/show/table/*` endpoints

### Security

* Added role-based security and supporting endpoints
* Removed passphrase-based authorization checks; no longer needed in new
  security model

### GAdmin

* Added to HA & security infrastructures
* Sortable data grid columns
* Added to table view: shard & foreign keys, replicated & protected statuses,
  TTL

### SQL

* Operations:  `JOIN`, `LEFT`/`RIGHT` `JOIN`, `EXISTS`,
  `SELECT DISTINCT`, `TOP`, `UNION ALL` & `IN`
* Functions:  `CASE`, `CONVERT`, `IFNULL`, `NOT`, `TIMESTAMPADD`,
  `TRUNCATE`