A database system comprised of a decoupled compute layer and storage layer is implemented to store, build, and maintain a canonical dataset, a temporary buffer, and an edits dataset. The canonical dataset is a set of batch updated data. The data is appended in chunks to the canonical dataset such that the canonical dataset becomes a historical dataset over time. The buffer is a write ahead log that contains the most recent chunks of data and provides atomicity and durability for the database system. The edits dataset is the set of data that contains edits such as cell mutations, row appends and/or row deletions. The database system enables users to make cell or row-level edits to tables and observe those edits in analytical systems or downstream builds with minimal latency.