InterSystems IRIS is built on an architecture that separates the logical organization of data (namespaces) from its physical storage location (databases). Understanding this separation and the distinction between Namespaces and Databases is crucial for effective data management, security, and especially, high-performance data sharing.

In this article, I will discuss these foundational components and provide a practical guide on leveraging global mappings to share native data structures (globals) across different logical environments.

Databases: Physical Reality

A database represents the physical reality of where the data is stored on the disk. First and foremost, it’s a file in a file system called IRIS.dat (e.g., <Install folder>\mgr\user\IRIS.DAT). The maximum size of this file is 32TB. It is the container for all the actual data and the code. Databases are managed by the IRIS kernel, which handles caching, journaling, and transaction logging at the physical file level.

When you install InterSystems IRIS DBMS, the following databases are installed automatically:

Could someone help me with this error?

Sometimes it is more convenient, more efficient, and more secure, to limit FHIR Searches per pre-defined "Lists" of Resources.

Since v2025.1 we support several List-related features in our FHIR Server.

I will highlight these here, and provide some samples.

I have a Photo that is stored as an VARBINARY within MS SQL. I would like to Select the data into a EnsLib.SQL.Snapshot, is that possible? I would take it out of the Snapshot and send it to a %Stream so it can be written out to a file.

Developing Custom Components for Integrations – In Person (Boston, MA) February 10-12, 2026

I was trying to see if we could connect to another Server, we use to execute external scripts using %Net.SSH.Session.

InterSystems Change Control: Tier 1 Basics - Virtual January 21-23, 2026

Defining my first REST API within InterSystems using iris-rest-Api-template as a basis and I am seeing if someone could provide me some guidance to see if I can make it work.  

In some of my other posts, I have been trying to come up with a way for our Enterprise Application Development team which works with .Net to build Applications to make a REST call to our instance of InterSystems to query some of the Cache Tables we have defined. 

Using the iris-rest-api-template, I have created the osuwmc.DataLookup.REST.Base.cls

1. vscode extensions : intersystems.language-server-2.8.0@linux-arm64.vsix

2.  api/atelier web application is enabled 

3. vscode connect failed.

There is a Master Table within IRIS that I am populating from Epic but want to share it with our Enterprise Application Development Team (Web). As a test I was able to use _SYSTEM from postman to execute the following.

POST /api/atelier/v1/xxxx/action/query HTTP/1.1
Host: xxxxxxxx
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: ••••••
Cookie: CSPSESSIONID-SP-443-UP-api-atelier-=00f0000000000AKyLjBfUvU$MpFD8UT8y$EoNKNw1ixZeXN4_Q; CSPWSERVERID=hzZAT5rb
Content-Length: 86

{"query": "SELECT * FROM osuwmc_Epic_Clarity.DepartmentMaster WHERE ID = '300000000'"}

I have been struggling sometime with trying to take a FHIR Bundle Response, extract the "entry.resourceType", extract the MRN and Name from the Patient FHIR Response...

Going through learning.intersystems.com, it suggested that I try using fhirPathAPI to parse and search my response for certain values, however I am not sure my syntax is correct. Using the AI code, it suggested to set my tree = "Bundle.entry.resource.resourceType"

I was wondering if anyone had a way to automate creating the Query String for a FHIR Request?

Using HS.FHIRServer.Interop.Request in my development I have to specify the following...

I was wondering.... if my source had variable number of fields if there was a way to automate the build for the QueryString when doing a Patient Search?

I am trying to replicate a way to use FHIR as a way to query the EMR instead of using a MS SQL Stored Procedure that is populated via HL7 ADT to query.

Using a WSDL and the SOAP wizard I created a WebServiceClient, and Operation to send an encoded message to a Vendor. But the vendor is now sending back an HL7 in the SOAP response.

I tried updating the Operation to Extend EnsLib.HL7.Operation.ReplyStandard, but still use the EnsLib.SOAP.OutboundAdapter. When I did this it broke my Operation and would not compile with the following error...

I am looking for a way to capture Data Quality issues with the Source data that is populating HealthShare Provider Directory. 1 way is to use Managed Alerts, but since it could be multiple Providers and different messages it seems silly to alert on every message that has the error. Instead, I was thinking of using the Workflow Engine so it could populate a Worklist for someone to review and work.

Looking over the Demo.Workflow Engine example, I am not comprehending on how to send a task to the Workflow manager to populate the worklist from a DTL.

According to the Documentation  EnsLib.Workflow.TaskRequest has the following fields...

• %Action
• %Command
• %FormFields
• %FormTemplate
• %FormValues
• %Message
• %Priority
• %Subjext
• %TaskHandler
• %Title
• %UserName

I want to be able to capture the Source, Session ID, and any other Identifiers outside of the Error so it will show up on the Task List.

I am struggling how to build a csp template for me to be able to capture additional fields to send to the Workflow Operation.

Hey Developers,

Enjoy the new video on InterSystems Developers YouTube

⏯ HealthShare Vision & Roadmap - Fueling Faster AI Adoption Through Trusted Health Data @ READY 2025

I'm new to HealthShare. I've installed a demo using the HS.Util.Installer helper, now I'm playing with its FHIR Gateway (which is the HSFHIR namespace). When I try to create a new resource of type Patient using HTTP POST, HealthShare responses with

{
  "resourceType": "OperationOutcome",
  "issue": [
    {
      "severity": "error",
      "code": "not-supported",
      "diagnostics": "<HSFHIRErr>InteractionNotSupported",
      "details": {
        "text": "Interaction 'create' is not supported for resource type 'Patient'."
      }
    }
  ]
}

I built a BP, that every time that a message is received from a BS, it executes 

set isAuth=##class(%SYS.OAuth2.AccessToken).IsAuthorized("EpicFHIRPOC",,,.accessToken,.idtoken,.responseProperties,.error)
 if 'isAuth {
        set tSC=##class(%SYS.OAuth2.Authorization).GetAccessTokenClient("EpicFHIRPOC", "*",, .error)        
         set isAuth=##class(%SYS.OAuth2.AccessToken).IsAuthorized("EpicFHIRPOC",,,.accessToken,.idtoken,.responseProperties,.error)
    }

Here is what is currently used.

..CurrentDateTime("%Y%m%d%H%M%S")

The format is not the issue.

I need to make it our current time as it is five hours ahead.

How can I access the header property of either of these.

Or, if I can't do that, subtract five hours or the equivalent time in seconds.

example, if I receive 20201224161922, how can I make it 20201224111922?

Thanks,

Jonathan

Embeddedpy-bridge: A Toolkit for Embedded Python

Overview

Embedded Python is a game-changer for InterSystems IRIS, offering access to the vast Python ecosystem directly within the database. However, bridging the gap between ObjectScript and Python can sometimes feel like translating between two different worlds.

To make this transition seamless using embeddedpy-bridge.

As I am iterating through the FHIR JSON Response from a Patient Search, I am running into an issue where the extracted values are not being popualted into the Response object that I have created. If I do a $$$LOGINFO on them they will show up in the Object log, however if I try the following for example I get an error.

set target.MRN = identifier.value

Here is my Ens.DataTransform

Hi developers!

There is a neat feature of ObjectScript classes - Query element, which allows you to write in a clear SQL (without any & or ()), pass parameters to it and call it from ObjectScript as do QueryNameFunc() or via Call SQLProcedureName via SQL, .e.g.

Query MyQuery(p as%String) as%SQLQuery [SQLProc]

{ 

SELECT * FROM MyTable 

WHERE Name=:p

}

All works fine, but when I tried to use the same for a DELETE statement see the following error:

SELECT expected, DELETE found ^ DECLARE Q1 CURSOR FOR DELETE

Is the Query element for SELECT only? What am I doing wrong? )

I am trying to centralize our FHIR queries into a single BP object that would send the FHIR query to the EMR, interpret the response into a %Persistent structure that could be sent back to the requestor. In theory it seemed like it would work but I am running into an issue..

Hi, 
Our production FHIR server is populated by several processes from several sources, 
some of those sources send test data or wrong data (by mistake or as part of an integration test), 
the data is consumed by our BI every 15 minutes.
when I mark a resource as test (using meta security) BI knows to update it on their system.
everything is fine up to here (except that there is test data in Prod)
my problem is that if someone send the same patient again it will recreate the patient without the security tag.
any thoughts?
 

Hello!!!

Data migration often sounds like a simple "move data from A to B task" until you actually do it. In reality, it is a complex process that blends planning, validation, testing, and technical precision.

Over several projects where I handled data migration into a HIS which runs on IRIS (TrakCare), I realized that success comes from a mix of discipline and automation.

Here are a few points which I want to highlight.

1. Start with a Defined Data Format.

Before you even open your first file, make sure everyone, especially data providers, clearly understands the exact data format you expect. Defining templates early avoids unnecessary bank-and-forth and rework later. 

While Excel or CSV formats are common, I personally feel using a tab-delimited text file (.txt) for data upload is best. It's lightweight, consistent, and avoids issues with commas inside text fields. 

PatID   DOB Gender  AdmDate
10001   2000-01-02  M   2025-10-01
10002   1998-01-05  F   2025-10-05
10005   1980-08-23  M   2025-10-15

Make sure that the date formats given in the file is correct and constant throughout the file because all these files are usually converted from an Excel file and an Basic excel user might make mistakes while giving you the date formats wrong. Wrong date formats can irritate you while converting into horolog.

The Power of Indexing in Database Tables

When working with databases, most developers understand the concept of an index and why it's used: to speed up data retrieval. But the real impact of indexing often becomes clear only when you compare scenarios with and without it.

Do you Know what Happens Without an Index?
Imagine a table with three columns: Name, Age, and MobileNumber.

Now, consider this query:

If the Age column does not have an index, the database engine will:

In this article, we will discuss all the debugging tools included in the Microsoft Visual Studio Code IDE.

What will be covered:

• Breakpoints
• Watch window
• Call Stack

Let's start by learning about debugging requirements!

Prerequisites

There are two plugins (extensions) for debugging ObjectScript:

The first is part of the InterSystems ObjectScript Extension Pack. The second is Serenji, a standalone plugin that provides an editor, file manager, and debugging functionality. Both plugins can be installed from the plugin store. To activate key functionality, Serenji requires a license. For this article, we'll use the InterSystems ObjectScript Extension Pack to reduce the learning curve. After you've mastered the basics, you can consider purchasing a paid license for Serenji.

I want to extract data from IRIS (Health Share Provider Directory) and write the data out to a file that I can use within an external system. Using EnsLib.SQL.Service.GenericService do I need to supply Credentials if I am querying IRIS locally? I have always used JDBC to connect externally when creating Services and Operations to read/write SQL data from external Databases, but never internally. Normally I would just use sql or code to pull the data within a Process or DTC. But in this case, I want the Service to drive the workflow, and query the data from Local Tables

Using a Workflow Task within HealthShare Provider Directory, when a user clicks on Resubmit message within my Business Process, I check the status of the response. If the response is "Resend Message", I have my Business Process executing the following...

set tSC = ##class(Ens.MessageHeader).ResendDuplicatedMessage(context.SessionID)
 if$$$ISERR(tSC) $$$LOGSTATUS(tSC)

the context.SessionID is the Session ID of the message as it is being pass thru the Business Process. Does anyone see why that would not work off hand?

Need to capture filename during BPL process, then set it to MSH-6 in the HL7 message.

Please advice, if this can be done.