Introduction

The InterSystems IRIS Data Platform has long been known for its performance, interoperability, and flexibility across programming languages. For years, developers could use IRIS with Python, Java, JavaScript, and .NET — but Go (or Golang) developers were left waiting.

Golang Logo

That wait is finally over.

The new go-irisnative driver brings GoLang support to InterSystems IRIS, implementing the standard database/sql API. This means Go developers can now use familiar database tooling, connection pooling, and query interfaces to build applications powered by IRIS.


Why GoLang Support Matters

GoLang is a language designed for simplicity, concurrency, and performance — ideal for cloud-native and microservices-based architectures. It powers some of the world’s most scalable systems, including Kubernetes, Docker, and Terraform.

Bringing IRIS into the Go ecosystem enables:

  • Lightweight, high-performance services using IRIS as the backend.
  • Native concurrency for parallel query execution or background processing.
  • Seamless integration with containerized and distributed systems.
  • Idiomatic database access through Go’s database/sql interface.

This integration makes IRIS a perfect fit for modern, cloud-ready Go applications.

6 7
0 105

If you thought native Go support for IRIS was exciting, wait until you see what happens when GORM enters the mix.


Just recently, we welcomed native GoLang support for InterSystems IRIS with the release of go-irisnative. That was just the beginning. Now, we’re kicking things up a notch with the launch of gorm-iris — a GORM driver designed to bring the power of Object Relational Mapping (ORM) to your IRIS + Go stack.

Why GORM?

GORM is one of the most popular ORM libraries in the Go ecosystem. It makes it easy to interact with databases using Go structs instead of writing raw SQL. With features like auto migrations, associations, and query building, GORM simplifies backend development significantly.

So naturally, the next step after enabling Go to talk natively with IRIS was to make GORM work seamlessly with it. That’s exactly what gorm-iris does.

4 4
1 69

Since we reached two important milestones for Go developers working with InterSystems IRIS:

Now it’s time to see everything working together.

To demonstrate how easily Go developers can adopt InterSystems IRIS, I took an existing production-grade open-source project — the RealWorld Example App — which showcases a full-stack Medium.com-style clone implemented with Go Fiber, GORM, and SQLite.

RealWorld Example App

With just a few configuration tweaks, I swapped out SQLite for gorm-iris, keeping everything else unchanged. The result?
A fully functional Go + Fiber application powered by InterSystems IRIS — no code rewrites, no ORM gymnastics, just a different database backend.

You can find the complete working demo here: github.com/caretdev/golang-fiber-iris-realworld-example-app

3 1
1 37