#SQL

The FHIR standard establishes a powerful but flexible data model that can smoothly adapt to the complexities of operational healthcare data management. This flexibility comes at the cost of a data model with many tables and relationships, even for simple data such as the patient's record of telephone numbers, addresses, and emails. It would easily require querying 4 different tables. However, FHIR SQL Builder eliminates this problem, allowing you to create visual projections (mappings) in web wizards.

I have the need to query an external database and write the result set/snapshot to an internal %Persistent [ DdlAllowed ] table that I built. I have built inbound SQL Services before and write them externally to replace SSIS jobs, but how would querying a database via a Service and writing the data to an internal table work?

Can I just take the inbound query structure and write it to the class file of the internal table in a DTL? If so, what would be the Target? Or does this need to be done within a BPL as a Code block?

After so many years of waiting, we finally got an official driver available on Pypi

Additionally, found JDBC driver finally available on Maven already for 3 months,  and .Net driver on Nuget more than a month.

 As an author of so many implementations of IRIS support for various Python libraries, I wanted to check it. Implementation of DB-API means that it should be replaceable and at least functions defined in the standard. The only difference should be in SQL.

And the beauty of using already existing libraries, that they already implemented other databases by using DB-API standard, and these libraries already expect how driver should work.

I decided to test InterSystems official driver by implementing its support in SQLAlchemy-iris library.

My query that I am running on my Custom SQL Inbound Service has columns that are larger than the typical string length. How do I enlarge the SQL Snapshot Column limitations 

ClassExtends%PersistentAs

As

We recently changed the 'UserID" property in a "User" class from type of %String to be %Library.Username. This is for better consistency across our codebase regarding MAXLEN limit.

%Library.Username is a system wrapper datatype which extends %String and has a MAXLEN of 160. This change should have minimal/no impact on code behavior. However, we found that some SQL query cannot return expected rows after the change. Query will return empty values even if the entry is in the table.

Using IRIS 2024.1.2 when I mount the routine database as read-only I get an error when executing dynamic SQL queries.

What globals need to be mapped in a read-write database in order to allow execution plans to be written?

Using SQL Gateway with Python, Vector Search, and Interoperability in InterSystems Iris

Part 3 – REST and Interoperability

Now that we have finished the configuration of the SQL Gateway and we have been able to access the data from the external database via python, and we have set up our vectorized base, we can perform some queries. For this in this part of the article we will use an application developed with CSP, HTML and Javascript that will access an integration in Iris, which then performs the search for data similarity, sends it to LLM and finally returns the generated SQL. The CSP page calls an API in Iris that receives the data to be used in the query, calling the integration. For more information about REST in the Iris see the documentation available at https://docs.intersystems.com/irislatest/csp/docbook/DocBook.UI.Page.cl…

Introduction

To achieve optimized AI performance, robust explainability, adaptability, and efficiency in healthcare solutions, InterSystems IRIS serves as the core foundation for a project within the x-rAI multi-agentic framework. This article provides an in-depth look at how InterSystems IRIS empowers the development of a real-time health data analytics platform, enabling advanced analytics and actionable insights. The solution leverages the strengths of InterSystems IRIS, including dynamic SQL, native vector search capabilities, distributed caching (ECP), and FHIR interoperability. This innovative approach directly aligns with the contest themes of "Using Dynamic SQL & Embedded SQL," "GenAI, Vector Search," and "FHIR, EHR," showcasing a practical application of InterSystems IRIS in a critical healthcare context.

In the world of APIs, REST is very extended. But what happens when you need more flexibility in your data-fetching strategies? For instance letting the client to choose what fields is going to receive. Enter GraphQL, a query language for your APIs that provides a flexible alternative to REST.

In this post, we will:

• Compare REST and GraphQL.
• Dive into the basics of GraphQL: Queries, Mutations, and HTTP.
• Build a simple GraphQL server implementation using Graphene, SQLAlchemy, and Flask over data in InterSystems IRIS.
• Explore how to deploy your GraphQL server as a WSGI application in IRIS.

Hi Everyone!

The Certification Team of InterSystems Learning Services is currently developing an InterSystems ObjectScript Specialist certification exam. Earlier this month we reached out to our community for feedback that will help us evaluate and establish the contents of this exam. We are still currently accepting responses and would love to hear your feedback!

Please note that this is one of two exams being developed to replace our InterSystems IRIS Core Solutions Developer exam. You can find more details about the other exam, InterSystems IRIS Developer Professional exam, here

Hi Community,

I've created a method in my File Service to do a cleanup for every file load. Currently, I've set it to delete data when LastUpdated date is greater than maxdate. However, I want to do a cleanup for every new file load. Any suggestions or advice on how to do this? Thanks!

Method Cleanup()
{

   Set tMaxDate = ""
   &SQL(SELECT Max(LastUpdated) into :tMaxDate
   FROM MC_Table_Data.Patient) 
 

   &SQL(DELETE MC_Table_Data.Patient WHERE LastUpdated<:tMaxDate)
}

Hello,

So i want to use the INSERT OR UPDATE command so i can update a COUNTER for a given name:

INSERT OR UPDATE myTable
SET name='Omer',  counter = counter + 1;

as you can see with the above code - if the row is non-existent then we get an error because COUNTER is NULL!

Hi Community,

This is a detailed, candid walkthrough of the IRIS AI Studio platform. I speak out loud on my thoughts while trying different examples, some of which fail to deliver expected results -  which I believe is a need for such a platform to explore different models, configurations and limitations. This will be helpful if you're interested in how to build 'Chat with PDF' or data recommendation systems using IRIS DB and LLM models.

February 19, 2025 – Alert: SQL Queries Returning Wrong Results

InterSystems has corrected two issues that can cause a small number of SQL queries to return incorrect results. In addition, InterSystems has corrected an inconsistency in date/time datatype handling that may lead to different, unexpected – yet correct – results for existing applications that rely on the earlier, inconsistent behavior.

Hello! 
So my question is quite simple, Do the different data models of Intersystems all support the ACID properties?
I assume that for the SQL data model implementation it does, But does it also work for global (i.e the hierarchical  data model)?
I searched the docs and the different articles, It seems for example that here its implied that the different data models of Intersystems  DO indeed support the ACID properties and allow for safe insertion, deletion etc... in concurrent operations to the server that is.

Would love to get a clarification, Thx!

Hi Folks!

Have a very simple question, I hope :)

How can I make sure that user 'John' is already created in the IRIS system?

Preferabbly via SQL?

thanks a lot!

Using SQL Gateway with Python, Vector Search, and Interoperability in InterSystems Iris

Part 2 – Python and Vector Search

Since we have access to the data from our external table, we can use everything that Iris has to offer with this data. Let's, for example, read the data from our external table and generate a polynomial regression with it.

For more information on using python with Iris, see the documentation available at https://docs.intersystems.com/irislatest/csp/docbook/DocBook.UI.Page.cls?KEY=AFL_epython

Let's now consume the data from the external database to calculate a polynomial regression. To do this, we will use a python code to run a SQL that will read our MySQL table and turn it into a pandas dataframe:

Using SQL Gateway with Python, Vector Search, and Interoperability in InterSystems Iris

Part 1 - SQL Gateway

Hello

In this article we will look at the use of SQL Gateway in Iris. SQL Gateway allows Iris to have access to tables from other (external) database via ODBC or JDBC. We can access Tables or Views from various databases, such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MySQL and others.

Hello,

It's possible to set a value to a "variable" in SQL Cache?

Like in SQl Server or Oracle?
Thanks

In MySQL I have the following table:

CREATE TABLE `info` (
   `created` int(11)
);

And it is linked (via JDBC SQL Gateway) to Cache table mysql.info.  `created` field stores unix timestamp. So when I execute  this SQL in SMP:

SELECT created FROM mysql.info

I receive the following output (which is expected):

But I want to to display `created` field converted to ODBC timestamp format. To do that I call this SQL procedure

Class mysql.utils [ Abstract ]
{
/// Unix timestamp to ODBC
ClassMethod uto(unixstamp As %Integer) As %TimeStamp [ SqlName = uto, SqlProc ]
{
    set startday = $zdh("1970-01-01 00:00:00",3)
    set endday = (unixstamp \ (60 * 60 * 24))
    set endtime = (unixstamp # (60 * 60 * 24))
    set totalday = endday + startday
    quit $zdt(totalday _ "," _ endtime, 3)
}
}

In this article, exceptions are covered.

Working with Exceptions

Instead of returning a %Status response, you can raise and throw an Exception. You are then responsible for catching the exception and validating it. IRIS provides five main classes to handle exceptions effectively. Additionally, you can create custom exception class definition based on your needs.

These exceptions are different from %Status, so you can't directly/efficiently use the exception object with $SYSTEM.OBJ.DisplayError() or $SYSTEM.Status.DisplayError()

From the previous article, we identified some issues when working with JSON in SQL.

IRIS offers a dedicated feature for handling JSON documents, called DocDB.

InterSystems IRIS® data platform DocDB is a facility for storing and retrieving database data. It is compatible with, but separate from, traditional SQL table and field (class and property) data storage and retrieval. It is based on JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) which provides support for web-based data exchange. InterSystems IRIS provides support for developing DocDB databases and applications in REST and in ObjectScript, as well as providing SQL support for creating or querying DocDB data.

By its nature, InterSystems IRIS Document Database is a schema-less data structure. That means that each document has its own structure, which may differ from other documents in the same database. This has several benefits when compared with SQL, which requires a pre-defined data structure.

The word “document” is used here as a specific industry-wide technical term, as a dynamic data storage structure. “Document”, as used in DocDB, should not be confused with a text document, or with documentation.

Let's explore how DocDB can help store JSON in the database and integrate it into projects that rely solely on xDBC protocols.

Host Variables are a rather common programming feature in many implementations of SQL. 
A recent question in DC made me aware that in IRIS, Caché, Ensemble, ... 
host variables just exist within embedded SQL

>  You can supply host variables for Embedded SQL queries only. <

Related examples are included in the available Documentation

This is a description  for a workaround if you don't / can't use embedded SQL.

You need to install the application first. If not installed, please refer to the previous article

Application demonstration

After successfully running the iris image vector search application, some data needs to be stored to support image retrieval as it is not initialized in the library.

Image storage

Firstly, drag and drop the image or click the upload icon, select the image, and click the upload button to upload and vectorize it. This process may be a bit slow.

This process involves using embedded Python to call the CLIP model and vectorize the image into 512 dimensional vector data.

While working on getting JSON support for some Python libraries, I discovered some capabilities IRIS provided.

• JSON_OBJECT - A conversion function that returns data as a JSON object.
• JSON_ARRAY - A conversion function that returns data as a JSON array.
• IS JSON - Determines if a data value is in JSON format.
• JSON_TABLE function returns a table that can be used in a SQL query by mapping JSON.
• JSONPath support - is a query language for querying values in JSON.

I am currently experiencing frustration with trying to Authenticate an Active Directory account through JDBC as the Hospital System moves from OnPrem SQL Server to using Azure SQL Server with Microsoft Entra Authentication.

Microsoft cannot give me a straight answer of what is required from a JDBC standpoint to authenticate from a Linux environment.

I am working with WRC, but we are both struggling to find the specific answer for JDBC. If I use my local desktop and JDBC to connect through DBeaver I don't have an issue.

Not sure there are many that connect to MS SQL to execute queries, stored procedures, etc, but our Healthsystem has many different MS SQL based databases we use within the Interoperability environment for various reasons.

With the push to moving from on-prem to the Cloud we ran into some difficulties with our SQL Gateway connections and knowing how to config them to use Microsoft Entra for Active Directory Authentication.

There are many articles out on the web, but there was not one that could give us the full answer to what we needed to do, and Microsoft wasn’t much help.

Hello guys,

I need to tranform columns into rows or rows into columns.
I'm using only SQL Cache.

The code:

SELECTFROMWHERE

The columns: 

Can you help me?

Thanks

Hi Everyone!

The Certification Team of InterSystems Learning Services is currently developing an InterSystems ObjectScript Specialist certification exam, and we are reaching out to our community for feedback that will help us evaluate and establish the contents of this exam.   

Please note that this is one of two exams being developed to replace our InterSystems IRIS Core Solutions Developer exam. You can find more details about the other exam, InterSystems IRIS Developer Professional exam, here. 

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