Columnar storage is one of the newer offers provided by InterSystems IRIS. Unlike traditional row-based storage, it optimizes query processing by storing data in columns rather than rows, enabling faster access and retrieval of relevant information.

A couple of articles have been written on when it should be used to give a system the biggest boost, how to create tables like that using SQL

CREATE TABLE table (column1 type1, column2 type2, column3 type3) WITH STORAGETYPE = COLUMNAR  -- ex 1
CREATE TABLE table (column1 type1, column2 type2, column3 type3 WITH STORAGETYPE = COLUMNAR)  -- ex 2

and even the performance tests.

As we all know, InterSystems IRIS is a multi-model DBMS and it gives seamless access to the same data using relational and object access. So the former is covered in other articles, but what about the latter?

6 0
2 333

Introduction

Accessing Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) buckets programmatically is a common requirement for many applications. However, setting up and managing AWS accounts is daunting and expensive, especially for small-scale projects or local development environments. In this article, we'll explore how to overcome this hurdle by using Localstack to simulate AWS services. Localstack mimics most AWS services, meaning one can develop and test applications without incurring any costs or relying on an internet connection, which can be incredibly useful for rapid development and debugging. We used ObjectScript with embedded Python to communicate with Intersystems IRIS and AWS simultaneously. Before beginning, ensure you have Python and Docker installed on your system. When Localstack is set up and running, the bucket can be created and used.

3 0
2 380
Article
· Mar 24, 2024 8m read
Python BPL in preview

BPL from 10,000 feet

BPL stands for Business Process Language.
This is an XML format for describing complex information orchestration interactions between systems.
InterSystems Integration engine has for two decades, provided a visual designer to build, configure, and maintain, BPL using a graphical interface.
Think of it like drawing a process flow diagram that can be compiled and deployed.

10 4
0 478

Introduction

In the modern digital age, securing applications, particularly those handling sensitive health data, is paramount. The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of such data are crucial, necessitating robust security measures. Two-factor authentication (2FA) stands out as a critical enhancement in safeguarding access, adding an extra layer of security beyond just passwords. Recognizing the significance of this feature, InterSystems provides built-in support for 2FA in its database solutions. This tutorial aims to guide you through the process of configuring two-factor authentication in your InterSystems environment, ensuring that your data remains secure and accessible only to authorized users.

8 3
3 614

What is Unstructured Data?
Unstructured data refers to information lacking a predefined data model or organization. In contrast to structured data found in databases with clear structures (e.g., tables and fields), unstructured data lacks a fixed schema. This type of data includes text, images, videos, audio files, social media posts, emails, and more.

8 3
0 432
Article
· Mar 15, 2024 5m read
How to start Using VsCode

Introduction

In the next few weeks, my coworkers are planning to start using VSCode to code with InterSystems' products. Among the many advantages of that, I would emphasize being able to connect with other technologies, such as GitHub, with ease. Besides, VSCode also offers an extensive extensions store, where you can find many free add-ons that make coding faster and more efficient. Last but not least, to conquer the heart of every developer, it is open source.

9 2
2 820

Introduction

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free source code editor made by Microsoft for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It provides built-in support for JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node.js. You can add extensions to provide support for numerous other languages including ObjectScript.

The InterSystems extensions enable you to use VS Code to connect to an InterSystems IRIS server and develop code in ObjectScript. The Visual Studio Code Documentation is an excellent resource on VS Code, so it is a good idea to be familiar with it.

24 5
5 607

Killer presentations are essential for opening doors, doing business and delighting customers. These types of presentations move away from the traditional and tiring topics and portions of texts, or even pictures of happy people to get closer to the interests of their audience.The best presentations materialize what customers are looking for into something they can see working. Instead of promises, examples in execution and the ability to be very close to what you want to do.

14 2
2 229
Article
· Mar 19, 2019 9m read
A Tutorial On WebSockets

Intro

Most server-client communication on the web is based on a request and response structure. The client sends a request to the server and the server responds to this request. The WebSocket protocol provides a two-way channel of communication between a server and client, allowing servers to send messages to clients without first receiving a request. For more information on the WebSocket protocol and its implementation in InterSystems IRIS, see the links below.

9 7
3 6K
Article
· Feb 24, 2024 2m read
The bewitched line terminator

I want to address the nasty problems about reading a flat text in ASCII, UTF*
explicitly excluding HTML, EBCDIC, and other encoding.
According to Wikipedia there are at least 8 variations of control characters.

  • CR+LF is typical for Windows
  • LF is typical for the Linux/UNIX world
  • CR is Mac's favorite

As you can deduct from the names the inspiration comes from mechanical typewriters.

26 0
2 483
Article
· Jan 29, 2024 12m read
Creating custom login pages with %CSP.Login

The %CSP.Login class is the utility class provided by InterSystems IRIS to do custom login pages. If you want to control your IRIS application authentication UI, you must extend %CSP.Login and override some methods according to your needs. This article is going to detail those methods and what you can do with them. In addition to that, you will get an explanation of the delegated authentication mechanism provided by ZAUTHENTICATE.mac routine.

6 2
4 768

Introduction

Not so long ago, I came across the idea of using Python Class Definition Syntax to create IRIS classes on the InterSystems Ideas Portal. It caught my attention since integrating as many syntaxes as possible gives visibility to InterSystems’s products for programmers with experience in many languages.

8 3
0 534

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a feature of Windows that allows you to run a Linux environment on your Windows machine, without the need for a separate virtual machine or dual booting.

WSL is designed to provide a seamless and productive experience for developers who want to use both Windows and Linux at the same time**.

2 0
1 412

The part II you will learn how to run any Jasper report file (jrxml file) designed on Jasper Studio from InterSystems IRIS. We will create a REST API to return a processed report on PDF format.

The jrxml file

On part I, we designed this report:

1. First of all, rename the report from Blank_A4.jrxml to sample.jrxml (Project Explorer tab > click right the file > Rename):

5 0
2 313
Article
· Mar 31, 2023 3m read
Using JSON in IRIS

Saw the other day an article with the usage of the %ZEN package when working with JSON and decided to write an article describing a more modern approach. At some recent point, there was a big switch from using %ZEN.Auxiliary.* to dedicated JSON classes. This allowed to work with JSONs more organically.

Thus, at this point there are basically 3 main classes to work with JSON:

  • %Library.DynamicObject - provides a simple and efficient way to encapsulate and work with standard JSON documents. Also, there is a possibility instead of writing the usual code for creating an instance of a class like
set obj = ##class(%Library.DynamicObject).%New()

it is possible to use the following syntax

set obj = {}
  • %Library.DynamicArray - provides a simple yet efficient way to encapsulate and work with standard JSON arrays. With arrays you can use the same approach as with objects, meaning that yu can either create an instance of the class
set array = ##class(%DynamicArray).%New()

or you can do it by using brackets []

set array = []
  • %JSON.Adaptor is a means for mapping ObjectScript objects (registered, serial or persistent) to JSON text or dynamic entities.
10 5
2 1.8K

Introduction

Data analytics is a crucial aspect of business decision-making in today's fast-paced world. Organizations rely heavily on data analysis to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition. In this article, we will explore how data analytics can be performed using Pandas and Intersystems Embedded Python. We will discuss the basics of Pandas, the benefits of using Intersystems Embedded Python, and how they can be used together to perform efficient data analytics.

19 7
8 1.5K

Introduction

In some of the last few articles I've talked about types between IRIS and Python, and it is clear that it's not that easy to access objects from one side at another.

Fortunately, work has already been done to create SQLAlchemy-iris (follow the link to see it on Open Exchange), which makes everything much easier for Python to access IRIS' objects, and I'm going to show the starters for that.

16 3
2 1.7K

In this article, I am demonstrating how to create a table column(formerly known as properties) with your custom datatype classes by using User defined DDL. Properties are the crucial member of the persistent class definition. Datatypes are essential to define types of values that are stored in a table column. In general, the datatype names of SQL different from Intersystems datatypes, such as VARCHAR = %String.

1 0
0 283

csp-log-tutorial

Prerequisites

Make sure you have git installed.

I created a git folder inside the IRIS mgr directory. I right clicked the git folder and chose Git Bash Here from the context menu.

git clone https://github.com/oliverwilms/csp-log-tutorial.git

Clone my csp-log-tutorial GitHub repo if you like to try it out for yourself.

11 1
0 372

Intro

If you ever wondered how to debug some requests that are being made to or from IRIS, well here is a little tutorial on how to do that.

During a complex project, usually you get the specifications and implement the communication between IRIS and other things based on that. But from the paper to the real world there's usually a huge gap and you need to know why you are receiving an error on a parameter, on a header, you are not receiving the data and so on.

7 1
2 558

You may have already heard that, starting with IRIS and HealthShare HealthConnect 2023.2 versions, the internal Apache Server will be removed from the default installation, so it will be necessary to have an external application server such as Apache Server or NGINX.


In this article I am going to proceed to install a HealthShare HealthConnect 2023.1 so that it works with a pre-installed Apache Server. For this I will use a virtual machine on which I have installed an Ubuntu 22.04.

2 0
2 601

Programming and languages

Being a programmer nowadays is basically the geek version of being a polyglot. Of course, most of us here, in the InterSystems Community, “speak ObjectScript”. Howeever, I believe this wasn’t the first language for many people. For instance, I had never heard about it prior to getting the appropriate training at Innovatium.

8 8
3 893