Section

• Multi-Model QuickStart

  InterSystems IRIS® data platform provides a multi-model architecture that allows you to use the data model that best fits each task in your application—relational, object, or even direct/native access—all accessible through the language of your choice.

  Multi-model features available in InterSystems IRIS include:

  • Industry-standard APIs for SQL and object access
  • An API to store data in a custom optimized data structure
  • A reusable database connection that supports using the best data model for each task
  • APIs for your language of choice (including Java, .NET, and ObjectScript)
  • An underlying consistent structure avoiding data duplication

  Watch the two-minute video, then launch the lab below to try the exercise in the language of your choice.
• Open allClose all

• Launch the Learning Lab

  Click the button below to launch an InterSystems Learning Lab for use in the following exercises.

  • You must be logged in to launch an InterSystems IRIS instance.

    • Log in with your existing account.
    • Don't have an InterSystems account? Create a new account.
• Try It: Java

  With Java, you can interact with InterSystems IRIS relationally (with JDBC), using objects (with XEP or Hibernate), or natively (with the Native API). For this exercise, you can use your favorite IDE that supports Java. One common example is Eclipse. You must also have JDK8 installed. In the steps below, you will create a set of airport data as objects, retrieve that data via SQL, and then natively access custom data structures to store route information.
  

  • Set up

    1. Try out the Java code in one of three ways:
       1. Use the InterSystems Learning Lab launched above.
       2. Use AWS, Azure, or GCP, first following the steps to change the password for InterSystems IRIS.
       3. Try the exercise locally with an instance of InterSystems IRIS and an IDE that supports Java (such as Eclipse).
    2. Get the sample Java code:
       • If you are using InterSystems Learning Labs, clone the sample code:

         git clone -b try-iris https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-java

       • If you have your own instance:
         1. Clone or download this repository:

            git clone https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-java

         2. With Eclipse:
            
            • Select File > Import > Git > Projects from Git. Click Next.
            • Choose Clone URI. Click Next.
            • Supply the URI (as noted above). Click Next.
            • Select the master branch. Click Next.
            • Choose Import Existing Project. Click Next.
            • Click Finish.
       You should now have three new classes: Demo.Airport.java, Demo.Location.java, and multimodelQS.java.
    3. Correct the connection information.
       • If you are using InterSystems Learning Labs:
         1. In the multimodelQS.java file, on line 31, change the value of the IP address from localhost to the InterSystems IP that is provided when you launch the Learning Lab.
         2. On the next line, change the value of port to the InterSystems 1972 Port provided.
       • If you have your own instance:
         1. Modify the variables for IP and port (for InterSystems IRIS) in multimodelQS.java to connect to your instance of InterSystems IRIS.
         2. Update the username and password as needed to match the credentials for the InterSystems IRIS instance.
  • Use objects and SQL side by side, simplifying each task

    1. Run multimodelQS.java which executes the populateAirports() and getAirports() methods:
       cd /home/project/quickstarts-multimodel-java/src
javac -cp ".:../lib/intersystems-jdbc-3.2.0.jar:../lib/intersystems-xep-3.2.0.jar" multimodelQS.java
java -cp ".:../lib/intersystems-jdbc-3.2.0.jar:../lib/intersystems-xep-3.2.0.jar" multimodelQS
    
    
    2. Inspect the output and code. The first method—populateAirports()—populates five objects and saves them to the database, while the second method—getAirports()—runs an SQL query and returns all airports, printing them to the screen. Using InterSystems IRIS, you can interact with data using either objects or SQL based on the task, optimizing both developer time and application performance.
  • Create a custom data structure, optimizing development time and application performance
    

    1. In the case where you need to answer a question you did not expect when you built the database, refactoring a relational-only database could be expensive and complicated. With InterSystems IRIS, you may choose to natively store data in a custom data structure, allowing you to modify the structure to fit your specific data and easily handle new data that was not part of your initial schema or class design.
       
       Two other methods—storeAirfare() and checkAirfare()—have been created to store route information to InterSystems IRIS and print if a particular route exists. Uncomment the lines that calls storeAirfare() and checkAirfare() to see how they work:

       // storeAirfare(irisNative); 
       // checkAirfare(irisNative); 

    
    
    2. To test this, compile and run the code again and enter in values to see if there are routes from BOS to AUS. You should find there are routes available. You can run it again and try BOS to LAX, which should return no available routes.

    You have now connected a sample Java application to InterSystems IRIS and explored the various APIs available. Check out What's Next? for more.

• Try It: .NET

  With .NET, you can interact with InterSystems IRIS relationally (with ADO.NET), using objects (with XEP or Entity Framework), or natively (with the Native API). For this exercise, you can use your favorite IDE that supports .NET. This sample works best with Microsoft Visual Studio. In the steps below, you will create a set of airport data as objects, retrieve that data via SQL, and then natively access custom data structures to store route information.

  • Set Up

    1. Try out the .NET code in one of three ways:
       1. Use the InterSystems Learning Lab launched above.
       2. Use AWS, Azure, or GCP, first following the steps to change the password for InterSystems IRIS.
       3. Try the exercise locally with an instance of InterSystems IRIS and an IDE that supports .NET (such as Microsoft Visual Studio 2017).
       
       
    2. Get the sample .NET code:
       • If you are using InterSystems Learning Labs, clone the sample code:

         git clone -b try-iris https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-dotnet

       • If you have your own instance:
         1. With Microsoft Visual Studio Code:
            • Clone the sample code:

              git clone -b try-iris https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-dotnet

         2. With Microsoft Visual Studio:
            • In Visual Studio, select View > Team Explorer > Clone and supply the following URI:

              https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-dotnet

       You should now have three new classes: Demo.Airport.cs, Demo.Location.cs, and MultimodelQS.cs.
    3. Correct the connection information.
       • If you are using InterSystems Learning Labs:
         1. In the multimodelQS.cs file, on line 20, change the value of the IP address from localhost to the InterSystems IP that is provided when you launch the Learning Lab.
         2. On the next line, change the value of port to the InterSystems 1972 Port provided.
       • If you have your own instance:
         1. Modify the variables for IP and port (for InterSystems IRIS) in multimodelQS.cs to connect to your instance of InterSystems IRIS.
         2. Update the username and password as needed to match the credentials for the InterSystems IRIS instance.
  • Use objects and SQL side by side, optimizing each task

    1. Run MultimodelQS.cs which executes the populateAirports() and getAirports() methods:
       1. Start a Visual Studio Code terminal and enter this command to open the correct folder: cd quickstarts-multimodel-dotnet
       2. Execute the following code: dotnet run MultiModelQS.cs
    2. Inspect the output and code. The first method—populateAirports()—populates five objects and saves them to the database, while the second method—getAirports()—runs an SQL query and returns all airports, printing them to the screen. Using InterSystems IRIS, you can interact with data using either objects or SQL, based on the task optimizing both developer time and application performance.
  • Create a custom data structure, optimizing development time and application performance

    1. In the case where you need to answer a question you did not expect when you built the database, refactoring a relational-only database could be expensive and complicated. With InterSystems IRIS, you may choose to natively store data in a custom data structure, allowing you to modify the structure to fit your specific data and easily handle new data that was not part of your initial schema or class design.
       Two other methods—storeAirfare() and checkAirfare()—have been created to store route information to InterSystems IRIS and print if a particular route exists. Uncomment the lines that calls storeAirfare() and checkAirfare() to see how they work:

       // storeAirfare(irisNative);
       // checkAirfare(irisNative); 
       

    2. To test this, run the code and enter in values see if there are routes from BOS to AUS. You should find there are routes available. You can run it again and try BOS to LAX, which should return no available routes.

    You have now connected a sample .NET application to InterSystems IRIS and explored the various APIs available. Check out What's Next? for more.

• Try It: Python

  With Python, you can interact with InterSystems IRIS relationally (with PyODBC) or natively (with the Native API). For this exercise, you can use your favorite IDE that supports Python, such as PyCharm. In the steps below, you will create a set of airport data and retrieve that data via SQL, and then natively access custom data structures to store route information.

  • Set Up

    1. Try out the Python code in one of three ways:
       1. Use the InterSystems Learning Lab launched above.
       2. Use AWS, Azure, or GCP:
          1. Follow the steps to change the password for InterSystems IRIS.
          2. Make sure you have Python 3.8 or 3.9 installed on your cloud instance.
       3. Try the exercise locally with an instance of InterSystems IRIS and an IDE that supports Python (such as PyCharm).
          1. Make sure you have Python 3.8 or 3.9 installed locally.
          2. If you use your IDE, please verify you have a recently updated Windows, macOS, or Linux operating system.
    2. Get the sample Python code:
       • If you are using InterSystems Learning Labs, clone the sample code:

         git clone https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-python

       • If you have your own instance, clone the following repo:

         git clone https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-python

       You should now have a Python file: multimodelQS.py.
    3. Correct the connection information.
       • If you are using InterSystems Learning Labs:
         1. In the multimodelQS.py file, on line 37, change the value of the IP address from localhost to the InterSystems IP that is provided when you launch the Learning Lab.
         2. On the next line, change the value of port to the InterSystems 1972 Port provided.
         3. Update the username and password as needed to match the credentials for the InterSystems IRIS instance.
       • If you have your own instance:
         1. Modify the variables for IP and port (for InterSystems IRIS) in multimodelQS.py to connect to your instance of InterSystems IRIS.
         2. Update the username and password as needed to match the credentials for the InterSystems IRIS instance.
    4. Install InterSystems IRIS Native API for Python, following the directions below for your operating system. Note that InterSystems Learning Labs, AWS, GCP, and Azure all use Linux.
       • Windows: pip install nativeAPI_wheel\irisnative-1.0.0-cp36-cp36m-win_amd64.whl
       • macOS: pip install nativeAPI_wheel/irisnative-1.0.0-cp34-abi3-macosx_10_13_x86_64.macosx_10_14_x86_64.whl
       • Linux: cd /home/project/quickstarts-multimodel-python
pip install nativeAPI_wheel/irisnative-1.0.0-cp34-abi3-linux_x86_64.whl
       If installed successfully, you should see the following message:

       Successfully installed irisnative-1.0.0

    5. Install InterSystems IRIS PyODBC driver:
       1. Verify you have PyODBC installed locally.
          • If not, please see how to install PyODBC.
          • If you use InterSystems Learning Labs, PyODBC is already installed for you.
       2. Find your operating system and run the following command in the terminal:
          • If you are using a local instance, InterSystems IRIS PyODBC driver is installed. You can skip this step.
          • Windows: pyodbc_wheel\ODBC-2022.1.0.209.0-win_x64.exe
          • macOS: odbcinst –i –d –f pyodbc_wheel/mac/odbcinst.ini
          • Linux: sudo odbcinst -i -d -f pyodbc_wheel/linux/odbcinst.ini
       If installed successfully:
       • On Windows: The .exe file finishes without any error.
       • On other operating systems, you should see the following message:

         odbcinst: Driver installed. Usage count increased to 1.

  • Use SQL to easily create, read, update, and delete data

    1. Run multimodelQS.py which executes the populate_airports() and get_airports() methods:
       python multimodelQS.py
    
    
    2. Inspect the output and code. The first method—populate_airports()—populates five airports and saves them to the database, while the second method—get_airports()—runs an SQL query and returns all airports, printing them to the screen.
       
       Not only are you able to create and read data as shown in the sample code, but with InterSystems IRIS, you can also use SQL to update, delete, and perform many other actions to interact with data.
  • Create a custom data structure, optimizing development time and application performance
    

    1. In the case where you need to answer a question you did not expect when you built the database, refactoring a relational-only database could be expensive and complicated. With InterSystems IRIS, you may choose to natively store data in a custom data structure, allowing you to modify the structure to fit your specific data and easily handle new data that was not part of your initial schema or class design.
       
       Two functions—store_airfare() and check_airfare()—have been created to store route information to InterSystems IRIS and print if a particular route exists. Uncomment the store_airfare() and check_airfare() lines to see how they work.

       # store_airfare(iris_native)
       # check_airfare(iris_native)
       

    2. To test this, run the code and enter values to see if there are routes from BOS to AUS. You should find there are routes available. You can run it again and try BOS to LAX, which should return no available routes.

    You have now connected a sample Python application to InterSystems IRIS and explored the various APIs available. Check out the Python QuickStart for another Python example or see What's Next? for more.

• Try It: InterSystems ObjectScript

  With InterSystems ObjectScript, you can interact with InterSystems IRIS relationally, using objects, or natively. In the steps below, you will create a set of airport data as objects, retrieve that data via SQL, and then natively access custom data structures to store route information.

  • Set Up

    1. Try out the ObjectScript code in one of three ways:
       1. Use the InterSystems Learning Lab launched above.
       2. Use AWS, Azure, or GCP, first following the steps to change the password for InterSystems IRIS.
       3. Try the exercise locally with an instance of InterSystems IRIS and an IDE that supports ObjectScript (such as Visual Studio Code).
       
       
    2. Get the sample ObjectScript code:
       • If you are using InterSystems Learning Labs, clone the sample code:

         cd /home/project/shared
         git clone -b try-iris https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-objectscript

       • If you have your own instance, clone the following repo:

         git clone https://github.com/intersystems/quickstarts-multimodel-objectscript

       You should now have two new classes: Demo.Airport and Demo.Location.
       
    
    
    3. Import the production using the Management Portal. There are two ways to do this. From the InterSystems Learning Lab IDE you can use the menu bar. Navigate to InterSystems > Management Portal.
    
    
    4. From the Management Portal homepage, switch to the USER namespace, and navigate to System Explorer > Classes.
       
    
    
    5. Click Import and choose /home/project/shared/quickstarts-multimodel-objectscript/Airport.xml as the file to import.
       
    
    
  • Use objects and SQL side by side, optimizing each task

    1. Open Terminal. In the InterSystems Learning Lab IDE, use the menubar to navigate to InterSystems > Web Terminal and run:
       do ##class(Demo.Airport).PopulateAirports()
do ##class(Demo.Airport).DisplayAirports()
    
    
    2. Inspect the output and code. The first method—PopulateAirports()—populates five objects and saves them to the database, while the second method—DisplayAirports()—runs an SQL query and returns all airports, printing them to the screen. If you inspect the code, you will notice that the query uses a special shorthand notation (->, known as an implicit join) to retrieve data from a related table without requiring you to think about how to join tables. Using InterSystems IRIS, you can interact with data using either objects or SQL based on the task, optimizing both developer time and application performance.
  • Create a custom data structure, optimizing development time and application performance

    1. In the case where you need to answer a question you did not expect when you built the database, refactoring a relational-only database could be expensive and complicated. With InterSystems IRIS, you may choose to natively store data in a custom data structure, allowing you to modify the structure to fit your specific data and easily handle new data that was not part of your initial schema or class design.
       
       Two other methods—StoreAirfare() and CheckAirfare()—have been created to store route information to InterSystems IRIS and print if a particular route exists. Run these methods to see how they work:
       do ##class(Demo.Airport).StoreAirfare()
do ##class(Demo.Airport).CheckAirfare("BOS", "AUS")
       
       
    2. To test this, run the code and enter in values see if there are routes from BOS to AUS. You should find there are routes available. You can run it again and try BOS to LAX, which should return no available routes.

    You have now run a sample ObjectScript application with InterSystems IRIS. Check out What's Next? for more.

• What's Next?

  Want to learn more about the topics above? Select a link below.
  

  • What Makes it Possible? (5m) URL

    Learn how InterSystems IRIS achieves multi-model flexibility in the Globals QuickStart.
    

  • Java QuickStart (5m) URL

    Start developing with Java and InterSystems IRIS using an API you choose.

  • .NET QuickStart (5m) URL

    Try a short hands-on QuickStart and get started developing using .NET and InterSystems IRIS.
    

  • Python QuickStart (5m) URL

    Try a quick Python-focused exercise to see how you can run your Python apps with InterSystems IRIS.

    
    

  • Learning Path: Build a Server-Side Application (2h) URL

    Follow this learning path to build a server-side application with InterSystems IRIS using InterSystems ObjectScript.
    

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