Classes

Classes

InterSystems IRIS supports classes. You can use the system classes and you can define your own classes.

In InterSystems IRIS, a class can include familiar class elements such as properties, methods, and parameters (known as constants in other class languages). It can also include items not usually defined in classes, including triggers, queries, and indexes.

InterSystems IRIS class definitions use Class Definition Language (CDL) to specify the class and its members such as properties, methods, and parameters. You can use either Python or ObjectScript to write the executable code inside of methods. For each method, specify which language you will be writing the method in by using the Language keyword, as in the example below.

The following shows a class definition:

Class/ObjectScript Class/Python

Class Sample.Employee Extends %Persistent
{

/// The employee's name.
Property Name As %String(MAXLEN = 50);

/// The employee's job title.
Property Title As %String(MAXLEN = 50);

/// The employee's current salary.
Property Salary As %Integer(MAXVAL = 100000, MINVAL = 0);

/// This method prints employee information using ObjectScript.
Method PrintEmployee() [ Language = objectscript] 
{
    Write !,"Name: ", ..Name, " Title: ", ..Title
}

}

Class Sample.Employee Extends %Persistent
{

/// The employee's name.
Property Name As %String(MAXLEN = 50);

/// The employee's job title.
Property Title As %String(MAXLEN = 50);

/// The employee's current salary.
Property Salary As %Integer(MAXVAL = 100000, MINVAL = 0);

/// This method prints employee information using Embedded Python.
Method PrintEmployee() [ Language = python ] 
{
    print("\nName:", self.Name, "Title:", self.Title)
}

}

If you do not specify which language a method uses, the compiler will assume that the method is written in ObjectScript.

Other articles discuss classes in InterSystems IRIS and the unique capabilities of persistent classes in InterSystems IRIS.