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GlobalsDB

discontinued

by InterSystems · since 2011 · also known as Globals, Globals DB

InterSystems' free NoSQL release of the Caché globals engine (c. 2011–2016), with Java, Node.js and .NET APIs.

hierarchicalkey-valuedatabase engineproprietarylegacy
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discontinued. Discontinued by InterSystems around 2016; globalsdb.org now hosts unrelated content. InterSystems IRIS is the successor.

Overview

GlobalsDB was a free download from InterSystems that exposed only the storage kernel of Caché: globals, persistent sparse multi-dimensional arrays addressed by a variable name plus any number of subscripts. It left out SQL, the object layer, ObjectScript, ECP distribution and the rest of Caché, and gave developers a native API first for Java, then Node.js and finally .NET, so any key-value, document or tree layout could be modelled directly on the sorted global structures. InterSystems used it to introduce MUMPS-style storage to a wider developer audience. The project faded after 2015 and its domain was later taken over by unrelated sites. InterSystems IRIS, including its free Community Edition, is the successor.

Transactional apps (OLTP)Embedded / in-process

Strengths & trade-offs

Strengths

  • +Same globals storage engine that powers Caché and IRIS deployments
  • +Sorted multi-dimensional arrays model key-value, tree and document data directly
  • +Very low-latency native access from Java and Node.js

Trade-offs

  • −Discontinued and no longer downloadable from InterSystems
  • −No SQL, objects or secondary indexing beyond what you build into globals
  • −No distribution or replication features

Great for

  • +Historical context for InterSystems IRIS and MUMPS-style storage
  • +Understanding hierarchical global data models

Think twice for

  • −New development (use InterSystems IRIS Community Edition or YottaDB)

Capabilities

Native or official first-party support · 2 of 25 tracked

✓Transactions
✓Durable persistence
–Joins
–Secondary indexes
–Full-text search
–Vector search
–Geospatial
–JSON
–Change data capture
–Triggers
–Stored procedures
–Materialized views
–TTL / expiry
–Pub/Sub
–Columnar storage
–In-memory
–Compression
–Encryption at rest
–Role-based access
–Time travel
–Branching
–Online schema changes
–Streaming ingest
–Offline sync
–Runs in WebAssembly

Scale & consistency

Comfortable data size
Small · ≤ 100 GB
Horizontal scaling
None
Multi-region
No
Transactions
Limited ACID
Consistency
Strong
Schema
Schemaless
Architecture
Single node, Embedded
Query languages
Globals API

Single-node engine; the distributed ECP layer of Caché was not included.

Deployment

Self-hosted Vendor-managed cloud Serverless Embedded Edge Kubernetes operator

Ecosystem

apis & protocolsJava API, Node.js API, .NET API
client languagesJava, JavaScript, C#

Alternatives to GlobalsDB

Compare all→
InterSystems IRISRelational13.3

Multi-model data platform (SQL, objects, globals, vectors) with built-in interoperability, big in healthcare.

globalsdb vs intersystems-iris →
YottaDBHierarchical7.9

Open-source MUMPS/M hierarchical key-value database forked from GT.M, with SQL via Octo.

globalsdb vs yottadb →
GT.MHierarchical8.1

FIS's high-throughput M (MUMPS) database and compiler, behind major core-banking systems.

globalsdb vs gt-m →
InterSystems CachéHierarchical13.0

InterSystems' MUMPS-lineage object/SQL database, superseded by IRIS and winding down maintenance.

globalsdb vs intersystems-cache →
WiredTigerKey-Value20.6

MongoDB's default storage engine: MVCC B-tree with compression and snapshot isolation.

globalsdb vs wiredtiger →
TidesDBKey-Value13.7

Young C storage-engine library: transactional LSM with MVCC, column families and TTL.

globalsdb vs tidesdb →

GlobalsDB FAQ

What is GlobalsDB?

GlobalsDB is a hierarchical database by InterSystems, first released in 2011. GlobalsDB was a free download from InterSystems that exposed only the storage kernel of Caché: globals, persistent sparse multi-dimensional arrays addressed by a variable name plus any number of subscripts. It left out SQL, the object layer, ObjectScript, ECP distribution and the rest of Caché, and gave developers a native API first for Java, then Node.js and finally .NET, so any key-value, document or tree layout could be modelled directly on the sorted global structures. InterSystems used it to introduce MUMPS-style storage to a wider developer audience. The project faded after 2015 and its domain was later taken over by unrelated sites. InterSystems IRIS, including its free Community Edition, is the successor.

Is GlobalsDB open source?

No. GlobalsDB is proprietary, closed-source software.

Does GlobalsDB support ACID transactions?

Partly. GlobalsDB offers limited ACID guarantees (for example, single-record or single-partition transactions), with strong consistency.

Does GlobalsDB scale horizontally?

GlobalsDB does not scale horizontally; it runs on a single node, so you scale it up rather than out. It is comfortable at small scale (≤ 100 GB).

How can I run GlobalsDB?

You can self-host it.

What is GlobalsDB best for?

GlobalsDB is a strong fit for historical context for InterSystems IRIS and MUMPS-style storage; and understanding hierarchical global data models. Think twice for new development (use InterSystems IRIS Community Edition or YottaDB).

What are the best alternatives to GlobalsDB?

Common alternatives to GlobalsDB include InterSystems IRIS, YottaDB, GT.M, InterSystems Caché and WiredTiger. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.

Is GlobalsDB still maintained?

GlobalsDB is discontinued. Discontinued by InterSystems around 2016; globalsdb.org now hosts unrelated content. InterSystems IRIS is the successor.

How popular is GlobalsDB?

GlobalsDB has little measurable public adoption today, so it ranks near the bottom of the WhichDB Score.