Data Object Classes

The DNAnexus API includes multiple data object classes, each with their own set of API methods.

• Records (record-xxxx): for storing only the standard metadata that is common to all data objects

• Files (file-xxxx): for storing a flat file (an opaque array of bytes)

• Databases (database-xxxx): for representing Spark databases on the platform

• DBClusters (dbcluster-xxxx): for representing relational databases on the platform

The remaining classes of data objects are both executables and are described in later sections under Running Analyses:

• Applets (applet-xxxx): an executable that can be used to perform data analysis on other data objects in the cloud

• Workflows (workflow-xxxx): an executable that stores metadata about other executables that form a workflow or pipeline of data analysis to be performed

All data objects also have the API methods described in the earlier section on Data Object Metadata.