Along with Data Extract API, version 107 introduces another premium feature: Time Series Data. This new feature allows you to define, store, and query time series data directly within your Appfarm solution.
What is Time Series Data?
Support for time series data in Appfarm includes an interface for defining a time series data model and dedicated API endpoints for interacting with your data. This feature is ideal for use cases like tracking IoT sensor readings, monitoring machine performance, managing inventory levels, and analyzing financial transactions over time.
Explainer: Time series data
Time series data is a sequence of measurements over a period of time with common metadata. The weather is a typical example, such as tracking temperature and humidity measurements over time in a specific location.
Time series data is generally composed of three components:
- Time. When the measurement was recorded.
- Metadata. A label or tag that uniquely identifies a time series. It never or rarely changes over time. Example: A sensor identifier.
- Measurement. A set of related key-value pairs at a specific time. Example: The temperature measured by a sensor.
How does it work?
When time series support is enabled in a solution, a new type of object class becomes available in the data model specifically for time series data.
For a time series object class, you can configure the following data:
- Metadata: Labels that identify a time series. For example, a sensor ID, or location.
- Measurements: The values that change over time. For example, temperature and humidity.
You can also configure the following settings:
- Time granularity: The approximate frequency of incoming data (seconds, minutes, hours). Correctly setting this value will ensure performant queries.
- Automatic data deletion: Enable automatic deletion of data after a set amount of time (in seconds).
Time series data is inserted and queried exclusively via built-in API endpoints. A time series class must be activated in order to activate the related API endpoints. Once a time series class is activated it cannot be modified or deactivated, but can be deleted.
Read more about Time Series Data in our documentation.
Access to this feature is dependent on your subscription tier. Get in touch with your Appfarm representative to discuss how you can get access.