Mirth Connect is our favorite tool for performing healthcare integrations. Mirth Connect 3.7 includes more than forty new features, including support for Java 11 and JavaScript ES6, and multiple bug fixes. In this article we tell you all about it.
Mirth Connect version 3.7.0 was released on December 19, 2019 and includes 23 new features and enhancements, and 18 bug fixes. But it also included an important bug that could cause code loss, fortunately, it was solved in version 3.7.1. This version was released on March 28, 2019 and, in addition to fixing this bug, includes several improvements to our favorite integration tool.
In addition, we have much more information if you are looking for other versions of Mirth Connect or to learn more about Mirth Connect.
- Main improvements and new features of Mirth® Connect 3.7
- Bugs fixed in Mirth Connect 3.7
- Bugs fixed in Mirth Connect 3.7.1
- Deleting a transformer can reassign code
- No SOAP Action is saved if the channel view is exited
- The database Configuration Map is not immediately available at startup.
- The EDI/X12 message tree does not work.
- Incorrect number of enabled channels is displayed.
- HTTP Sender displays random character encoding when switching between channel destinations
- An exception due to a circular reference causes the entire message not to be serialized.
- When cloning a channel, the name is no longer pre-filled.
- What’s new in Mirth Connect 3.7 commercial extensions?
- More information
- Conclusions
- Download Mirth Connect 3.7
Caution: All versions of Mirth Connect 3.6 are affected by vulnerability CVE-2023-43208. To avoid security risks, please use a version equal to or later than Mirth Connect 4.4.1 and update the affected systems as soon as possible. You can download the latest versions from our Mirth Connect download page.
Main improvements and new features of Mirth® Connect 3.7 #
Java® 11 and OpenJDK support #
Oracle® has released Java 11, a version with long term support, which in the future will replace Java 8 in many environments. Java 11 brings us two important changes.
First, it requires a commercial license for production use. If we do not have a commercial license, we can use OpenJDK 11 as an alternative. Mirth Connect 3.7.0 is compatible with both Oracle Java 11 and OpenJDK.
More information: Java JDK and Mirth Connect: what should we do?
Secondly, the end of Java Web Start (JNLP): this mechanism is the one used to launch the Administrator. Therefore, if we use Java 11, we will have to use the Administrator Launcher to launch the Administrator as of Mirth Connect 3.7.0.
Mirth Connect 3.7.0 is the first version to include support for Java 11, but don’t worry if you don’t use it yet, because backwards compatibility with Java versions up to Java 8 is maintained.
In our article about Mirth Connect system requirements you can find more information about compatibility between Mirth Connet and Java versions.
More information:
- Java 11 support.
- Support OpenJDK.
- Replace Java Web Start for downloading/updating the Administrator.
- Add new JDK 11 protocols / cipher suites to defaults.
Settings in the database connection pool #
Until now there were two connection pools: one dedicated to message processing and the other dedicated to other tasks, such as Administrator and API actions. As of Mirth Connect 3.7.0 you can choose between two options:
- Use two pools, one read-only and one read/write.In this way, read-only connections will be used for API operations that only retrieve data, and read/write connections will be used for processing and operations that modify data. This will be the default option in Mirth Connect 3.7.0.
- Use a single connection pool for everything.
To configure it, we will use the database.enable-read-write-split parameter of mirth.properties with the values true for two pools and false for a single connection pool.
More information: Allow the Donkey connection pool to separate into “read only” and “read/write” pools.
Enabling and disabling steps in filters and transformers #
From this version onwards, it is possible to enable and disable steps in filters and transformers independently. This is a great advantage when developing, testing and finding problems in a channel.
More information: Add ability to disable/enable transformer steps / filter rules.
ES6 JavaScript support (ECMAScript 6) #
Mirth Connect 3.7.0 adds support for JavaScript 6, which is great news for anyone used to developing in modern versions of JavaScript.
In new installations, the use of JavaScript 6 will be configured by default. This can be configured using the parameter rhino.languageversion in the file mirth.properties.
More information: Support ECMAScript 6.
Other enhancements in Mirth Connect 3.7.0 #
Configuration of the open connection in File Writer #
File Writers connectors kept the connection open until the connector stopped. Starting with Mirth Connect 3.7.0 it is possible to configure whether to keep the connection open or not, and also how long it should be inactive before being closed.
More information: Add a “Keep Connection Open” and Send Timeout options for File Writer connectors.
Name of the environment #
In addition to the Server Name (unique for each instance), it is now possible to configure anEnvironment Name, which is unique for each database. In this way, the environment name can be shared among multiple servers in a cluster.
More information: Add options to store single (not per-instance) server name in database.
What has not arrived in Mirth Connect 3.7.0 #
Still no support for DICOM worklist #
A feature much desired by Mirth Connect users is the implementation of a DICOM worklist listener. This feature has been scheduled for several releases, but has always been postponed to the next version before release.
Last June 2018 it was removed from version 3.7.0 and moved to Future Planned, so it doesn’t appear to be scheduled for implementation anytime soon. It looks like we will continue to wait for some time.
More information: Implementation of Dicom worklist listener.
Bugs fixed in Mirth Connect 3.7 #
Mirth Connect 3.7.0 includes multiple bug fixes. Some of these bugs have also been fixed in version 3.6.2, which has been recently released.
To learn more, it is possible to review the complete list of fixed bugs.
In addition to resolving bugs, several new bugs were introduced in version 3.7.0 and fixed in version 3.7.1 of Mirth Connect.
Bugs fixed in Mirth Connect 3.7.1 #
Nine bugs have been fixed in this update, but one bug stands out that could cause us to lose our work by overwriting code from one transformer with code from another. This bug is the most important thing in this release, so we start there:
Deleting a transformer can reassign code #
The resolution of this bug is the most important thing in Mirth Connect 3.7.1, from here on, all other changes and bugs are minor changes.
This bug can be replicated as follows:
- We have a channel with two JavaScript type transformers.
- Transformer 1 is enabled.
- Transformer 2 is disabled.
- Click on transformer 1 and delete it.
- The script of transformer 1 is silently assigned to transformer 2.
This can lead to loss of work and errors that are very difficult to identify. Fortunately, it has been fixed in Mirth Connect 3.7.1 and only affected version 3.7.0.
More information: Deleting a Transformer would re-assign.
No SOAP Action is saved if the channel view is exited #
This bug caused the changes in the SOAP Action value of a Web Service Sender not to be saved, and we could replicate it as follows:
- Create a channel withdestination Web Service Sender.
- Add a valid WSDL URL.
- Attempt to edit SOAP Action.
- Save the channel and return.
- The changes have not been saved.
This bug affected Mirth Connect versions 3.7.0, 3.6.1 and 3.6.2.
More information: The Soap Action does not save if you leave the channel view.
The database Configuration Map is not immediately available at startup. #
This bug affects installations using Microsoft’s SQL Server as the database and Mirth Connect 3.6.0 or 3.6.1. When switching to database storage and restarting the service, channels that depend on variables stored in the Configuration Map fail to start.
More information: Database Configuration Map not available immediately upon startup.
The EDI/X12 message tree does not work. #
When putting an EDI/X12 message in the example template, the tree is not generated. This bug affects only version 3.7.0 and has been fixed in Mirth Connect 3.7.1.
More information: EDI Message Tree not working in 3.7.
Incorrect number of enabled channels is displayed. #
The number of total channels is displayed instead of the number of enabled channels. It affects versions 3.5.2, 3.6.2 and 3.7.0.
More information: No of enabled channels wrong in ChannelPanel.
HTTP Sender displays random character encoding when switching between channel destinations #
This curious bug, which affected only version 3.7.0, has been resolved in Mirth Connect 3.7.1.
More information: HTTP Sender displays random charset encoding when clicking between channel destinations.
An exception due to a circular reference causes the entire message not to be serialized. #
Like others, this bug appeared in version 3.7.0 and has been fixed in this new version.
More information: Circular reflection exception causes entire Message to not be serialized.
When cloning a channel, the name is no longer pre-filled. #
This bug is not of great importance, just a little inconvenient. But again, this is a bug that first appeared in version 3.7.0 and has been fixed in Mirth Connect 3.7.1.
More information: Cloning a channel doesn’t pre-populate the channel name to edit
What’s new in Mirth Connect 3.7 commercial extensions? #
Commercial extensions are only available to customers who purchase a Mirth Connect commercial license.
Advanced Clustering: Ensuring the order of messages #
The Advanced Clustering extension allows Mirth Connect servers to scale horizontally to improve processing capacity. As of Mirth Connect 3.7.0, a “Guarantee Message Order” option has been added to guarantee the orderly processing of a channel’s messaging.
User Authorization: Tagging of channels and groups #
This feature allows for even more precise control of user roles. In this way, users can be given or denied access to certain channels based on whether they have a certain tag or belong to a certain group.
Additional new features of the extensions in Mirth Connect 3.7.1 #
Mirth Connect 3.7.1 introduced some additional changes, but, since they only affect users of commercial extensions, we will only link to them below:
- Basic Clustering deadlock.
- Add additional retries to license checker.
- Keep Health Data Hub Sender Settings when changing resource.
- Allow license checker to work with proxy servers.
- When a network interface cannot be found, retry.
- Allow authenticated proxies to be used for license checking.
More information #
You can find more information about Mirth Connect 3.7 in the following links:
- Mirth Connect 3.7.0:
- Mirth Connect 3.7.1:
Conclusions #
Mirth Connect 3.7 got off to a bad start because it included a bug as a gift in version 3.7.0 that could cause code to be overwritten without the user’s knowledge. Moreover, this bug was known as soon as it was published, so we all expected its resolution in an update that has arrived with Mirth Connect 3.7.1.
When reviewing in detail the bugs that Mirth Connect 3.7.1 fixes, we see that many of them had been introduced by its previous version (3.7.0). Therefore, as always, we recommend waiting at least until the first maintenance update before you start thinking about using a new version of Mirth Connect in production. This will save us headaches and, most likely, more serious problems.
To know more: How to choose the version of Mirth Connect?
Download Mirth Connect 3.7 #
You can download Mirth Connect 3.7, its updates and other versions from our Mirth Connect download page and from the NextGen® Healthcare website.
