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Extending Informix®
Beyond standard relational database objects, HCL Informix® can be extended to handle specialized data types, access methods, routines, and other objects. Informix includes many built-in extensions that are fully integrated in the database server. Informix also provides DataBlade® modules, which are packages of extended database objects for a particular purpose and that are installed separately from the database server. Alternatively, you can create your own user-defined objects for Informix.
Creating extensions
You can create user-defined data types, routines, access methods, and other database objects to suit your needs. You can use application programming interfaces to write user-defined routines and applications that access data in Informix® databases.
DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide
The Informix® DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide describes information about the DataBlade API, the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix.
DataBlade® API overview
Access SQL data types
This section provides an overview of the data types that the DataBlade® API supports.
Varying-length data type structures
A varying-length data type structure can hold data whose length varies from one instance to the next. The database server uses varying-length structures extensively to manage data transfer for DataBlade® API modules.
A varying-length structure

Extending Informix®
Beyond standard relational database objects, HCL Informix® can be extended to handle specialized data types, access methods, routines, and other objects. Informix includes many built-in extensions that are fully integrated in the database server. Informix also provides DataBlade® modules, which are packages of extended database objects for a particular purpose and that are installed separately from the database server. Alternatively, you can create your own user-defined objects for Informix.
- Informix® extensions and DataBlade® modules
  These topics describe how to use built-in database extensions and separately installed DataBlade® modules.
- Creating extensions
  You can create user-defined data types, routines, access methods, and other database objects to suit your needs. You can use application programming interfaces to write user-defined routines and applications that access data in Informix® databases.
  - DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide
    The Informix® DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide describes information about the DataBlade API, the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix.
    - DataBlade® API overview
      - The DataBlade® API
        The HCL Informix® DataBlade® API is the application programming interface (API) for HCL Informix. You can use DataBlade API functions in DataBlade modules to access data stored in the Informix database.
      - Access SQL data types
        This section provides an overview of the data types that the DataBlade® API supports.
        Type identifiers
        A type identifier, MI_TYPEID, is a DataBlade® API data type structure that identifies a data type uniquely. For extended data types, the type identifier is database-dependent; that is, the same type identifier might identify different data types for different databases.
        Type descriptors
        A type descriptor, MI_TYPE_DESC, is a DataBlade® API data type structure that contains information about an SQL data type. For built-in data types, this information comes from the syscolumns table. For extended data types, it contains the information in the sysxtdtypes table.
        Character data types
        Varying-length data type structures
        A varying-length data type structure can hold data whose length varies from one instance to the next. The database server uses varying-length structures extensively to manage data transfer for DataBlade® API modules.
        A varying-length structure
        Memory management for a varying-length structure
        Access a varying-length structure
        Byte data types
        Boolean data types
        Boolean data holds values to indicate two states: true and false. The DataBlade® API provides support for boolean values in both their text and binary representations.
        Simple large objects
        The DataBlade® API does not provide direct support for simple large objects. Therefore, it cannot directly access TEXT and BYTE columns. However, the database server provides the following cast functions between simple and smart large objects.
        The MI_DATUM data type
        The DataBlade® API handles a generic data value as an MI_DATUM value, also called a datum. A datum is stored in a chunk of memory that can fit into a computer register.
        The NULL constant
        The DataBlade® API supports two different uses of a NULL constant: the SQL NULL value and the NULL-valued pointer. The DataBlade API NULL-valued pointer is not the same as the SQL NULL value.
    - Data manipulation
    - Database access
    - Create user-defined routines
    - Appendix
      This section contains additional reference information.
  - DataBlade® API Function Reference
    The Informix® DataBlade® API Function Reference describes the DataBlade API functions and the subset of Informix ESQL/C functions that the DataBlade API supports.
  - DataBlade® Developers Kit
    The DataBlade® Developers Kit (DBDK) guides contain information about the tools you can use to develop and package DataBlade modules, which extend the functionality of HCL Informix® databases.
  - J/Foundation Developer's Guide
    The J/Foundation Developer's Guide describes how to write user-defined routines (UDRs) in the Java™ programming language for Informix®.
  - R-Tree Index User's Guide
    The Informix® R-Tree Index User's Guide describes the HCL Informix R-tree secondary access method and how to access and use its components.
  - User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide
    The Informix® User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide describes how to define new data types and enable user-defined routines (UDRs) to extend HCL Informix.
  - Virtual-Table Interface Guide
    The Informix® Virtual-Table Interface Programmer's Guide explains how to create a primary access method with the Virtual-Table Interface (VTI) so that users have a single SQL interface to HCL Informix tables and to data that does not conform to the storage scheme of HCL Informix.
  - Virtual-Index Interface Guide
    The Informix® Virtual-Index Interface Programmer's Guide explains how to create a secondary access method with the Virtual-Index Interface (VII) to extend the built-in indexing schemes of HCL Informix typically with a DataBlade® module.

A varying-length structure

The DataBlade® API provides the following data types to support varying-length data.


DataBlade® API data type	SQL varying-length data type	More information
mi_lvarchar	LVARCHAR	The mi_lvarchar data type The input and output support functions
mi_bitvarying	BITVARYING	The mi_bitvarying data type
mi_sendrecv	SENDRECV	The send and receive support functions
mi_impexp	IMPEXP	External unload representation
mi_impexpbin	IMPEXPBIN	Internal unload representation

All these DataBlade® API data types have the same underlying structure. For more information about the structure of a varying-length data type, see Create a varying-length structure.

All data types, including mi_lvarchar, must be passed by reference within client LIBMI applications.