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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.
Database access
Exceptions and events
This section describes exceptions and events, and explains how to handle them in DataBlade® API modules.
Event-handling mechanisms
An event-handling mechanism provides a way for one DataBlade® API module to inform another module (or another part of the same module) that an event has occurred during execution of a function.
Invoke a callback
A callback function (or just callback) is a function that you write to handle a particular event.
Register a callback
For a callback to execute when its associated event occurs, you must register it with the mi_register_callback() function.
Registration duration

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
    - Data manipulation
    - Database access
      - Connection handling
        This section describes how to initialize, establish, and close connections.
      - Execute SQL statements
        One basic task of a DataBlade® API module is to send SQL statements to the database server for execution.
      - Execute user-defined routines
        This section provides information about how to call a user-defined routine (UDR).
      - Exceptions and events
        This section describes exceptions and events, and explains how to handle them in DataBlade® API modules.
        DataBlade® API event types
        For a DataBlade® API module, an event is a communication from HCL Informix® software that indicates the existence of some predefined condition, usually the occurrence of an exception (warning or error). The DataBlade API represents an event as one of the enumerated values of the MI_EVENT_TYPE data type.
        Event-handling mechanisms
        An event-handling mechanism provides a way for one DataBlade® API module to inform another module (or another part of the same module) that an event has occurred during execution of a function.
        Invoke a callback
        A callback function (or just callback) is a function that you write to handle a particular event.
        Register a callback
        For a callback to execute when its associated event occurs, you must register it with the mi_register_callback() function.
        Types of callbacks
        The second argument of the mi_register_callback() function is the event type. The DataBlade® API supports a type of callback for each event type.
        Connection descriptor
        The first argument of the mi_register_callback() function is a connection descriptor. This connection descriptor can be either a NULL-valued pointer or a pointer to a valid connection. The valid value depends on whether the calling module is a C user-defined routine (UDR) or a client LIBMI application.
        Callback-function pointer
        The third argument of the mi_register_callback() function is a callback-function pointer. The DataBlade® API stores a pointer to the location of a callback function in the MI_CALLBACK_FUNC data type.
        Callback handle
        The mi_register_callback() function returns a callback handle, which accesses a registered callback within a DataBlade® API module. A callback handle has the MI_CALLBACK_HANDLE data type.
        Registration duration
        Enable and disable a callback
        A callback must be enabled for the database server to invoke it. The mi_register_callback() function automatically enables the callback that it registers. You can explicitly disable a registered callback with the mi_disable_callback() function. When you disable a callback, you suspend its invocation. You can later explicitly re-enable it with the mi_enable_callback() function.
        Retrieving a callback function
        The mi_retrieve_callback() function returns a callback-function pointer (MI_CALLBACK_FUNC) when you pass in a callback handle (MI_CALLBACK_HANDLE). This function is useful when a DataBlade® API module needs to change temporarily the callback that is registered for a particular event.
        Default behavior
        If no callback is registered for a particular event, the DataBlade® API uses its default behavior when this event occurs. The default event handling depends on whether the event occurs in a C UDR or in a client LIBMI application.
        Callback functions
        To catch or handle an event, you create a C function called a callback function. In your DataBlade® API module, you can register callback functions to handle recovery from events. The DataBlade API invokes a registered (and enabled) callback when the event associated with the callback occurs.
        Database server exceptions
        When the database server or a UDR raises a database server exception, the DataBlade® API invokes any callbacks that are registered for the exception.
        State-transition events
        When the database server raises a state-transition event, the database server invokes any callbacks registered for the state transition. This section provides information about state-transition handling in DataBlade® API modules, including an explanation of state-transition events and a description of how to handle a state-transition event in a C UDR and a client LIBMI application.
        Client LIBMI errors
        The DataBlade® API throws the MI_Client_Library_Error event to indicate an error in the client LIBMI library.
      - XA-compliant external data sources
    - 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.

Registration duration

The registration of a callback survives until one of the following conditions is met:

The connection on which the callback is registered closes (either the UDR exits or the mi_close() function executes).
The DataBlade® API calls the callback, which happens for state-transition callbacks when one of the following events occurs:
- MI_EVENT_SAVEPOINT
- MI_EVENT_COMMIT_ABORT
- MI_EVENT_POST_XACT
- MI_EVENT_END_STMT
- MI_EVENT_END_XACT
- MI_EVENT_END_SESSION
You explicitly unregister the callback with the mi_unregister_callback() function.