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.
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.
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.
The HCL Informix® DataBlade® Developers Kit User's Guide describes how to use tools to develop and package DataBlade modules.
This section contains additional reference information.
These topics describe how to use built-in database extensions and separately installed DataBlade® modules.
The Informix® DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide describes information about the DataBlade API, the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix.
The Informix® DataBlade® API Function Reference describes the DataBlade API functions and the subset of Informix ESQL/C functions that the DataBlade API supports.
The HCL Informix® DataBlade® module overview serves as an overview of the HCL Informix DataBlade module development process.
This section provides an overview of DataBlade® module development and describes the resources and tools the HCL Informix® database server provides to facilitate development.
This section describes the DataBlade® module SQL design issues.
Use this section to help you when you write the design specification for your DataBlade® module.
Use BladeSmith to create DataBlade® modules.
This section contains information to help you edit and compile C language source code generated by DataBlade®.
This section describes how to use the to create ActiveX value objects. This section describes the use of C++ to implement opaque type support routines.
This section provides information for client application developers who are using ActiveX value objects.
This section contains information to help you edit and compile Java™ language source code generated by BladeSmith.
This section describes how to debug and perform functional tests for DataBlade® modules written in C for Informix® on UNIX™.
This section describes how to debug and perform functional tests for DataBlade® modules written in C and C++ for Informix® on Windows™.
BladePack creates installation packages for DataBlade® modules and other software products.
You can use the tables in this section to find a brief description of the types of files BladeSmith generates for your DataBlade® project.
This section provides tables that list the types of objects BladeSmith generates, indicate whether BladeSmith generates complete code or template code you must complete, and provide a reference to the instructions in this guide for completing the code.
If your DataBlade® module contains data types that contain smart large object data (BLOB and CLOB data types), an sbspace to store the smart large object must exist for each database in which users register the DataBlade module. If the required sbspace does not exist, registration fails.
The DataBlade® Developers Kit InfoShelf is designed to help you work with BladeSmith.
The J/Foundation Developer's Guide describes how to write user-defined routines (UDRs) in the Java™ programming language for Informix®.
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.
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.
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.
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.