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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.
Informix® extensions and DataBlade® modules
These topics describe how to use built-in database extensions and separately installed DataBlade® modules.
Database Extensions User's Guide
The Informix® Database Extensions User's Guide explains how to use the database extensions that come with HCL Informix: Large Object Locator, MQ messaging, binary data types, basic text search, node data type, and SQL packages.
Regex pattern matching
Regular expressions combine literal characters and metacharaters to define the search and replace criteria. You run the functions from the Informix® Regex extension to find matches to strings, replace strings, and split strings into substrings.

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.
  - Database Extensions User's Guide
    The Informix® Database Extensions User's Guide explains how to use the database extensions that come with HCL Informix: Large Object Locator, MQ messaging, binary data types, basic text search, node data type, and SQL packages.
    - Large object management
      The Large Object Locator extension enables you to create a single consistent interface to large objects. It extends the concept of large objects to include data stored outside the database.
    - MQ Messaging
      WebSphere® MQ (WMQ) messaging products provide an infrastructure for distributed, asynchronous communication of data in a distributed, heterogeneous environment. The WMQ message queue allows you to easily exchange information across platforms.
    - Binary data types
      The binary18 and binaryvar data types allow you to store binary-encoded strings, which can be indexed for quick retrieval.
    - Basic Text Search
      You can perform basic text searching for words and phrases in a document repository stored in a column of a table.
    - Hierarchical data type
      The node data type helps to resolve a difficult relational database problem–transitive closure.
    - SQL Packages Extension
      The SQL packages extension provides SPL routines that you can use in an application that is compatible with database servers other than Informix®.
    - Regex pattern matching
      Regular expressions combine literal characters and metacharaters to define the search and replace criteria. You run the functions from the Informix® Regex extension to find matches to strings, replace strings, and split strings into substrings.
      - Requirements and Restrictions
        You must understand the following requirements and restrictions before you run regex pattern matching searches.
      - Metacharacters
        A metacharacter is a character that has a special meaning during pattern processing. You use metacharacters in regular expressions to define the search criteria and any text manipulations.
      - Regex Routines
        You can use regex routines to search for patterns, manipulate text strings, and configure tracing.
  - Performing XML Publishing
    The Informix® XML User's Guide includes information about using built-in functions for XML publishing with Informix.
  - Spatiotemporal Search for Moving Objects User's Guide
    The describes how to program applications to search data from moving objects in HCL Informix® databases using the spatiotemporal search extension.
  - TimeSeries Data User's Guide
    The Informix® TimeSeries Data User's Guide contains information to assist you in using the TimeSeries extension with HCL Informix.
  - Web DataBlade Module
    Use the Web DataBlade® module to create web applications that incorporate data that is retrieved dynamically from the HCL Informix® database.
- 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.

Regex pattern matching

Regular expressions combine literal characters and metacharaters to define the search and replace criteria. You run the functions from the Informix® Regex extension to find matches to strings, replace strings, and split strings into substrings.

The Informix® Regex extension supports extended regular expressions, based on the POSIX 1003.2 standard, and basic regular expressions

You can specify case-sensitive or case-insensitive searching.

You can search single-byte character sets or UTF-8 character sets.

Henry Spencer's regular expression library

The Informix® Regex pattern matching utilizes Henry Spencer's regular expression library. Use of this library requires the following notice:

Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997 Henry Spencer. All rights reserved. This software is not subject to any license of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company or of the Regents of the University of California.

Permission is not granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose on any computer system, and to alter it and redistribute it, subject to the following restrictions:

1. The author is not responsible for the consequences of use of this software, no matter how awful, even if they arise from flaws in it.

2. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented, either by explicit claim or by omission. Since few users ever read sources, credits must appear in the documentation.

3. Altered versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be misrepresented as being the original software. Since few users ever read sources, credits must appear in the documentation.

4. This notice may not be removed or altered.