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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.
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®.
DBMS_OUTPUT package
The DBMS_OUTPUT package provides a set of procedures for putting messages (lines of text) in a message buffer and getting messages from the message buffer. These procedures are useful during application debugging when you need to write messages to standard output.
GET_LINES procedure
The GET_LINES procedure gets one or more lines of text from the message buffer and stores the text in a collection. Each line of text must be terminated by an end-of-line character sequence.

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®.
      - DBMS_ALERT package
        The DBMS_ALERT package provides a set of procedures for registering for alerts, sending alerts, and receiving alerts.
      - DBMS_LOB package
        The DBMS_LOB package provides the capability to operate on large objects.
      - DBMS_OUTPUT package
        The DBMS_OUTPUT package provides a set of procedures for putting messages (lines of text) in a message buffer and getting messages from the message buffer. These procedures are useful during application debugging when you need to write messages to standard output.
        DISABLE procedure
        The DISABLE procedure disables the message buffer.
        ENABLE procedure
        The ENABLE procedure enables the message buffer. During a single session, applications can put messages in the message buffer and get messages from the message buffer.
        GET_LINE procedure
        The GET_LINE procedure gets a line of text from the message buffer. The text must be terminated by an end-of-line character sequence.
        GET_LINES procedure
        The GET_LINES procedure gets one or more lines of text from the message buffer and stores the text in a collection. Each line of text must be terminated by an end-of-line character sequence.
        NEW_LINE procedure
        The NEW_LINE procedure puts an end-of-line character sequence in the message buffer.
        PUT procedure
        The PUT procedure puts a string in the message buffer. No end-of-line character sequence is written at the end of the string.
        PUT_LINE procedure
        The PUT_LINE procedure puts a single line that includes an end-of-line character sequence in the message buffer.
      - DBMS_RANDOM package
        The DBMS_RANDOM package provides a mechanism for generating random numbers. Use the INITIALIZE procedure to set the seed value, which is used by the random number generator to generate the numbers.
      - UTL_FILE package
        The UTL_FILE package provides a set of routines for reading from and writing to files on the database server file system.
    - 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.
  - 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.

GET_LINES procedure

The GET_LINES procedure gets one or more lines of text from the message buffer and stores the text in a collection. Each line of text must be terminated by an end-of-line character sequence.

Syntax

DBMS_OUTPUT.GET_LINES(lines ,numlines)

Procedure parameters

lines: An output argument of type DBMS_OUTPUT.CHARARR that returns the lines of text from the message buffer. The type DBMS_OUTPUT.CHARARR is internally defined as a VARCHAR(32672) ARRAY[2147483647] array.
numlines: An input and output argument of type INTEGER. When used as input, specifies the number of lines to retrieve from the message buffer. When used as output, indicates the actual number of lines that were retrieved from the message buffer. If the output value of numlines is less than the input value, then there are no more lines remaining in the message buffer.