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Designing databases
The first step in creating a relational database is to construct a data model, which is a precise, complete definition of the data you want to store. After you prepare your data model, you must implement it as a database and tables. To implement your data model, you first select a data type for each column and then you create a database and tables and populate the tables with data. You can also implement fragmentation strategies and control access to your data.
Designing and Implementing a Database
The Informix® Database Design and Implementation Guide provides information to help you design, implement, and manage your Informix databases. It includes data models that illustrate different approaches to database design and shows you how to use structured query language (SQL) to implement and manage your databases.
Basics of database design and implementation
Plan a database
Use ANSI-compliant databases
Differences between ANSI-compliant and non-ANSI-compliant databases
Cursor behavior

Designing databases
The first step in creating a relational database is to construct a data model, which is a precise, complete definition of the data you want to store. After you prepare your data model, you must implement it as a database and tables. To implement your data model, you first select a data type for each column and then you create a database and tables and populate the tables with data. You can also implement fragmentation strategies and control access to your data.
- Designing and Implementing a Database
  The Informix® Database Design and Implementation Guide provides information to help you design, implement, and manage your Informix databases. It includes data models that illustrate different approaches to database design and shows you how to use structured query language (SQL) to implement and manage your databases.

Cursor behavior

If a database is not ANSI-compliant, you must use the FOR UPDATE keywords when you declare an update cursor for a SELECT statement. The SELECT statement must also meet the following conditions:

It selects from a single table.
It does not include any aggregate functions.
It does not include the DISTINCT, GROUP BY, INTO TEMP, ORDER BY, UNION, or UNIQUE clauses and keywords.

In ANSI-compliant databases, the FOR UPDATE keywords are implicit when you declare a cursor, and all cursors that meet the restrictions that the preceding list describes are potentially update cursors. You can specify that a cursor is read-only with the FOR READ ONLY keywords on the DECLARE statement.

For more information, see the description of the DECLARE statement in the Informix® Guide to SQL: Syntax.