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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
Implement a relational data model
Populate the database
Load source data into a table

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.

Load source data into a table

When the data source is not the Informix® database, you must find a way to convert it into a flat ASCII file; that is, a file of printable data in which each line represents the contents of one table row.

After you have the data in an ASCII file, you can use the dbload utility to load it into a table. For more information about dbload, see the Informix® Migration Guide. The LOAD statement in DB-Access can also load rows from a flat ASCII file. For information about the LOAD and UNLOAD statements, see the Informix® Guide to SQL: Syntax.

After you have the data in a file, you can use external tables to load it into a table. For more information about external tables, see your Informix® Administrator's Guide.