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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.
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.
DataBlade® Developers Kit
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.
DataBlade® Module Development Overview
The HCL Informix® DataBlade® module overview serves as an overview of the HCL Informix DataBlade module development process.
DataBlade® module concepts
DataBlade® modules and the database server
This section describes the overall architecture of the HCL Informix® database server, how DataBlade® modules affect database server processes, and the application programming interfaces you can use in your DataBlade modules and client applications.

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.
- 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.
  - DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide
    The Informix® DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide describes information about the DataBlade API, the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix.
  - DataBlade® API Function Reference
    The Informix® DataBlade® API Function Reference describes the DataBlade API functions and the subset of Informix ESQL/C functions that the DataBlade API supports.
  - DataBlade® Developers Kit
    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.
    - DataBlade® Module Development Overview
      The HCL Informix® DataBlade® module overview serves as an overview of the HCL Informix DataBlade module development process.
      - DataBlade® module concepts
        What are DataBlade® modules?
        A DataBlade module is a software package that extends the functionality of HCL Informix®.
        DataBlade® modules and the database server
        This section describes the overall architecture of the HCL Informix® database server, how DataBlade® modules affect database server processes, and the application programming interfaces you can use in your DataBlade modules and client applications.
        DataBlade® module programming languages
        Internal architecture of the database server
        If you want to add user-defined routines to your HCL Informix® database server, you must understand the internal architecture of the database server and how DataBlade® module routines can affect the database system.
        HCL Informix® Client Software Development Kit
        The is a set of APIs you can use to develop applications for your Informix® database server; they handle communication between the database server and the client application.
        Client objects and programs
        DataBlade® module components
      - Build a DataBlade® module
      - Appendixes
        This section contains additional reference information.
    - DataBlade® Developers Kit User's Guide
      The HCL Informix® DataBlade® Developers Kit User's Guide describes how to use tools to develop and package DataBlade modules.
    - DBDK InfoShelf
      The DataBlade® Developers Kit InfoShelf is designed to help you work with BladeSmith.
  - J/Foundation Developer's Guide
    The J/Foundation Developer's Guide describes how to write user-defined routines (UDRs) in the Java™ programming language for Informix®.
  - R-Tree Index User's Guide
    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.
  - User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide
    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.
  - Virtual-Table Interface Guide
    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.
  - Virtual-Index Interface Guide
    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.

DataBlade® modules and the database server

This section describes the overall architecture of the HCL Informix® database server, how DataBlade® modules affect database server processes, and the application programming interfaces you can use in your DataBlade® modules and client applications.

The following figure illustrates the following components of the Informix® database server architecture when it includes DataBlade® modules:

DataBlade® modules, which extend the capabilities of the database server
DataBlade® module application programming interfaces, which allow DataBlade® modules access to data stored in a database
The database server, which includes virtual processors that your Informix® database server uses to process tasks, the shared memory that these virtual processors use, and the Java™ virtual machine to process routines written in Java™
The Informix® Client Software Development Kit, which includes client-side APIs that enable you to write client applications that access data stored in a database
DataBlade® module ActiveX and Java™ value objects, which enable you to provide client-side interfaces to extended data types and their support routines
Client visualization tools, which enable you to view and manipulate data retrieved from DataBlade® modules with third-party applications
Client applications, which allow the user access to DataBlade® module functions and data stored in a database
Figure 1. HCL Informix® with DataBlade® modules

The close integration of DataBlade® modules with the database server means that the database server treats new, extended data types in the same way that it treats its own built-in data types.

Important: You must use the J/Foundation option of HCL Informix® to enable services that use Java™. For more information about J/Foundation, see the J/Foundation Developer's Guide.