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Client APIs and tools
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of client APIs to develop applications for Informix database servers.
ESQL/C Guide
The Informix® ESQL/C Programmer's Manual explains how to use Informix ESQL/C, the Informix implementation of Embedded Structured Query Language (SQL) for C (ESQL/C), to create client applications with database-management capabilities.
What is Informix® ESQL/C?
Compile programs
Compiling and linking options of the esql command
Linking options
The C compiler performs the linking phase of the Informix® ESQL/C compile.
Special linking options for Windows™
ESQL/C dynamic link libraries

Client APIs and tools
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of client APIs to develop applications for Informix database servers.
- Change Data Capture API Programmer's Guide
  The Informix® Change Data Capture API Programmer's Guide describes how to program applications to process changed data from HCL Informix databases using the Informix Change Data Capture API.
- Embedded SQLJ for HCL Informix®
  The Informix® Embedded SQLJ User's Guide contains information about using Informix Embedded SQLJ.
- ESQL/C Guide
  The Informix® ESQL/C Programmer's Manual explains how to use Informix ESQL/C, the Informix implementation of Embedded Structured Query Language (SQL) for C (ESQL/C), to create client applications with database-management capabilities.
  - What is Informix® ESQL/C?
    - Informix® ESQL/C programming
    - Compile programs
      - Compile the Informix® ESQL/C program
        You use the esql command to compile your Informix® ESQL/C program.
      - The esql command
      - Compiling and linking options of the esql command
        Name the executable file
        You can explicitly specify the name of the executable file with the -o option.
        Set the type of executable files created (Windows™)
        Pass options to the C compiler
        The esql command processor passes any unrecognized arguments in the command line to the C compiler.
        Specify a particular C compiler (Windows™)
        Compile without linking
        Special compile options for Windows™ environments
        Linking options
        The C compiler performs the linking phase of the Informix® ESQL/C compile.
        General linking options
        Special linking options for Windows™
        Pass arguments to the linker
        On the esql command line, you can list linker arguments by prefacing them with the -l processor option.
        Pass arguments to the resource compiler
        On the esql command line, you can list resource compiler arguments by prefacing them with the -r processor option.
        ESQL/C dynamic link libraries
        Same runtime routines for version independence
      - Access the ESQL Client-interface DLL in Windows™ environments
    - Informix® ESQL/C data types
      These topics contain information about the correspondence between SQL and C data types and how to handle data types in the Informix® ESQL/C program.
    - Character and string data types
      These topics explain how to use character data types in the Informix® ESQL/C program.
    - Numeric data types
    - Time data types
      These topics explain how to use date, datetime, and interval data types in the Informix® ESQL/C program.
    - Simple large objects
      A simple large object is a large object that is stored in a blobspace on disk and is not recoverable.
    - Smart large objects
      A smart large object is a data type that stores large, non-relational data objects such as images, sound clips, documents, graphics, maps and other large objects, and allows you to perform read, write, and seek operations on those objects.
    - Complex data types
      These topics explain how to use collection and row data types in the Informix® ESQL/C program.
    - Opaque data types
      These topics explain how to use the lvarchar, fixed binary, and var binary data types to access an opaque data type from the Informix® ESQL/C program. Use these Informix ESQL/C data types to represent an opaque data type as it is transferred to and from Informix.
  - Database server communication
  - Dynamic SQL
  - Appendixes
    This section contains additional reference information.
- GLS User's Guide
  The Informix® GLS User's Guide describes the Global Language Support (GLS) feature available in Informix products.
- API
  The Informix® GLS API Programmer's Guide describes the global language support (GLS) application programming interface (API) available in Informix ESQL/C and HCL Informix DataBlade® modules.
- Informix® Object Interface for C++ Guide
  The Informix® Object Interface for C++ Programmer's Guide describes how to develop HCL Informix client applications by using the object-oriented C++ programming language.
- Informix® ODBC Driver Guide
  The Informix® ODBC Driver Programmer's Manual serves as a user guide and reference for Informix ODBC Driver, which is the Informix implementation of the Microsoft™ Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) interface, Version 3.0.
- .NET provider options
  The Data Server Provider for .NET DB2® provider option is the preferred Informix® provider for developing new applications.
- Informix® JDBC Driver Guide
  The Informix® JDBC Driver Programmer's Guide describes how to install, load, and use Informix JDBC Driver to connect to the Informix database from within a Java™ application or applet.
- Informix International Language Supplement (ILS) User Guide
  These topics include information about the translated user interface files for Informix® UNIX™ products, locales, and code set conversion tables
- Informix® OLE DB Provider Guide
  The Informix® OLE DB Provider Programmer's Guide describes the software requirements for using Informix OLE DB Provider, show how to install and configure the provider for your use, and explain how to use Informix OLE DB Provider to enable client applications, such as ActiveX Data Object (ADO) applications and web pages, to access data on the Informix server.

ESQL/C dynamic link libraries

For Windows™ environments, the Informix® ESQL/C product includes the following dynamic link libraries (DLLs):

The ESQL client-interface DLL (isqlt09a.dll) contains the Informix® ESQL/C library functions that the Informix® ESQL/C preprocessor needs to translate embedded SQL statements and other internal functions that are needed at run time.
The esqlauth.dll DLL provides runtime verification of the connection information that the client application sends to the database server. When your application requests a connection, Informix® ESQL/C calls the sqlauth() function, which esqlauth.dll defines. For more information about sqlauth(), see Connection authentication functionality in a Windows environment.
The Registry DLL, iregt07b.dll, is used by the Setnet32 utility and the Informix® Connect library to set and access configuration information in the Registry.
The igl4b304.dll, igo4g303.dll, and iglxg303.dll DLLs are required for Global Language Support (GLS). For more information about code-set conversion, see the Informix® GLS User's Guide.

Informix® DLLs are located in the %INFORMIXDIR%\bin directory. %INFORMIXDIR% is the value of the INFORMIXDIR environment variable.