Fetch and insert character data types

You can transfer character data between CHAR and VARCHAR columns and character (char, string, fixchar, varchar, or lvarchar) host variables with either of the following operations:
  • A fetch operation transfers character data from a CHAR or VARCHAR column to a character host variable.
  • An insert or update operation transfers character data from a character host variable to a CHAR, VARCHAR, or LVARCHAR column.

If you use locale-sensitive character data types (NCHAR or NVARCHAR), you can also transfer character data between NCHAR or NVARCHAR columns and character host variables. For more information about how to declare host variables for the NCHAR and NVARCHAR data types, see the Informix® GLS User's Guide.