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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.
GLS User's Guide
The Informix® GLS User's Guide describes the Global Language Support (GLS) feature available in Informix products.
GLS fundamentals
The Global Language Support (GLS) feature lets Informix® products handle different languages, cultural conventions, and code sets for Asian, African, European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries.
GLS locales with HCL Informix® products
HCL Informix® products use GLS locales for several tasks.
Establish a database connection
To establish a database connection, the GLS locales performs a series of steps.
Determine the server-processing locale
The database server uses the server-processing locale to obtain locale information for its own internal sessions and for any connections.

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.
- GLS User's Guide
  The Informix® GLS User's Guide describes the Global Language Support (GLS) feature available in Informix products.
  - GLS fundamentals
    The Global Language Support (GLS) feature lets Informix® products handle different languages, cultural conventions, and code sets for Asian, African, European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries.
    - Character-representation conventions
      The examples in this documentation use ASCII characters to represent both single-byte and multibyte characters. Multibyte characters are usually ideographic (such as Chinese characters). Multibyte and single-byte characters are represented abstractly.
    - The GLS feature
      In a database application, some of the tasks that the database server and the client application perform depend on the language and culture conventions of the data that they handle.
    - A GLS locale
      In a client/server environment, both the database server and the client application must know which language the data is in to be able to process the application data correctly.
    - Set a GLS locale
      For the database server and the client application to communicate successfully, you must establish the appropriate GLS locales for your environment.
    - GLS locales with HCL Informix® products
      HCL Informix® products use GLS locales for several tasks.
      - Support for non-ASCII characters
        HCL Informix® products obtain the code set from its GLS locale. Locales are available for both single-byte and multibyte code sets.
      - Establish a database connection
        To establish a database connection, the GLS locales performs a series of steps.
        Send the client locale
        When the client application requests a connection, it sends the environment variables from the client locale to the database server.
        Verify the database locale
        To open an existing database, the client application must correctly identify the database locale for that database.
        Check for connection warnings
        To check for the eighth character field of the SQLWARN array, the Informix® ESQL/C client application can check the sqlca.sqlwarn.sqlwarn7 field.
        Determine the server-processing locale
        The database server uses the server-processing locale to obtain locale information for its own internal sessions and for any connections.
        Locale information for the database
        The database server must know how to interpret the data in any columns with the locale-specific data types, NCHAR and NVARCHAR.
        Locale information for the client application
        The database server must know how to interpret the display formats when they show in monetary, date, or time data that the client application sends. It must also convert data from the database to any appropriate display before it sends this data to the client application.
      - Perform code-set conversion
        In a client/server environment, character data might need to be converted from one code set to another if the client or server computer uses different code sets to represent the same characters. The conversion of character data from one code set (the source code set) to another (the target code set) is called code-set conversion.
      - Locate message files
        HCL Informix® products use GLS locales to locate product-specific message files. By default, HCL Informix products automatically search a subdirectory that is associated with the client locale for the product-specific message files.
    - Customize display formats
      You can override some display formats in the client locale.
  - GLS environment variables
    HCL Informix® products establish the client, database, and server locales with information from GLS-related environment variables and from data that is stored in the database.
  - SQL features
    These topics explain how the GLS feature affects the Informix® implementation of SQL.
  - Database server features
    These topics describe how the GLS feature affects the database server.
  - General SQL API features (ESQL/C)
    These topics explain how the GLS feature affects applications that you develop with the Informix® Client Software Development Kit.
  - Informix® ESQL/C features
    These topics explain how the GLS feature affects Informix® ESQL/C, an SQL application programming interface (API).
  - Appendix
    This section contains additional reference information.
- 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.

Determine the server-processing locale

The database server uses the server-processing locale to obtain locale information for its own internal sessions and for any connections.

When the database server begins execution, it initializes the server-processing locale to the default locale. When a client application requests a connection, the database server must redetermine the server-processing locale to include the client and database locales. The database server uses the server-processing locale to obtain locale information that it needs when it transfers data between the client system and the database.

After the HCL Informix® database server verifies the database locale, it uses a precedence of environment variables from the client and database locales to set the server-processing locale.

The database server obtains the following information from the server-processing locale:

Locale information for the database
This database information includes the localized order and code set for data in columns with the locale-sensitive data types (NCHAR and NVARCHAR). The database server obtains this information from the name of the database locale that it has verified.
Locale information for client-application data
This client-application information provides the display formats for date, time, numeric, and monetary data. The database server obtains this information from the client application when the client requests a connection.

The following figure shows the relationship between the client locale, database locale, server locale, and server-processing locale.

begin figure description - This figure is described in the surrounding text. - end figure description — Figure 1. The server-processing locale

Tip: The database server uses the server locale, as specified by the SERVER_LOCALE environment variable, for read and write operations on its own operating-system files. For information about operating-system files, see GLS support by Informix database servers.