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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 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.
GLS-related environment variables
These topics list the GLS-related environment variables that you can set for HCL Informix® database servers and SQL API products.
GLS8BITFSYS environment variable
Use the GLS8BITFSYS environment variable to tell HCL Informix® products (such as the Informix ESQL/C processor) whether the operating system is 8-bit clean.

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.
  - 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.
    - Set and retrieve environment variables
      The GLS feature lets you use the diacritics, collating sequence, and monetary, date, and number conventions of the language that you select when you create databases.
    - GLS-related environment variables
      These topics list the GLS-related environment variables that you can set for HCL Informix® database servers and SQL API products.
      - CC8BITLEVEL environment variable
        The CC8BITLEVEL environment variable determines the type of processing that the Informix® ESQL/C filter, esqlmf, performs on non-ASCII (8-bit and multibyte) characters.
      - CLIENT_LOCALE environment variable
        The CLIENT_LOCALE environment variable specifies the client locale, which the client application uses in read and write operations, display formats, and processing ESQL statements.
      - DBLANG environment variable
        The DBLANG environment variable specifies the subdirectory of INFORMIXDIR that contains the customized, language-specific message files that the Informix® product uses.
      - DB_LOCALE environment variable
        The DB_LOCALE environment variable specifies the database locale, which the database server uses to process locale-sensitive data.
      - DBMONEY environment variable
        The DBMONEY environment variable specifies the custom display formats for values in MONEY columns.
      - ESQLMF environment variable
        The ESQLMF environment variable setting determines whether the esql command automatically starts the esqlmf multibyte filter.
      - GL_DATE environment variable
        The GL_DATE environment variable specifies custom display formats of values for DATE columns.
      - GL_DATETIME environment variable
      - GLS8BITFSYS environment variable
        Use the GLS8BITFSYS environment variable to tell HCL Informix® products (such as the Informix ESQL/C processor) whether the operating system is 8-bit clean.
        Restrictions on non-ASCII file names
        If your locale supports a code set with non-ASCII characters, restrictions apply to file names for operating-system files that Informix® products generate.
      - GL_USEGLU environment variable
      - IFX_PUA_DISPLAY_MAPPING environment variable
        Use the IFX_PUA_DISPLAY_MAPPING environment variable to set display widths for characters from the Unicode Private Use Area (PUA) ranges according to a mapping file that you supply: $INFORMIXIDR/gls/etc/pua.map. By default, DB-Access and other Informix® character-based applications cannot interpret private-use characters.
      - SERVER_LOCALE environment variable
        The SERVER_LOCALE environment variable specifies the server locale, which the database server uses to perform read and write operations that involve operating-system files on the server computer.
      - USE_DTENV environment variable
        In a database where the GL_DATETIME environment variable has a nondefault setting, you cannot process localized DATETIME values correctly in some operations that load or unload data unless USE_DTENV is enabled.
  - 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.

GLS8BITFSYS environment variable

Use the GLS8BITFSYS environment variable to tell HCL Informix® products (such as the Informix® ESQL/C processor) whether the operating system is 8-bit clean.

This setting determines whether the Informix® product can use non-ASCII characters in the file name of an operating-system file that it generates.

GLS8BITFSYS { 0 | 1 }

Element: Description
0: HCL Informix® products assume that the operating system is not 8-bit clean and generate file names with 7-bit ASCII characters only.
1: HCL Informix® products assume that the operating system is 8-bit clean and can use non-ASCII characters (8-bit or multibyte characters) in the file name of an operating-system file that it generates.

If you include non-ASCII characters in a file name that you specify within a client application, you must ensure that the code set of the server-processing locale supports these non-ASCII characters. If you do not set GLS8BITFSYS, Informix® database servers behave as if GLS8BITFSYS is set to 1.

For example, create a database that is called A1A2B1B2, where A1A2 and B1B2 are multibyte characters, with the following SQL statement:

CREATE DATABASE A¹A²B¹B²

If GLS8BITFSYS is 1 (or is not set) on the server computer, the database server assumes that the operating system is 8-bit clean, and it generates a database directory, A1A2B1B2.dbs.

If GLS8BITFSYS is set to 0 on the server computer and you include non-ASCII characters in the file name, the Informix® product uses an internal algorithm to convert these non-ASCII characters to ASCII characters. The file names that result are 7-bit clean.

File names with invalid byte sequences generate errors when they are used with GLS-based products.

Only some database utilities, such as dbexport, and the compilers for Informix® ESQL/C products use GLS8BITFSYS on the client computer to create and use files. For example, suppose you compile the Informix® ESQL/C source file that is called A1A2B1B2.ec, where A1A2 and B1B2 are multibyte characters. If GLS8BITFSYS is set to 1 (or is not set) on the client computer, the Informix® ESQL/C processor generates an intermediate C file that is called A1A2B1B2.c. For a list of Informix® ESQL/C files that check GLS8BITFSYS, see Handle non-ASCII characters.