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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.
SQL features
These topics explain how the GLS feature affects the Informix® implementation of SQL.
Locale-sensitive data types
These topics explain how a locale affects the way that a database server handles the MONEY data type, extended data types, and smart large objects (CLOB and BLOB data types).
Handle smart large objects
A smart large object can store text or images. Smart large objects are stored and retrieved in pieces and have database properties such as recovery and transaction rollback.

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.
  - SQL features
    These topics explain how the GLS feature affects the Informix® implementation of SQL.
    - Name database objects
      You must declare names for new database objects (and in some cases, for storage objects, such as dbspaces) when you use data definition language (DDL) statements such as CREATE TABLE, CREATE INDEX, and RENAME COLUMN.
    - Character data types
      The locale affects the collation of built-in SQL character data types.
    - Handle character data
      The GLS feature allows you to put non-ASCII characters (including multibyte characters) in the elements of an SQL statement.
    - Locale-sensitive data types
      These topics explain how a locale affects the way that a database server handles the MONEY data type, extended data types, and smart large objects (CLOB and BLOB data types).
      - Handle the MONEY data type
        The MONEY data type stores currency amounts. This data type stores fixed-point decimal numbers up to a maximum of 32 significant digits. You can specify MONEY columns in data definition statements such as CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE.
      - Handle extended data types
        The extensible data type system of HCL Informix® allows users to define new data types and the behavior of these new data types to the database server.
      - Handle smart large objects
        A smart large object can store text or images. Smart large objects are stored and retrieved in pieces and have database properties such as recovery and transaction rollback.
    - Data manipulation statements
      The choice of a locale can affect certain SQL data manipulation statements.
    - Data definition statements
      HCL Informix® supports a configuration parameter, SQL_LOGICAL_CHAR, whose setting can simplify the use of certain Data Definition Language (DDL) statements of SQL when you declare character data types in locales that support multibyte code sets.
  - 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.

Handle smart large objects

A smart large object can store text or images. Smart large objects are stored and retrieved in pieces and have database properties such as recovery and transaction rollback.

HCL Informix® supports two smart-large-object types:

The BLOB data type stores any type of binary data, including images and video clips.
The CLOB data type stores text such as PostScript™ or HTML files.

You can seek smart large objects in bytes but not in characters. Therefore, you need to manage the byte offset of multibyte characters when you search for information in smart large objects.

To access smart large objects through a client application, you must use an API, such as Informix® ESQL/C or DataBlade® API. Because GLS does not support direct access to smart-large-object data through SQL, GLS does not automatically handle the data (no automatic code-set conversion, localized collation order, display formats, and so on). All support must be done within an API.

When you copy CLOB data from a file, HCL Informix® performs any necessary character-set conversions. If the client (when it copies from client files) or server locale (when it copies from server files) differs from the database locale, invokes the routines to convert to the database locale.