Setting environment variables

Set environment variables after you install the database server. If you created a database server during installation, all mandatory environment variables are set, however, you can set optional environment variables.

Before you begin

You must be logged in as an administrative user or with sufficient privileges to set environment variables.

About this task

UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X: You can set environment variables at the command line, in an environment configuration file, or in a login file.

Windows: You can set environment variables in the system applet or at the command line.

Procedure

To set the minimum required environment variables:
  1. Set the INFORMIXDIR environment variable to the directory where you installed the database server.
  2. UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X: Set the PATH environment variable to include the $INFORMIXDIR/bin directory as follows.
    • C shell:
      setenv PATH ${INFORMIXDIR}/bin:${PATH}
    • Bourne shell:
      PATH=$INFORMIXDIR/bin:$PATH
export PATH

    You must set the INFORMIXDIR variable and add $INFORMIXDIR/bin to the PATH environment variable for each user.

  3. Set the INFORMIXSERVER environment parameter to the name of the database server.
  4. Set the ONCONFIG environment variable to the name of a valid onconfig file that you created for the server.
  5. If you want to use a locale or language other than the default locale of US English, set the following environment variables:
    1. Set the CLIENT_LOCALE environment parameter to specify a nondefault locale.
    2. Set the DBLANG environment parameter to specify the subdirectory of INFORMIXDIR that contains the customized language-specific message files that Informix® products use.
    3. Set the DB_LOCALE environment parameter.
    4. Set the SERVER_LOCALE environment parameter.
    5. Set the GL_USEGLU environment parameter if you plan to use UTF-8 character encoding. You must set the GL_USEGLU environment parameter before you create a database in which you plan to store UTF-8 character data.
  6. Set the INFORMIXSQLHOSTS environment parameter to the sqlhosts file. The default location of this file is $INFORMIXDIR/etc/sqlhosts (UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X) or %INFORMIXDIR%\etc\sqlhosts (Windows).
  7. UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X: Set the INFORMIXTERM environment parameter to specify whether the DB-Access utility uses the information in the termcap file or the terminfo directory.
    On character-based systems, the termcap file and terminfo directory determine terminal-dependent keyboard and screen capabilities, such as the operation of function keys, color, and intensity attributes in screen displays, and the definition of window borders and graphic characters.
  8. UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X: If your applications are compiled with the , set the platform-specific library path environment variable to $INFORMIXDIR/lib and to the product library subdirectory. See the machine notes for your client products for the appropriate environment variable name.