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Extending Informix®
Beyond standard relational database objects, HCL Informix® can be extended to handle specialized data types, access methods, routines, and other objects. Informix includes many built-in extensions that are fully integrated in the database server. Informix also provides DataBlade® modules, which are packages of extended database objects for a particular purpose and that are installed separately from the database server. Alternatively, you can create your own user-defined objects for Informix.
Creating extensions
You can create user-defined data types, routines, access methods, and other database objects to suit your needs. You can use application programming interfaces to write user-defined routines and applications that access data in Informix® databases.
J/Foundation Developer's Guide
The J/Foundation Developer's Guide describes how to write user-defined routines (UDRs) in the Java™ programming language for Informix®.
Create Java™ user-defined routines
A user-defined routine (UDR) is a routine that an SQL statement or another UDR can invoke. UDRs written in Java™ code use the server-side implementation of the Informix® JDBC Driver to communicate with the database server.
Debugging and tracing
As with a UDR written in C, a UDR written in Java™ code might generate the SQL messages for UDR and DataBlade® API errors when it executes. UDRs written in Java code adopt the Informix® JDBC Driver error-reporting mechanism as well.

Extending Informix®
Beyond standard relational database objects, HCL Informix® can be extended to handle specialized data types, access methods, routines, and other objects. Informix includes many built-in extensions that are fully integrated in the database server. Informix also provides DataBlade® modules, which are packages of extended database objects for a particular purpose and that are installed separately from the database server. Alternatively, you can create your own user-defined objects for Informix.
- Informix® extensions and DataBlade® modules
  These topics describe how to use built-in database extensions and separately installed DataBlade® modules.
- Creating extensions
  You can create user-defined data types, routines, access methods, and other database objects to suit your needs. You can use application programming interfaces to write user-defined routines and applications that access data in Informix® databases.
  - DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide
    The Informix® DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide describes information about the DataBlade API, the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix.
  - DataBlade® API Function Reference
    The Informix® DataBlade® API Function Reference describes the DataBlade API functions and the subset of Informix ESQL/C functions that the DataBlade API supports.
  - DataBlade® Developers Kit
    The DataBlade® Developers Kit (DBDK) guides contain information about the tools you can use to develop and package DataBlade modules, which extend the functionality of HCL Informix® databases.
  - J/Foundation Developer's Guide
    The J/Foundation Developer's Guide describes how to write user-defined routines (UDRs) in the Java™ programming language for Informix®.
    - Concepts
      This section introduces the infrastructure for creating and executing user-defined routines (UDRs) and applications that you write in Java™ to run in the HCL Informix® database server.
    - Prepare for Java™ support
      You must install and configure software before you can write user-defined routines (UDRs) in Java™ code.
    - Configuration parameters
      This section documents the configuration parameters that you need to set to use UDRs written in Java™ code. Set these parameters in the database server configuration file (the onconfig file).
    - Create Java™ user-defined routines
      A user-defined routine (UDR) is a routine that an SQL statement or another UDR can invoke. UDRs written in Java™ code use the server-side implementation of the Informix® JDBC Driver to communicate with the database server.
      - Java™ user-defined routines
      - Limitations for Java™ UDRs
      - Creating a Java™ user-defined routine in the server
        When you create Java™ user-defined routines (UDRs) in the server, you need to write and compile the source code and then install the finished code in the database server.
      - Packages for Java™ user-defined routines
        Various packages can be used to create Java™ user-defined routines (UDRs).
      - Creating UDT-to-Java mappings
        The routine manager needs a mapping between SQL data values and Java™ objects to be able to pass parameters to and retrieve return results from a UDR. The SQL-to-Java data type mapping is performed according to the Informix® JDBC Driver specification.
      - Registering Java™ user-defined routines
        For a UDR to be invoked in an SQL statement, it must be registered in the current database. Use the CREATE FUNCTION and CREATE PROCEDURE statements to register UDRs.
      - A deployment descriptor
        A deployment descriptor allows you to include in a JAR file the SQL statements for creating and dropping the UDRs. Both sqlj.install_jar() and sqlj.remove_jar() take parameters that, when set appropriately, cause the procedure to search for deployment descriptor files in the JAR file.
      - A manifest file
        The manifest file specifies the names of the deployment descriptor files that a JAR file contains. The m option of the jar command incorporates the manifest file into the default manifest of the JAR. Starting with Informix 14.10, the manifest file can also specify a properties file used to describe automated registration. See Automatic Deployment (Enhanced Class Deployment )
      - Enhanced Class Deployment
        J/Foundation now supports an easier mechanism for deploying JUDR classes. While you can continue to use the deployment descriptor to define the SQL statements to register each method in a JUDR class, you can use the Enhanced Class Deployment feature to simplify the registration of each method.
      - Compiling the Java™ code
        A UDR written in Java™ code is implemented by a static method in a Java class.
      - Install a JAR file
        JAR files contain the code for the UDRs. For an SQL statement to be able to include a UDR written in Java™ code, you must install the JAR file in the current database. When a JAR file is installed, the routine manager of the database server can load the appropriate Java class when the UDR is invoked.
      - Update JAR file names
      - Execute the user-defined routine
      - Debugging and tracing
        As with a UDR written in C, a UDR written in Java™ code might generate the SQL messages for UDR and DataBlade® API errors when it executes. UDRs written in Java code adopt the Informix® JDBC Driver error-reporting mechanism as well.
        Generate log messages
        The administrative tool
        The Informix® JDBC Driver includes a built-in iterative UDR that is a limited administrative tool, informix.jvpcontrol(). The database server enables the informix.jvpcontrol() UDR when the JVPPROPFILE configuration parameter specifies a starting port number by using the JVP.monitor.port entry.
        Debugging a Java™ user-defined routine
        Traceable Events
      - Find information about user-defined routines
      - Comply with SQLJ
    - The Informix® JDBC Driver
      All UDRs written in Java™ code can access the database server data through the Informix® JDBC Driver application programming interface (API). This section briefly describes the Informix implementation of the Informix JDBC Driver API and the server-side Informix JDBC Driver.
    - Opaque user-defined data types
      This section describes how to use opaque user-defined data types (UDTs). This section describes the default SQLData interface and how to override the default.
  - R-Tree Index User's Guide
    The Informix® R-Tree Index User's Guide describes the HCL Informix R-tree secondary access method and how to access and use its components.
  - User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide
    The Informix® User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide describes how to define new data types and enable user-defined routines (UDRs) to extend HCL Informix.
  - Virtual-Table Interface Guide
    The Informix® Virtual-Table Interface Programmer's Guide explains how to create a primary access method with the Virtual-Table Interface (VTI) so that users have a single SQL interface to HCL Informix tables and to data that does not conform to the storage scheme of HCL Informix.
  - Virtual-Index Interface Guide
    The Informix® Virtual-Index Interface Programmer's Guide explains how to create a secondary access method with the Virtual-Index Interface (VII) to extend the built-in indexing schemes of HCL Informix typically with a DataBlade® module.

Debugging and tracing

As with a UDR written in C, a UDR written in Java™ code might generate the SQL messages for UDR and DataBlade® API errors when it executes. UDRs written in Java™ code adopt the Informix® JDBC Driver error-reporting mechanism as well.

The UDR throws an SQLException in case of an execution error such as a failed Informix® JDBC Driver call. The routine manager detects such exceptions and translates it into a normal UDR error message.

In addition, the UDR can generate Java™ trace outputs and stack dumps at run time. These additional Java™ messages are written to the JVP log file. The JVP log file is separate from the main database server log file, online.log. No JVP-specific messages appear in the database log. The JVP log file is intended to be the main destination for logging and tracing messages that are specific to the JVP and the UDR. This log is essential for Informix® support to perform debugging efforts. You should preserve it when possible.