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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®.
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.

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.
    - 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.
      - Public JDBC interfaces
        Informix® JDBC Driver defines the com.informix.jdbc.IfxConnection and com.informix.jdbc.IfxProtocol public interfaces.
      - The informix-direct subprotocol
      - An example that shows query results
    - 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.

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.

Generally, the Informix® server-side Informix® JDBC Driver derives from the client-side driver so that the two drivers are essentially the same. Java™ UDRs require some differences, however, to use the Informix® JDBC Driver from the server side. This section describes the public Informix® JDBC Driver interfaces and Informix® JDBC Driver subprotocols that the Informix® JDBC Driver provides specifically for server-side Informix® JDBC Driver applications, and restrictions that apply to server-side Informix® JDBC Driver applications. For principal documentation of the Informix® JDBC Driver, see the Informix® JDBC Driver Programmer's Guide.