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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.
.NET provider options
The Data Server Provider for .NET DB2® provider option is the preferred Informix® provider for developing new applications.
Informix® .NET Provider Guide
The Informix® .NET Provider Reference Guide contains the information you need in order to use the Informix .NET Provider to access and manipulate data in HCL Informix databases.
Overview of HCL Informix® .NET Provider
The topics in this overview describe the Informix® .NET Provider and provide information on the environment in which to use it. These topics also provide installation and connection information and general information to help you get started using the Informix .NET Provider.
What is the Informix® .NET Provider?
The Informix® .NET Provider is a .NET assembly that lets .NET applications access and manipulate data in Informix databases. It does this by implementing several interfaces in the Microsoft™ .NET Framework that are used to access data from a database.

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.
- 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.
  - Differences between .NET Providers
  - Informix® .NET Provider Guide
    The Informix® .NET Provider Reference Guide contains the information you need in order to use the Informix .NET Provider to access and manipulate data in HCL Informix databases.
    - Overview of HCL Informix® .NET Provider
      The topics in this overview describe the Informix® .NET Provider and provide information on the environment in which to use it. These topics also provide installation and connection information and general information to help you get started using the Informix .NET Provider.
      - What is the Informix® .NET Provider?
        The Informix® .NET Provider is a .NET assembly that lets .NET applications access and manipulate data in Informix databases. It does this by implementing several interfaces in the Microsoft™ .NET Framework that are used to access data from a database.
      - Supported programming environments
        The Informix® .NET Provider can be used by any application that can be run by the Microsoft™ .NET Framework.
      - Support for IPv6
        The Informix® .NET Provider can use Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) addresses, as well as Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) addresses.
      - Installing the HCL Informix® .NET Provider
        You can install the Informix® .NET Provider with the through a typical or custom installation.
      - Overview of the .NET provider class library
        The Informix® .NET Provider supports all of the .NET public classes and base classes that are needed to access the Informix database.
      - Thread-safety of provider types
        Only static members of the Informix® .NET Provider type are thread-safe.
      - Connecting to a database
        You connect to a database by using the Open method of an IfxConnection object.
      - The ? parameter markers
        You can use the question mark symbol (?) to mark a parameter's place in an SQL statement or stored procedure.
      - Call stored procedures
        To use stored procedures in your applications, you must set some properties of the IfxCommand object.
      - IfxProviderFactory objects to write database-independent code
        Starting with Informix® .NET Provider Version 2, you can use the IfxProviderFactory class to write database-independent code.
      - Distributed transactions
        Your application can enlist a connection for distributed transactions by setting the Enlist connection string attribute to true, yes, or 1.
      - The OUT and INOUT Parameters
        As of Version 3.50.xC4, Informix® Client Software Development Kit supports the use of OUT and INOUT parameters during execution of SPL.
      - Generic coding with the ADO.NET common base classes
        The .NET Framework features a namespace that is called the System.Data.Common namespace, which contains a set of base classes that can be shared by any .NET data provider.
      - Error messages
        Error messages from the HCL Informix® server are represented as Informix .NET Provider exceptions.
    - Mapping data types
      These topics describe how data types are mapped between HCL Informix® databases and the .NET Framework.
    - Type reference
      All of the classes described in these topics belong in the namespace IBM.Data.Informix.
    - Sample programs
  - Informix .NET Core Provider
    Starting with CSDK 4.50.xC4, Informix .NET Core Provider compatible with .NET Core SDK/Runtime v3.1 is shipped for Windows x64 and Linux x86_64 platforms.
- Informix 4GL
  This topic provides a link to the documentation.
- 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.

What is the Informix® .NET Provider?

The Informix® .NET Provider is a .NET assembly that lets .NET applications access and manipulate data in Informix® databases. It does this by implementing several interfaces in the Microsoft™ .NET Framework that are used to access data from a database.

Using the Informix® .NET Provider is more efficient than accessing the Informix® database through either of these two methods:

Using the Microsoft™ .NET Framework Data Provider for ODBC along with the Informix® ODBC Driver
Using the Microsoft™ .NET Framework Data Provider for OLE DB along with the Informix® OLE DB Provider