Home
SQL programming
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of the SQL language to develop applications for Informix database servers.
Guide to SQL: Syntax
The Informix® Guide to SQL: Syntax describes the syntax of the statements, data types, expressions, operators, and built-in functions of the Informix dialect of the SQL language.
SPL statements
These topics describe Stored Procedure Language (SPL) statements, which you use to write SPL routines. You can store these routines in the database as user-defined routines (UDRs).
DEFINE
Declaring Local Variables
Declaring Variables as the PROCEDURE Type

SQL programming
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of the SQL language to develop applications for Informix database servers.
- Guide to SQL: Syntax
  The Informix® Guide to SQL: Syntax describes the syntax of the statements, data types, expressions, operators, and built-in functions of the Informix dialect of the SQL language.
  - Overview of SQL syntax
    These topics provide an overview about how to use the SQL statements, SPL statements, and syntax segments.
  - SQL statements
    This chapter describes the syntax and semantics of SQL statements that are recognized by Informix®.
  - SPL statements
    These topics describe Stored Procedure Language (SPL) statements, which you use to write SPL routines. You can store these routines in the database as user-defined routines (UDRs).
    - << Label >> statement
      Use the <<label>> statement of SPL to declare a statement label or a loop label.
    - CALL
    - CASE
      Use the CASE statement when program execution needs to take exactly one among multiple branches, depending on the value of an SPL variable or of a simple expression. The CASE statement is a logical alternative to the IF statement.
    - CONTINUE
    - DEFINE
      - Referencing TEXT and BYTE Variables
      - Redeclaration or Redefinition
      - Declaring Global Variables
      - Declaring Local Variables
        Subset of Complex Data Types
        To store one or more data values in a complex data type, the DEFINE statement can declare a local SPL variable as a collection of type SET, MULTISET, or LIST, with elements of a specified type, or as a generic COLLECTION. The DEFINE statement can also declare a local SPL variable as a named or an unnamed ROW type with an ordered set of fields, or as a generic ROW type.
        Declaring Collection Variables
        Declaring ROW Variables
        Declaring Opaque-Type Variables
        Declaring Variables LIKE Columns
        If you use the LIKE clause, the database server assigns the variable the same data type as a specified column in a table, synonym, or view.
        Defining Variables with Logical Character Semantics
        Declaring Variables as the PROCEDURE Type
        Declaring Variables for BYTE and TEXT Data
    - EXIT
    - FOR
    - FOREACH
      Use the FOREACH statement to declare a direct cursor that can select and manipulate more than one row from a the result set of a query, or more than one element from a collection.
    - GOTO
    - IF
    - LET
    - LOOP
    - ON EXCEPTION
    - RAISE EXCEPTION
    - RETURN
    - SYSTEM
    - TRACE
    - WHILE
      Use the WHILE statement to establish a loop with variable end conditions.
  - Data types and expressions
    These topics describe the data types and expressions that Informix®supports.
  - Other syntax segments
    These topics describe syntax segments, which are language elements, such as database object names or optimizer directives, that appear as a subdiagram reference in the syntax diagrams of some SQL or SPL statements.
  - Built-In Routines
  - Appendixes
- Guide to SQL: Reference
  The Informix® Guide to SQL: Reference contains the reference information for the system catalog tables, data types, and environment variables of the HCL Informix dialect of the SQL language, as implemented in HCL Informix. These topics also include information about the stores_demo, sales_demo, and superstore_demo databases that are included with HCL Informix.
- Guide to SQL: Tutorial
  The Informix® Guide to SQL: Tutorial shows how to use basic and advanced structured query language (SQL) to access and manipulate the data in your databases. It discusses the data manipulation language (DML) statements as well as triggers and stored procedure language (SPL) routines, which DML statements often use.

Declaring Variables as the PROCEDURE Type

The PROCEDURE keyword indicates that in the current scope, the variable is a call to a UDR.

The DEFINE statement does not support a FUNCTION keyword. Use the PROCEDURE keyword, whether you are calling a user-defined procedure or a user-defined function.

Declaring a variable as PROCEDURE type indicates that in the current statement scope, the variable is not a call to a built-in function. For example, the following statement defines length as an SPL routine, not as the built-in LENGTH function:

DEFINE length PROCEDURE;
...
LET x = length (a,b,c)

This definition disables the built-in LENGTH function within the scope of the statement block. You would use such a definition if you had already created a user-defined routine with the name length.

If you create an SPL routine with the same name as an aggregate function (SUM, MAX, MIN, AVG, COUNT) or with the name extend, you must qualify the routine name with the owner name.