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SQL programming
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of the SQL language to develop applications for Informix database servers.
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.
Database concepts
Important database terms
Tables

SQL programming
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of the SQL language to develop applications for Informix database servers.
- Guide to SQL: Syntax
- 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.

Tables

A database is a collection of information that is grouped into one or more tables. A table is an array of data items organized into rows and columns. A demonstration database is distributed with every Informix® database server product. A partial table from the demonstration database follows.


stock_num	manu_code	description	unit_price	unit	unit_descr
. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .
1	HRO	baseball gloves	250.00	case	10 gloves/case
1	HSK	baseball gloves	800.00	case	10 gloves/case
1	SMT	baseball gloves	450.00	case	10 gloves/case
2	HRO	baseball	126.00	case	24/case
3	HSK	baseball bat	240.00	case	12/case
4	HSK	football	960.00	case	24/case
4	HRO	football	480.00	case	24/case
5	NRG	tennis racquet	28.00	each	each
. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .
313	ANZ	swim cap	60.00	case	12/box

A table represents all that the database administrator (DBA) wants to store about one entity, one type of thing that the database describes. The example table, stock, represents all that the DBA wants to store about the merchandise that a sporting goods store stocks. Other tables in the demonstration database represent such entities as customer and orders.