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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.
Programming for a multiuser environment
Set the lock mode
Handle a deadlock

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.
  - Database concepts
  - Compose SELECT statements
  - Select data from complex types
  - Functions in SELECT statements
  - Compose advanced SELECT statements
  - Modify data
  - Access and modify data in an external database
  - SQL programming
  - Modify data through SQL programs
  - Programming for a multiuser environment
    - Concurrency and performance
    - Locks and integrity
    - Locks and performance
    - Concurrency issues
    - How locks work
      Informix® database servers support a complex, flexible set of locking features that the topics in this section describe.
    - Lock with the SELECT statement
      The type and duration of locks that the database server places depend on the isolation set in the application and whether the SELECT statement is within an update cursor.
    - Retain update locks
    - Exclusive locks that occur with some SQL statements
      When you execute an INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statement, the database server uses exclusive locks. An exclusive lock means that no other users can update or delete the item until the database server removes the lock. In addition, no other users can view the row unless they are using the Dirty Read isolation level.
    - The behavior of the lock types
    - Control data modification with access modes
    - Set the lock mode
    - Simple concurrency
    - Hold cursors
    - The SQL statement cache
    - Summary
  - Create and use SPL routines
  - Create and use triggers

Handle a deadlock

A deadlock is a situation in which a pair of programs blocks the progress of each other. Each program has a lock on some object that the other program wants to access. A deadlock arises only when all programs concerned set their lock modes to wait for locks.

The Informix® database server detects deadlocks immediately when they only involve data at a single network server. It prevents the deadlock from occurring by returning an error code (error -143 ISAM error: deadlock detected) to the second program to request a lock. The error code is the one the program receives if it sets its lock mode to not wait for locks. If your program receives an error code related to locks even after it sets lock mode to wait, you know the cause is an impending deadlock.