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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.
Informix® extensions and DataBlade® modules
These topics describe how to use built-in database extensions and separately installed DataBlade® modules.
Spatiotemporal Search for Moving Objects User's Guide
The describes how to program applications to search data from moving objects in HCL Informix® databases using the spatiotemporal search extension.
Getting started with spatiotemporal search for moving objects
You use spatiotemporal searches to track moving objects. You create a spatiotemporal search index on the time-stamped GPS data that is stored in a historian database as time series.

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.
  - Database Extensions User's Guide
    The Informix® Database Extensions User's Guide explains how to use the database extensions that come with HCL Informix: Large Object Locator, MQ messaging, binary data types, basic text search, node data type, and SQL packages.
  - Performing XML Publishing
    The Informix® XML User's Guide includes information about using built-in functions for XML publishing with Informix.
  - Spatiotemporal Search for Moving Objects User's Guide
    The describes how to program applications to search data from moving objects in HCL Informix® databases using the spatiotemporal search extension.
    - What's new in Spatiotemporal searching for Informix®, Version 14.10
      This publication includes information about new features and changes in existing functions.
    - Getting started with spatiotemporal search for moving objects
      You use spatiotemporal searches to track moving objects. You create a spatiotemporal search index on the time-stamped GPS data that is stored in a historian database as time series.
      - Spatiotemporal Search solution architecture
        The Informix® Spatiotemporal Search solution consists of built-in functions.
      - Requirements for the Spatiotemporal Search extension
        The Informix® Spatiotemporal Search extension requires the Informix TimeSeries extension, the Informix Spatial extension, and the R-tree index extension. The time series that you create for spatiotemporal search must conform to certain requirements.
      - Spatiotemporal search indexing
        Before you start indexing spatiotemporal data, you must decide how to configure the data and where to store the spatiotemporal tables and indexes.
      - Example for spatiotemporal searching
        In this example, you create and load a time series that contains location data. You start spatiotemporal indexing and then run spatiotemporal searches.
      - Spatiotemporal searches
        You run spatiotemporal search functions within SQL statements to find information about moving objects. Trajectories, positions, and regions are represented with spatial data types.
    - Spatiotemporal search tables
      The spatiotemporal search tables contain spatiotemporal data and information about spatiotemporal search indexes.
    - Spatiotemporal search routines
  - TimeSeries Data User's Guide
    The Informix® TimeSeries Data User's Guide contains information to assist you in using the TimeSeries extension with HCL Informix.
  - Web DataBlade Module
    Use the Web DataBlade® module to create web applications that incorporate data that is retrieved dynamically from the HCL Informix® database.
- 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.

Getting started with spatiotemporal search for moving objects

You use spatiotemporal searches to track moving objects. You create a spatiotemporal search index on the time-stamped GPS data that is stored in a historian database as time series.

You can query on either time or on location to determine the relationship of one to the other. You can query when an object was at a specified location, or where an object was at a specified time. You can find the path, or trajectory, of a moving object over a range of time or the relationship between a region and the trajectories of moving objects. You can find when or where an object was stationary or did not have a signal.

You can use spatiotemporal searches to find the following types of information:

Find the location of a moving object at a specific time. For example, find the location of bus number 3435 at 2014-03-01 15:30.
Find the last known location of a specific moving object. For example, find the last known location of taxi number 324.
Find when, in a time range, a moving object was in a region around a point of interest. For example, find when a deliver truck was within 100 meters of the Mom and Pop Diner between February 2-4, 2015.
Find when a moving object was at a specific location. For example, find when taxi number 324 was at the Superlative Hotel.
Find how long objects did not have signals. For example, find how long buses stay in the repair shop at 123 Main Street.
Find how where an object was stationary. For example, find where taxi number 113 waited for a fare yesterday.
Find the trajectories, of a specific moving object for a time range. For example, find the trajectories of bus number 1543 between 9:00-17:00 yesterday.
Find the trajectories of moving objects near a point of interest during a time range. For example, find which taxi driver witnessed an accident by finding which taxi was nearest to the location of the accident at 9:00, as shown in the following illustration.

Three trajectories are near the point 4326 POINT(-78.752717 43.922478). — Figure 1. Trajectories near a point at a specific time