Welcome
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 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.
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.
Developers Kit
The Developers Kit (DBDK) guides contain information about the tools you can use to develop and package modules, which extend the functionality of HCL Informix® databases.
Module Development Overview
The HCL Informix® module overview serves as an overview of the HCL Informix module development process.
module concepts
module components

HCL Informix® V15.0.0 documentation
Welcome to the documentation for HCL Informix® 15.0.0 and related client tools and products.
Product overview
HCL Informix® is a fast and scalable database server that manages traditional relational, object-relational, and dimensional databases. Its small footprint and self-managing capabilities are suited to embedded data-management solutions.
Installing
These topics describe how to install HCL Informix® database servers, client products, and modules.
Administering
In addition to administering the database server, you can tune performance, replicate data, and archive data.
Migrating and upgrading
You can upgrade to the 15.0.0 release of HCL Informix® or migrate from other database servers to Informix. Upgrading is an in-place migration method that uses your existing hardware and operating system software. Some changes to the Informix database server can affect upgrading from a previous release.
Client APIs and tools
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of client APIs to develop applications for Informix database servers.
Embedding Informix®
When you embed HCL Informix®, you can use enterprise-class high-availability and high performance with embeddability features such as easy programmability, a small disk and memory footprint, and silent deployment.
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 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 modules
  These topics describe how to use built-in database extensions and separately installed modules.
- 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.
  - Programmer's Guide
    The HCL® Informix® DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide describes information about the , the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix.
  - Function Reference
    The IBM® Informix® DataBlade® API Function Reference describes the functions and the subset of functions that the supports.
  - Developers Kit
    The Developers Kit (DBDK) guides contain information about the tools you can use to develop and package modules, which extend the functionality of HCL Informix® databases.
    - Module Development Overview
      The HCL Informix® module overview serves as an overview of the HCL Informix module development process.
      - module concepts
        What are modules?
        A DataBlade module is a software package that extends the functionality of HCL Informix®.
        modules and the database server
        This section describes the overall architecture of the HCL Informix® database server, how modules affect database server processes, and the application programming interfaces you can use in your modules and client applications.
        module components
        Aggregates
        An aggregate is a set of functions that returns information about a set of query results.
        Data types
        The database server uses data types to determine how to store and retrieve different kinds of data.
        Routines
        A routine is a stored collection of programming statements that allows you to manipulate data.
        Casts
        A cast is a rule that converts one data type into another.
        Interfaces
        An interface is a way to reference another module within your module.
        Errors
        You can define error or trace messages for your module.
        Unit tests
        BladeSmith generates unit tests for your opaque data type support routines, user-defined routines, and cast support functions.
        Functional tests
        BladeSmith generates functional tests for your opaque data type support routines, user-defined routines, and cast support functions.
        Imported SQL files
        You can include custom SQL statements in your module to perform tasks such as creating and dropping user-defined access methods, support tables, or SPL routines.
        Imported client files
        After your customers install a module on a database server, they might download any client files included in your module to client computers.
      - Build a module
      - Appendixes
        This section contains additional reference information.
    - Developers Kit User's Guide
      The HCL Informix® Developers Kit User's Guide describes how to use tools to develop and package modules.
    - DBDK InfoShelf
      The Developers Kit InfoShelf is designed to help you work with BladeSmith.
  - J/Foundation Developer's Guide
    The HCL® J/Foundation Developer's Guide describes how to write user-defined routines (UDRs) in the Java™ programming language for Informix®.
  - R-Tree Index User's Guide
    The HCL® Informix® R-Tree Index User's Guide describes the HCL Informix R-tree secondary access method and how to access and use its components.
  - User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide
    The HCL® Informix® User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide describes how to define new data types and enable user-defined routines (UDRs) to extend HCL Informix.
  - Virtual-Table Interface Guide
    The IBM® Informix® Virtual-Table Interface Programmer's Guide explains how to create a primary access method with the Virtual-Table Interface (VTI) so that users have a single SQL interface to HCL Informix tables and to data that does not conform to the storage scheme of HCL Informix.
  - Virtual-Index Interface Guide
    The IBM® Informix® Virtual-Index Interface Programmer's Guide explains how to create a secondary access method with the Virtual-Index Interface (VII) to extend the built-in indexing schemes of HCL Informix typically with a module.
Data warehousing
In addition to designing and implementing Informix® dimensional databases, you can use tools to create data warehouse applications and optimize your data warehouse queries.
Designing databases
The first step in creating a relational database is to construct a data model, which is a precise, complete definition of the data you want to store. After you prepare your data model, you must implement it as a database and tables. To implement your data model, you first select a data type for each column and then you create a database and tables and populate the tables with data. You can also implement fragmentation strategies and control access to your data.
JSON compatibility
You can use the popular JSON-oriented query language created by MongoDB to interact with data stored in HCL Informix®.
Security
You can secure your Informix® database server and the data that is stored in your Informix databases. You can encrypt data, secure connections, control user privileges and access, and audit data security.
SQL programming
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of the SQL language to develop applications for Informix database servers.
Troubleshooting HCL Informix®
Several troubleshooting techniques, tools, and resources are available for resolving problems that you encounter in your HCL Informix® database server environment.

module components

You can include the following objects in the module project you create with the Developers Kit:

Aggregates: Perform user-defined computations on data
Data types: Characterize data to the database server (either built-in data types or new data types)
Routines: Operate on or return data
Casts: Convert data from one type to another
Interfaces: Create dependencies between modules
Errors: Create messages raised by user-defined routines that appear as standard database server messages
Unit tests: Test your database objects during the coding and debugging cycle
Functional tests: Validate your completed module routines
Imported SQL files: Include custom SQL statements to create tables, user-defined access methods, and other database objects in your module
Imported client files: Include client components, such as query tools and ActiveX value objects, in your module package

The Developers Kit generates the SQL for each of the objects that you define or include.

Important : Not all database objects and options described in this section are available with all versions of HCL Informix®. For more information, see the HCL® Informix® DataBlade® Developers Kit User's Guide.