Welcome
Client APIs and tools
You can use the HCL Informix® implementation of client APIs to develop applications for Informix database servers.
ESQL/C Guide
The HCL® Informix® Enterprise Replication Guide explains how to use , the Informix implementation of Embedded Structured Query Language (SQL) for C (ESQL/C), to create client applications with database-management capabilities.
What is Informix® ESQL/C?
Character and string data types
These topics explain how to use character data types in the HCL Informix® ESQL/C program.
Fetch and insert character data types
Fetch and insert VARCHAR data
Fetch VARCHAR data

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.
- Change Data Capture API Programmer's Guide
  The HCL® Informix® Change Data Capture API Programmer's Guide describes how to program applications to process changed data from HCL Informix databases using the HCL Informix Change Data Capture API.
- Embedded SQLJ for HCL Informix®
  The HCL® Informix® Embedded SQLJ User's Guide contains information about using IBM Informix Embedded SQLJ.
- ESQL/C Guide
  The HCL® Informix® Enterprise Replication Guide explains how to use , the Informix implementation of Embedded Structured Query Language (SQL) for C (ESQL/C), to create client applications with database-management capabilities.
  - What is Informix® ESQL/C?
    - Informix® ESQL/C programming
    - Compile programs
    - Informix® ESQL/C data types
      These topics contain information about the correspondence between SQL and C data types and how to handle data types in the program.
    - Character and string data types
      These topics explain how to use character data types in the HCL Informix® ESQL/C program.
      - Character data types
        supports five data types that can hold character data that you retrieve from and send to the database.
      - Fetch and insert character data types
        Fetch and insert CHAR data
        When an application uses a character host variable to fetch or insert a CHAR value, must ensure that the character value fits into the host variable or database column.
        Fetch and insert VARCHAR data
        Fetch VARCHAR data
        Insert VARCHAR data
        Fetch and insert lvarchar data
        When an application uses a lvarchar host variable to fetch or insert a data value, must ensure that the value fits into the host variable or database column.
        Fetch and insert with an ANSI-compliant database
      - Character and string library functions
    - Numeric data types
    - Time data types
      These topics explain how to use date, datetime, and interval data types in the HCL Informix® ESQL/C program.
    - Simple large objects
      A simple large object is a large object that is stored in a blobspace on disk and is not recoverable.
    - Smart large objects
      A smart large object is a data type that stores large, non-relational data objects such as images, sound clips, documents, graphics, maps and other large objects, and allows you to perform read, write, and seek operations on those objects.
    - Complex data types
      These topics explain how to use collection and row data types in the program.
    - Opaque data types
      These topics explain how to use the lvarchar, fixed binary, and var binary data types to access an opaque data type from the program. Use these data types to represent an opaque data type as it is transferred to and from Informix®.
  - Database server communication
  - Dynamic SQL
  - Appendixes
    This section contains additional reference information.
- GLS User's Guide
  The HCL® Informix® GLS User's Guide describes the Global Language Support (GLS) feature available in HCL Informix products.
- Informix GLS API
  The Informix GLS API Programmer's Guide describes the global language support (GLS) application programming interface (API) available in Informix® ESQL/C and HCL Informix modules.
- Informix® Object Interface for C++ Guide
  The Informix® Object Interface for C++ Programmer's Guide describes how to develop HCL Informix client applications by using the object-oriented C++ programming language.
- Informix® ODBC Driver Guide
  The Informix® ODBC Driver Programmer's Manual serves as a user guide and reference for HCL Informix ODBC Driver, which is the Informix implementation of the Microsoft™ Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) interface, Version 3.0.
- .NET provider options
  The HCL Data Server Provider for .NET IBM® DB2® provider option is the preferred Informix® provider for developing new applications.
- HCL Informix 4GL
  This topic provides a link to the Informix 4GL documentation.
- Informix® JDBC Driver Guide
  The HCL® Informix® JDBC Driver Programmer's Guide describes how to install, load, and use HCL Informix JDBC Driver to connect to the Informix database from within a Java™ application or applet.
- Informix International Language Supplement (ILS) User Guide
  These topics include information about the translated user interface files for Informix® UNIX™ products, locales, and code set conversion tables
- Informix® OLE DB Provider Guide
  The HCL Informix OLE DB Provider Programmer's Guide describes the software requirements for using HCL Informix® OLE DB Provider, show how to install and configure the provider for your use, and explain how to use Informix OLE DB Provider to enable client applications, such as ActiveX Data Object (ADO) applications and web pages, to access data on the Informix server.
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.
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.

Fetch VARCHAR data

The following table shows the conversion of VARCHAR data when an application fetches it into host variables of char, fixchar, lvarchar, and string character data types.

Table 1. Converting the VARCHAR data type to ESQL/C character data types
Source type	Destination type	Result
VARCHAR	char	If the source is longer, truncate and null terminate the value, and set any indicator variable. If the destination is longer, pad the value with trailing spaces and null terminate it.
VARCHAR	fixchar	If the source is longer, truncate the value and set any indicator variable. If the destination is longer, pad the value with trailing spaces.
VARCHAR	string	If the source is longer, truncate and null terminate the value, and set any indicator variable. If the destination is longer, null terminate the value.
VARCHAR	lvarchar	If the source is longer, truncate and set any indicator variable. If the destination is longer, null terminate it.

The following table shows examples of conversions from VARCHAR column data to character host variables that might perform during a fetch. In this figure, a plus (+) symbol represents a space character and the value in the Length column includes any null terminators.

Table 2. Examples of VARCHAR conversion during a fetch
Source type	Contents	Length	Destination type	Contents	Indicator
VARCHAR(9)	Fairfield	9	char(5)	Fair\0	9
VARCHAR(9)	Fairfield	9	char(12)	Fairfield++\0	0
VARCHAR(12)	Fairfield+++	12	char(10)	Fairfield\0	12
VARCHAR(10)	Fairfield+	10	char(4)	Fai\0	10
VARCHAR(11)	Fairfield++	11	char(14)	Fairfield++++\0	0
VARCHAR(9)	Fairfield	9	fixchar(5)	Fairf	9
VARCHAR(9)	Fairfield	9	fixchar(10)	Fairfield+	0
VARCHAR(10)	Fairfield+	10	fixchar(9)	Fairfield	10
VARCHAR(10)	Fairfield+	10	fixchar(6)	Fairfi	10
VARCHAR(10)	Fairfield+	10	fixchar(11)	Fairfield++	0
VARCHAR(9)	Fairfield	9	string(4)	Fai\0	9
VARCHAR(9)	Fairfield	9	string(12)	Fairfield\0	0
VARCHAR(12)	Fairfield+++	12	string(10)	Fairfield\0	12
VARCHAR(11)	Fairfield++	11	string(6)	Fairf\0	11
VARCHAR(10)	Fairfield++	10	string(11)	Fairfield\0	0
VARCHAR(10)	Fairfield+	10	lvarchar(11)	Fairfield+	0
VARCHAR(9)	Fairfield	9	lvarchar(5)	Fair\0	9