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 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.
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.
DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide
These topics describe information about the DataBlade® API, the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix®.
Create user-defined routines
Develop a user-defined routine
A C user-defined routine (UDR) is a UDR that is written in the C language and uses the server-side implementation of the DataBlade® API to communicate with the database server. C UDRs (functions and procedures) are implemented as C-language functions. DataBlade modules often include C UDRs that are made available for use by registering them in the database.
Debug a UDR
Because a UDR runs as part of the database server process, the routine must not do anything that might negatively affect the running of the database server, such as exiting. This section provides information about how to use a C debugger to attach to a virtual processor, handle the debugging session of a C UDR, and use DataBlade® API tracing.
Tracing
A tracepoint is a point within the code that can send special information about the current executing state of the UDR.
Adding a tracepoint in code
A user-defined tracepoint is a point within the code of a C UDR that can send special information about the current executing state of that routine.
Put trace messages into code

HCL Informix® V15.0 documentation
Welcome to the documentation for HCL Informix® 15.0 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 DataBlade® 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 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 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.
- 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.
  - DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide
    These topics describe information about the DataBlade® API, the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix®.
    - DataBlade® API overview
    - Data manipulation
    - Database access
    - Create user-defined routines
      - Develop a user-defined routine
        A C user-defined routine (UDR) is a UDR that is written in the C language and uses the server-side implementation of the DataBlade® API to communicate with the database server. C UDRs (functions and procedures) are implemented as C-language functions. DataBlade modules often include C UDRs that are made available for use by registering them in the database.
        Designing a UDR
        This section provides the following design considerations for the development of a C UDR: development tools, uses of a UDR, portability, and insert and update operations.
        Creating UDR code
        This section provides an overview of C UDR development.
        Compile a C UDR
        To compile a C UDR, use a C compiler to compile the source file (.c file extension) into an object file (.o file extension) and create a shared-object file that contains the object file.
        Register a C UDR
        The CREATE FUNCTION statement registers user-defined functions in the database. The CREATE PROCEDURE statement registers user-defined procedures in the database. These functions store information about the UDR in the sysprocedures system catalog table.
        Execute a UDR
        Debug a UDR
        Because a UDR runs as part of the database server process, the routine must not do anything that might negatively affect the running of the database server, such as exiting. This section provides information about how to use a C debugger to attach to a virtual processor, handle the debugging session of a C UDR, and use DataBlade® API tracing.
        Attaching to the database server process with the debugger
        To debug your DataBlade® module, use a debugger that can attach to the active server process and access the symbol tables of dynamically loaded shared object files.
        Running a debugging session
        You can set breakpoints, examine the stack, resume execution, or carry out any other normal debugger commands.
        Tracing
        A tracepoint is a point within the code that can send special information about the current executing state of the UDR.
        Adding a tracepoint in code
        A user-defined tracepoint is a point within the code of a C UDR that can send special information about the current executing state of that routine.
        Choose a trace class
        Trace messages are grouped into trace classes. A trace class enables you to set up categories of related tracepoints, which you can then turn on or turn off independently.
        Put trace messages into code
        The DPRINTF macro
        The DPRINTF macro directly marks a tracepoint in the code. It formats a trace message and specifies the threshold for the tracepoint.
        Trace blocks
        In some cases, you might need to perform some computations before you decide whether to output certain trace data. To perform computations for a tracepoint, define a trace block.
        Define internationalized trace messages (GLS)
        The DataBlade® API also supports internationalized trace messages, which are trace messages that correspond to a particular non-English locale.
        Tracing at run time
        The tracing output
        The DataBlade® API tracing functions adds a prefix to each trace message with a time stamp to show the time that the trace message is written to the trace-output file. The time stamp enables you to associate trace output with other information, such as entries in the database server log file.
        Change a UDR
        This section provides information about how to alter a C UDR and how to unload a shared-object file.
      - Write a user-defined routine
        This section outlines some implementation issues for C user-defined routines (UDRs). This section also describes the specific features and tasks of a C UDR.
      - Manage memory
        A C user-defined routine (UDR) has access to shared memory for dynamic allocations and stack memory for routine arguments (including the MI_FPARAM structure), local stack variables, and return values.
      - Create special-purpose UDRs
        This section describes how to create special UDRs, such as iterator functions, user-defined aggregates, and optimization functions.
      - Extend data types
        This section describes the ways to extend data types with C user-defined routines (UDRs).
    - Appendix
      This section contains additional reference information.
  - DataBlade® API Function Reference
    These topics describe the DataBlade® API functions and the subset of IBM® Informix® ESQL/C functions that the DataBlade API supports.
  - DataBlade® Developers Kit
    The DataBlade® Developers Kit (DBDK) guides contain information about the tools you can use to develop and package DataBlade modules, which extend the functionality of HCL Informix® databases.
  - J/Foundation Developer's Guide
    These topics describe how to write user-defined routines (UDRs) in the Java™ programming language for Informix®.
  - R-Tree Index User's Guide
    These topics describe 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
    These topics describe how to define new data types and enable user-defined routines (UDRs) to extend HCL Informix®.
  - Virtual-Table Interface Guide
    These topics explain 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
    These topics explain 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 DataBlade® 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.

Put trace messages into code

The DataBlade® API supports the following types of tracepoints in a C UDR:

Tracepoints whose trace message is in US English
Internationalized tracepoints
For more information about internationalized tracepoints, see the HCL® Informix® GLS User's Guide.

The DataBlade® API provides the following tracing functions to insert US English tracepoints into UDR code:

The DPRINTF macro
The trace-block functions, tf() and tprintf()

Tip: The BladeSmith of the Informix® DataBlade® Developers Kit (DBDK) (DBDK) can create tracing routines and macros as part of the code it generates for a DataBlade® module. For more information, see your BladeSmith documentation.