Informix

This section describes how to use the native IBM Informix
database interface in PowerBuilder.

Supported versions for Informix

You can access the following Informix databases using the
native Informix database interface:

• Informix Dynamic Server
• Informix-OnLine and Informix-SE version 9.x

PowerBuilder provides the IN9 interface in the PBIN9100.DLL to
connect through Informix-Connect version 9.x client software.

Accessing Unicode data

PowerBuilder can connect, save, and retrieve data in ANSI/DBCS
databases. The Informix native driver does not currently support
access to Unicode databases.

Supported Informix datatypes

The Informix database interface supports the Informix datatypes
listed in Table 6-1 in DataWindow
objects and embedded SQL.

Table 6-1: Supported datatypes for Informix

Byte (a maximum of 231 bytes)	Integer (4 bytes)
Character (1 to 32,511 bytes)	Money
Date	Real
DateTime	Serial
Decimal	SmallInt (2 bytes)
Float	Text (a maximum of 231 bytes)
Interval	VarChar (1 to 255 bytes)

Exceptions Byte, text, and VarChar datatypes are not supported in Informix
SE.

Datatype conversion When you retrieve or update columns, PowerBuilder converts
data appropriately between the Informix datatype and the PowerScript
datatype. Keep in mind, however, that similarly or identically named
Informix and PowerScript datatypes do not necessarily
have the same definitions.

For information about the definitions of PowerScript
datatypes, see the PowerScript Reference
.

Informix DateTime datatype

The DateTime datatype is a contiguous
sequence of boxes. Each box represents a component of time that
you want to record. The syntax is:

PowerBuilder defaults to Year TO Fraction(5).

For a list of qualifiers, see your Informix
documentation.

To create your own variation of the DateTime datatype:

1. In the Database painter, create a table
   with a DateTime column.

   For instructions on creating a table, see
   the User’s Guide
   .

2. In the Columns view, select Pending Syntax from
   the Objects or pop-up menu.

   The Columns view displays the pending changes to the table
   definition. These changes execute only when you click the Save button
   to save the table definition.

3. Select Copy from the Edit or pop-up menu

   or

   Click the Copy button.

   The SQL syntax (or the
   portion you selected) is copied to the clipboard.

4. In the ISQL view,
   modify the DateTime syntax and execute the CREATE TABLE statement.

   For instructions on using the ISQL view, see the User’s
   Guide.

Informix Time datatype

The Informix database interfaces also support a time datatype.
The time datatype is a subset of the DateTime datatype. The time
datatype uses only the time qualifier boxes.

Informix Interval datatype

The interval datatype is one value or a sequence of values
that represent a component of time. The syntax is:

PowerBuilder defaults to Day(3) TO Day.

For more about interval datatypes, see your
Informix documentation.

Basic software components for Informix

Figure 6-2 shows
the basic software components required to access an Informix database
using the native Informix database interfaces.

Figure 6-2: Components of an Informix
connection

Preparing to use the Informix database

Before you define the database interface and connect to an
Informix database in PowerBuilder, follow these steps to prepare the
database for use:

1. Install and configure the required
   database server, network, and client software.
2. Install the native Informix IN9 database interface.
3. Verify that you can connect to the Informix server
   and database outside PowerBuilder.

Step 1: Install and configure the database server

You must install and configure the required database server,
network, and client software for Informix.

To install and configure the required database
server, network, and client software:

1. Make sure the Informix database server
   software and database network software is installed and running
   on the server specified in your database profile.

   You must obtain the database server and database network software
   from Informix.

   For installation instructions, see your Informix
   documentation.

2. Install the required Informix client software
   on each client computer on which PowerBuilder is installed.

   Install Informix Connect or the Informix Client SDK (which
   includes Informix Connect) and run the SetNet32 utility to configure
   the client registry settings.

   You must obtain the Informix client software from IBM. Make
   sure the version of the client software you install supports all of
   the following:

   • The operating
     system running on the client computer
   • The version of the database that you want to access
   • The version of PowerBuilder that you are running

   For installation instructions, see your Informix
   documentation.

3. Make sure the Informix client software is properly
   configured so that you can connect to the Informix database server
   at your site.

   For example, when you install Informix-Connect client software,
   it automatically creates the correct configuration file on your
   computer.

   The configuration file contains default parameters that define
   your network configuration, network protocol, and environment variables.
   If you omit these values from the database profile when you define
   the native Informix database interface, they default to the values
   specified in your configuration file.

   For instructions on setting up the Informix
   configuration file, see your Informix documentation.

4. If required by your operating system, make sure
   the directory containing the Informix client software is in your
   system path.

Step 2: Install the database interface

In the PowerBuilder Setup program, select the Typical install,
or select the native Informix database interface in the Custom install.

Step 3: Verify the connection

Make sure you can connect to the Informix server and database
you want to access from outside PowerBuilder.

To verify the connection, use any Windows-based utility (such
as the Informix ILOGIN.EXE program) that connects
to the database. When connecting, be sure to specify the same parameters
you plan to use in your PowerBuilder database profile to access the
database.

For instructions on using ILOGIN.EXE,
see your Informix documentation.

Defining the Informix database interface

To define a connection through an Informix database interface,
you must create a database profile by supplying values for at least
the basic connection parameters in the Database Profile Setup –
Informix IN9 dialog box. You can then select this profile at any
time to connect to your database in the development environment.

For information on how to define a database profile, see “Using database profiles”.

Specifying the server name

When you specify the server name value, you must use
the following format to connect to the database through the Informix
interface:

Parameter	Description
host_name	The name of the host computer running the Informix database server. This corresponds to the Informix HOSTNAME environment variable.
server_name	The name of the server containing the Informix database. This corresponds to the Informix SERVER environment variable.

For example, to use the IN9 interface to connect to an Informix
database server named server01 running on a
host machine named sales, do
either of the following:

• In a
  database profile Type the host name (sales)
  in the Host Name box and the server name (server01)
  in the Server box on the Connection tab in the Database Profile
  Setup – Informix IN9 dialog box. PowerBuilder saves this server name
  as sales@server01 in
  the database profile entry in the system registry.
• In a PowerBuilder script Type the following in your PowerBuilder application script:
  PowerBuilder

  SQLCA.ServerName = "sales@server01"

  1	SQLCA.ServerName = "sales@server01"

  Tip If you specify a value for Host Name and Server in your database
  profile, this syntax displays on the Preview tab in the Database
  Profile Setup – Informix IN9 dialog box. You can then copy the syntax
  from the Preview tab into your script.
  

Accessing serial values in a PowerBuilder script

If you are connecting to an Informix database from a PowerBuilder
script, you can obtain the serial number of the row inserted into
an Informix table by checking the value of the SQLReturnData property
of the Transaction object.

After an embedded SQL INSERT statement
executes, SQLReturnData contains the
serial number that uniquely identifies the row inserted into the
table.

PowerBuilder updates SQLReturnData following
an embedded SQL statement only;
it does not update it following a DataWindow operation.

What to do next

For instructions on connecting to the database,
see “Connecting to a database”.

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