DB2 IBM Informix


Version 10.0/8.5

IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

G251-2283-00
 DB2 IBM Informix
®


Version 10.0/8.5

IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

G251-2283-00
 Note!
Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices” on page E-1.

First Edition (December 2004)

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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Types of Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Software Dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Assumptions About Your Locale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Demonstration Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Documentation Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Typographical Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Feature, Product, and Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Syntax Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Example Code Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Additional Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Installation Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Online Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Informix Error Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx
Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
IBM Informix Dynamic Server Version 10.0 and CSDK Version 2.90 Documentation Set . . . . . xxi
Compliance with Industry Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv
IBM Welcomes Your Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Objects That the System Catalog Tables Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Using the System Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Structure of the System Catalog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
SYSAGGREGATES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
SYSAMS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
SYSATTRTYPES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
SYSBLOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16
SYSCASTS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
SYSCHECKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
SYSCHECKUDRDEP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
SYSCOLATTRIBS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
SYSCOLAUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
SYSCOLDEPEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
SYSCOLUMNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
SYSCONSTRAINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
SYSDEFAULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
SYSDEPEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
SYSDIRECTIVES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
SYSDISTRIB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
SYSDOMAINS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
SYSERRORS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
SYSEXTCOLS (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 iii

SYSEXTDFILES (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31
SYSEXTERNAL (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32
SYSFRAGAUTH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
SYSFRAGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
SYSINDEXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
SYSINDICES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-38
SYSINHERITS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39
SYSLANGAUTH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39
SYSLOGMAP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
SYSNEWDEPEND (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
SYSOBJSTATE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
SYSOPCLASSES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
SYSOPCLSTR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-42
SYSPROCAUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
SYSPROCBODY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
SYSPROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45
SYSPROCPLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-48
SYSREFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49
SYSREPOSITORY (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49
SYSROLEAUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-50
SYSROUTINELANGS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-50
SYSSEQUENCES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
SYSSYNONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
SYSSYNTABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
SYSTABAMDATA (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-52
SYSTABAUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-53
SYSTABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-54
SYSTRACECLASSES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-56
SYSTRACEMSGS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-56
SYSTRIGBODY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-57
SYSTRIGGERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-58
SYSUSERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-59
SYSVIEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-59
SYSVIOLATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-60
SYSXTDDESC (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-61
SYSXTDTYPEAUTH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-61
SYSXTDTYPES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-61
Information Schema (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-63
Generating the Information Schema Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-63
Accessing the Information Schema Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-64
Structure of the Information Schema Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-64

Chapter 2. Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Summary of Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Description of Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
BIGINT (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
BLOB (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
BOOLEAN (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
BYTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
CHAR(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

iv IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 CHARACTER(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
CHARACTER VARYING(m,r) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
CLOB (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
DATETIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
DEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
DECIMAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Distinct (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
DOUBLE PRECISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
FLOAT(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
INT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
INT8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
INTEGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
INTERVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
LIST(e) (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
LVARCHAR(m) (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
MONEY(p,s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
MULTISET(e) (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25
NCHAR(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
NUMERIC(p,s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
NVARCHAR(m,r) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
Opaque (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
REAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27
ROW, Named (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27
ROW, Unnamed (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28
SERIAL(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30
SERIAL8(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31
SET(e) (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32
SMALLFLOAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33
SMALLINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34
TEXT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34
VARCHAR(m,r) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-36
Built-In Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38
Large-Object Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38
Time Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-40
Extended Data Types (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
Complex Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
Distinct Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49
Opaque Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49
Data Type Casting and Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
Using Built-in Casts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
Using User-Defined Casts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-53
Determining Which Cast to Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-54
Casts for Distinct Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-54
What Extended Data Types Can Be Cast? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-56
Operator Precedence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-56

Chapter 3. Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Types of Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Where to Set Environment Variables on UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Contents v
Where to Set Environment Variables on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Using Environment Variables on UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Setting Environment Variables in a Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Setting Environment Variables at Login Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Syntax for Setting Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Unsetting Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Modifying an Environment-Variable Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Viewing Your Environment-Variable Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Checking Environment Variables with the chkenv Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Rules of Precedence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Using Environment Variables on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Environment Settings for Native Windows Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Environment Settings for Command-Prompt Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Rules of Precedence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
List of Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
AC_CONFIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
AFDEBUG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
ANSIOWNER (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
CPFIRST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
DBACCNOIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
DBANSIWARN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
DBBLOBBUF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
DBCENTURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
DBDATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
DBDELIMITER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
DBEDIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
DBFLTMASK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
DBLANG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
DBMONEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
DBNLS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
DBONPLOAD (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
DBPATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
DBPRINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
DBREMOTECMD (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
DBSPACETEMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
DBTEMP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
DBTIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
DBUPSPACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
DEFAULT_ATTACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
DELIMIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
ENVIGNORE (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
FET_BUF_SIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
IBM_XPS_PARAMS (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
IFMX_CART_ALRM (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
IFMX_HISTORY_SIZE (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48

vi IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
IFX_DIRECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
IFX_LONGID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
IFX_NETBUF_SIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
IFX_PAD_VARCHAR (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
IFX_UPDDESC (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
IMCADMIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
IMCCONFIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
IMCSERVER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
INFORMIXC (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
INFORMIXCONCSMCFG (IDS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
INFORMIXCONRETRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
INFORMIXCONTIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
INFORMIXCPPMAP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-58
INFORMIXDIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-58
INFORMIXKEYTAB (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
INFORMIXOPCACHE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
INFORMIXSERVER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
INFORMIXSHMBASE (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
INFORMIXSQLHOSTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-61
INFORMIXSTACKSIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-62
INFORMIXTERM (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-62
INF_ROLE_SEP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-63
INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
ISM_COMPRESSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_FILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65
ISM_ENCRYPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65
ISM_MAXLOGSIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65
ISM_MAXLOGVERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
JAR_TEMP_PATH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
JAVA_COMPILER (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
LD_LIBRARY_PATH (UNIX). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67
LIBERAL_MATCH (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67
LIBPATH (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
NODEFDAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
ONCONFIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
OPTCOMPIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-69
OPTMSG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-70
OPTOFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-70
OPT_GOAL (IDS, UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-71
PATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-71
PDQPRIORITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-72
PLCONFIG (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-74
PLOAD_LO_PATH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-74

Contents vii
 PLOAD_SHMBASE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-74
PSORT_DBTEMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-75
PSORT_NPROCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-76
RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-77
SHLIB_PATH (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-77
STMT_CACHE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-77
TERM (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-78
TERMCAP (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-78
TERMINFO (UNIX). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-79
THREADLIB (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-79
TOBIGINT (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-80
USETABLEAME (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-80
XFER_CONFIG (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-81
Index of Environment Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-81

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

Appendix C. Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1

Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-1

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X-1

viii IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Introduction
About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Types of Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Software Dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Assumptions About Your Locale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Demonstration Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Documentation Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Typographical Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Feature, Product, and Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Syntax Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
How to Read a Command-Line Syntax Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Keywords and Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
Identifiers and Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
Example Code Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Additional Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Installation Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Online Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Locating Online Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Online Notes Filenames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx
Informix Error Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx
Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Online Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Printed Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
IBM Informix Dynamic Server Version 10.0 and CSDK Version 2.90 Documentation Set . . . . . xxi
Compliance with Industry Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv
IBM Welcomes Your Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv

About This Manual

This manual includes information about system catalog tables, data types, and
environment variables that IBM Informix products use. It also includes a
glossary that contains definitions of common terms found in IBM Informix
documentation and a description of the demonstration databases that Version
10.0 of IBM Informix Dynamic Server and Version 8.5 of IBM Informix
Extended Parallel Server provide.

This manual is one of a series of manuals that discusses the Informix

implementation of SQL. The IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax contains all
the syntax descriptions for SQL and stored procedure language (SPL). The
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Tutorial shows how to use basic and advanced
SQL and SPL routines to access and manipulate the data in your databases.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 ix

 The IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide shows how to use
SQL to implement and manage your databases.

See the documentation notes files, which are described in the section “Online
Notes” on page xviii of this Introduction, for a list of the manuals in the
documentation set of your Informix database server.
Types of Users
This manual is written for the following users:
v Database users
v Database administrators
v Database server administrators
v Database-application programmers
v Performance engineers

This manual assumes that you have the following background:

v A working knowledge of your computer, your operating system, and the
utilities that your operating system provides
v Some experience working with relational databases or exposure to database
concepts
v Some experience with computer programming
v Some experience with database server administration, operating-system
administration, or network administration

If you have limited experience with relational databases, SQL, or your

operating system, refer to the IBM Informix: Getting Started Guide for your
database server for a list of supplementary titles.
Software Dependencies
This manual is written with the assumption that you are using one of the
following database servers:
v IBM Informix Dynamic Server, Version 10.0
v IBM Informix Extended Parallel Server, Version 8.50
Assumptions About Your Locale
IBM Informix products can support many languages, cultures, and code sets.
All the information related to character set, collation, and representation of
numeric data, currency, date, and time is brought together in a single
environment, called a Global Language Support (GLS) locale.

This manual assumes that your database uses the default locale. This default
is en_us.8859-1 (ISO 8859-1) on UNIX platforms or en_us.1252 (Microsoft
1252) in Windows environments. This locale supports U.S. English format
conventions for displaying and entering date, time, number, and currency

x IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 values. It also supports the ISO 8859-1 (on UNIX and Linux) or Microsoft 1252
(on Windows) code set, which includes the ASCII code set plus many 8-bit
characters such as é, è, and ñ.

If you plan to use nondefault characters in your data or in SQL identifiers, or

if you plan to use other collation rules for sorting character data, you need to
specify the appropriate nondefault locale.

For instructions on how to specify a nondefault locale, and for additional

syntax and other considerations related to GLS locales, see the IBM Informix:
GLS User's Guide.
Demonstration Database
The DB–Access utility, which is provided with the database server products,
includes one or more of the following demonstration databases:
v The stores_demo database illustrates a relational schema with information
about a fictitious wholesale sporting-goods distributor. Many examples in
IBM Informix manuals are based on the stores_demo database.

Extended Parallel Server

v The sales_demo database illustrates a dimensional schema for data-

warehousing applications. For conceptual information about dimensional
data modeling, see the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation
Guide.
End of Extended Parallel Server

Dynamic Server

v The superstores_demo database illustrates an object-relational schema. The

superstores_demo database contains examples of extended data types, type
and table inheritance, and user-defined routines.
End of Dynamic Server

For information about how to create and populate the demonstration

databases, see the IBM Informix: DB–Access User's Guide. For descriptions of
the databases and their contents, see Appendix A, “The stores_demo
Database,” on page A-1 and Appendix B, “The sales_demo and
superstores_demo Databases,” on page B-1.

The scripts that you use to install the demonstration databases reside in the
$INFORMIXDIR/bin directory on UNIX platforms and in the
%INFORMIXDIR%\bin directory in Windows environments.

Introduction xi
Documentation Conventions

This section describes the conventions that this manual uses. These
conventions make it easier to gather information from this and other volumes
in the documentation set.

The following conventions are discussed:

v Typographical conventions
v Other conventions
v Syntax diagrams
v Command-line conventions
v Example code conventions
Typographical Conventions
This manual uses the following conventions to introduce new terms, illustrate
screen displays, describe command syntax, and so forth.

Convention Meaning
KEYWORD All primary elements in a programming language statement
(keywords) appear in uppercase letters in a serif font.
italics Within text, new terms and emphasized words appear in italics.
italics Within syntax and code examples, variable values that you are to
italics specify appear in italics.
boldface Names of program entities (such as classes, events, and tables),
boldface environment variables, file and pathnames, and interface elements
(such as icons, menu items, and buttons) appear in boldface.
monospace Information that the product displays and information that you
monospace enter appear in a monospace typeface.
KEYSTROKE Keys that you are to press appear in uppercase letters in a sans serif
font.
> This symbol indicates a menu item. For example, “Choose Tools >
Options” means choose the Options item from the Tools menu.

Tip: When you are instructed to “enter” characters or to “execute” a

command, immediately press RETURN after the entry. When you are
instructed to “type” the text or to “press” other keys, no RETURN is
required.
Feature, Product, and Platform
Feature, product, and platform markup identifies paragraphs that contain
feature-specific, product-specific, or platform-specific information. Some

xii IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 examples of this markup follow:

Dynamic Server

Identifies information that is specific to IBM Informix Dynamic Server

End of Dynamic Server

Extended Parallel Server

Identifies information that is specific to IBM Informix Extended Parallel Server

End of Extended Parallel Server

UNIX Only

Identifies information that is specific to UNIX platforms

End of UNIX Only

Windows Only

Identifies information that is specific to the Windows environment

End of Windows Only

This markup can apply to one or more paragraphs within a section. When an
entire section applies to a particular product or platform, this is noted as part
of the heading text, for example:
Table Sorting (Linux Only)
Syntax Diagrams
This guide uses syntax diagrams built with the following components to
describe the syntax for statements and all commands other than system-level
commands.

Note: Starting in 2004, syntax diagrams have been reformatted to conform to

the IBM standard.

Syntax diagrams depicting SQL and command-line statements have changed

in the following ways:
v The symbols at the beginning and end of statements are now double arrows
instead of a vertical line at the end.
v The symbols at the beginning and end of syntax segment diagrams are now
vertical lines instead of arrows.

Introduction xiii
 v How many times a loop can be repeated is now explained in a diagram
footnote instead of a number in a gate symbol.
v Syntax statements that are longer than one line now continue on the next
line instead of looping down with a continuous line.
v Product or condition-specific paths are now explained in diagram footnotes
instead of icons.

The following table describes syntax diagram components.

Component represented in PDF Component represented in HTML Meaning

>>---------------------- Statement begins.

-----------------------> Statement continues on

next line.

>----------------------- Statement continues from

previous line.
----------------------->< Statement ends.

--------SELECT---------- Required item.

--+-----------------+--- Optional item.

’------LOCAL------’

---+-----ALL-------+--- Required item with choice.

+--DISTINCT-----+ One and only one item
’---UNIQUE------’ must be present.

---+------------------+--- Optional items with choice

+--FOR UPDATE-----+ are shown below the main
’--FOR READ ONLY--’ line, one of which you
might specify.
.---NEXT---------. The values below the
----+----------------+--- main line are optional, one
+---PRIOR--------+ of which you might
’---PREVIOUS-----’ specify. If you do not
specify an item, the value
above the line will be used
as the default.

xiv IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Component represented in PDF Component represented in HTML Meaning
.-------,-----------. Optional items. Several
V | items are allowed; a
---+-----------------+--- comma must precede each
+---index_name---+ repetition.
’---table_name---’

>>-| Table Reference |->< Reference to a syntax

segment.
Table Reference Syntax segment.
|--+-----view--------+--|
+------table------+
’----synonym------’

How to Read a Command-Line Syntax Diagram

The following command-line syntax diagram uses some of the elements listed
in the table in the previous section.

Creating a No-Conversion Job

onpladm create job job -n -d device -D database

-p project

-t table 

(1)
Setting the Run Mode
-S server -T target

Notes:
1 See page 17-4

The second line in this diagram has a segment named “Setting the Run
Mode,” which according to the diagram footnote, is on page 17-4. This
segment is shown in the following segment diagram (the diagram uses
segment start and end components).

Setting the Run Mode:

Introduction xv
 l
c
-f
d u n N
p
a

To construct a command correctly, start at the top left with the command.
Follow the diagram to the right, including the elements that you want. The
elements in the diagram are case sensitive.

The Creating a No-Conversion Job diagram illustrates the following steps:

1. Type onpladm create job and then the name of the job.
2. Optionally, type -p and then the name of the project.
3. Type the following required elements:
v -n
v -d and the name of the device
v -D and the name of the database
v -t and the name of the table
4. Optionally, you can choose one or more of the following elements and
repeat them an arbitrary number of times:
v -S and the server name
v -T and the target server name
v The run mode. To set the run mode, follow the Setting the Run Mode
segment diagram to type -f, optionally type d, p, or a, and then
optionally type l or u.
5. Follow the diagram to the terminator.

Your diagram is complete.

Keywords and Punctuation

Keywords are words reserved for statements and all commands except
system-level commands. When a keyword appears in a syntax diagram, it is
shown in uppercase letters. When you use a keyword in a command, you can
write it in uppercase or lowercase letters, but you must spell the keyword
exactly as it appears in the syntax diagram.

You must also use any punctuation in your statements and commands exactly
as shown in the syntax diagrams.

Identifiers and Names

Variables serve as placeholders for identifiers and names in the syntax
diagrams and examples. You can replace a variable with an arbitrary name,

xvi IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 identifier, or literal, depending on the context. Variables are also used to
represent complex syntax elements that are expanded in additional syntax
diagrams. When a variable appears in a syntax diagram, an example, or text,
it is shown in lowercase italic.

The following syntax diagram uses variables to illustrate the general form of a
simple SELECT statement.


SELECT column_name FROM table_name


When you write a SELECT statement of this form, you replace the variables
column_name and table_name with the name of a specific column and table.
Example Code Conventions
Examples of SQL code occur throughout this manual. Except as noted, the
code is not specific to any single IBM Informix application development tool.

If only SQL statements are listed in the example, they are not delimited by
semicolons. For instance, you might see the code in the following example:
CONNECT TO stores_demo
...

DELETE FROM customer

WHERE customer_num = 121
...

COMMIT WORK
DISCONNECT CURRENT

To use this SQL code for a specific product, you must apply the syntax rules
for that product. For example, if you are using DB–Access, you must delimit
multiple statements with semicolons. If you are using an SQL API, you must
use EXEC SQL at the start of each statement and a semicolon (or other
appropriate delimiter) at the end of the statement.

Tip: Ellipsis points in a code example indicate that more code would be
added in a full application, but it is not necessary to show it to describe
the concept being discussed.

For detailed directions on using SQL statements for a particular application

development tool or SQL API, see the manual for your product.

Introduction xvii
Additional Documentation
For additional information, refer to the following types of documentation:
v Installation guides
v Online notes
v Informix error messages
v Manuals
v Online help
Installation Guides
Installation guides are located in the /doc directory of the product CD or in
the /doc directory of the product‘s compressed file if you downloaded it from
the IBM Web site. Alternatively, you can obtain installation guides from the
IBM Informix Online Documentation site at
http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/pubs/library/.
Online Notes
The following sections describe the online files that supplement the
information in this manual. Please examine these files before you begin using
your IBM Informix product. They contain vital information about application
and performance issues.

xviii IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Online File Description Format
TOC Notes The TOC (Table of Contents) notes file HTML
provides a comprehensive directory of
hyperlinks to the release notes, the fixed and
known defects file, and all the documentation
notes files for individual manual titles.
Documentation Notes The documentation notes file for each manual HTML, text
contains important information and
corrections that supplement the information
in the manual or information that was
modified since publication.
Release Notes The release notes file describes feature HTML, text
differences from earlier versions of IBM
Informix products and how these differences
might affect current products. For some
products, this file also contains information
about any known problems and their
workarounds.
Machine Notes (Non-Windows platforms only) The machine text
notes file describes any platform-specific
actions that you must take to configure and
use IBM Informix products on your
computer.
Fixed and Known This text file lists issues that have been text
Defects File identified with the current version. It also lists
customer-reported defects that have been
fixed in both the current version and in
previous versions.

Locating Online Notes

Online notes are available from the IBM Informix Online Documentation site
at http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/pubs/library/. Additionally
you can locate these files before or after installation as described below.

Before Installation

All online notes are located in the /doc directory of the product CD. The
easiest way to access the documentation notes, the release notes, and the fixed
and known defects file is through the hyperlinks from the TOC notes file.

The machine notes file and the fixed and known defects file are only provided
in text format.

After Installation

Introduction xix
 On UNIX platforms in the default locale, the documentation notes, release
notes, and machine notes files appear under the
$INFORMIXDIR/release/en_us/0333 directory.

Dynamic Server

On Windows the documentation and release notes files appear in the

Informix folder. To display this folder, choose Start > Programs > IBM
Informix Dynamic Server version > Documentation Notes or Release Notes
from the taskbar.

Machine notes do not apply to Windows platforms.

End of Dynamic Server

Online Notes Filenames

Online notes have the following file formats:

Online File File Format Examples

TOC Notes prod_os_tocnotes_version.html ids_win_tocnotes_10.0.html
Documentation Notes prod_bookname_docnotes_version.html/txt ids_hpl_docnotes_10.0.html
Release Notes prod_os_relnotes_version.html/txt ids_unix_relnotes_10.0.txt
Machine Notes prod_machine_notes_version.txt ids_machine_notes_10.0.txt
Fixed and Known prod_defects_version.txt ids_defects_10.0.txt
Defects File client_defects_2.90.txt

ids_win_fixed_and_known ids_win_fixed_and_known
_defects_version.txt _defects_10.0.txt

Informix Error Messages

This file is a comprehensive index of error messages and their corrective
actions for the Informix products and version numbers.

On UNIX platforms, use the finderr command to read the error messages and
their corrective actions.

Dynamic Server

On Windows, use the Informix Error Messages utility to read error messages
and their corrective actions. To display this utility, choose Start > Programs >
IBM Informix Dynamic Server version > Informix Error Messages from the
taskbar.
End of Dynamic Server

xx IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 You can also access these files from the IBM Informix Online Documentation
site at http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/pubs/library/.
Manuals

Online Manuals
A CD that contains your manuals in electronic format is provided with your
IBM Informix products. You can install the documentation or access it directly
from the CD. For information about how to install, read, and print online
manuals, see the installation insert that accompanies your CD. You can also
obtain the same online manuals from the IBM Informix Online Documentation
site at http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/pubs/library/.

Printed Manuals
To order hardcopy manuals, contact your sales representative or visit the IBM
Publications Center Web site at
http://www.ibm.com/software/howtobuy/data.html.
Online Help
IBM Informix online help, provided with each graphical user interface (GUI),
displays information about those interfaces and the functions that they
perform. Use the help facilities that each GUI provides to display the online
help.

Accessibility
IBM is committed to making our documentation accessible to persons with
disabilities. Our books are available in HTML format so that they can be
accessed with assistive technology such as screen reader software. The syntax
diagrams in our manuals are available in dotted decimal format, which is an
accessible format that is available only if you are using a screen reader. For
more information about the dotted decimal format, see the Accessibility
appendix.

IBM Informix Dynamic Server Version 10.0 and CSDK Version 2.90
Documentation Set
The following tables list the manuals that are part of the IBM Informix
Dynamic Server, Version 10.0 and the CSDK Version 2.90, documentation set.
PDF and HTML versions of these manuals are available at
http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/pubs/library/. You can order
hardcopy versions of these manuals from the IBM Publications Center at
http://www.ibm.com/software/howtobuy/data.html.

Introduction xxi
Table 1. Database Server Manuals
Manual Subject
Administrator’s Guide Understanding, configuring, and administering your database server.
Administrator’s Reference Reference material for Informix Dynamic Server, such as the syntax of
database server utilities onmode and onstat, and descriptions of
configuration parameters, the sysmasters tables, and logical-log records.
Backup and Restore Guide The concepts and methods you need to understand when you use the
ON-Bar and ontape utilities to back up and restore data.
DB-Access User’s Guide Using the DB-Access utility to access, modify, and retrieve data from
Informix databases.
DataBlade API The DataBlade API functions and the subset of ESQL/C functions that
Function Reference the DataBlade API supports. You can use the DataBlade API to develop
client LIBMI applications and C user-defined routines that access data in
Informix databases.
DataBlade API The DataBlade API, which is the C-language application-programming
Programmer’s Guide interface provided with Dynamic Server. You use the DataBlade API to
develop client and server applications that access data stored in Informix
databases.
Database Design and Designing, implementing, and managing your Informix databases.
Implementation Guide
Enterprise Replication How to design, implement, and manage an Enterprise Replication system
Guide to replicate data between multiple database servers.
Error Messages file Causes and solutions for numbered error messages you might receive
when you work with IBM Informix products.
Getting Started Guide Describes the products bundled with IBM Informix Dynamic Server and
interoperability with other IBM products. Summarizes important features
of Dynamic Server and the new features for each version.
Guide to SQL: Reference Information about Informix databases, data types, system catalog tables,
environment variables, and the stores_demo demonstration database.
Guide to SQL: Syntax Detailed descriptions of the syntax for all Informix SQL and SPL
statements.
Guide to SQL: Tutorial A tutorial on SQL, as implemented by Informix products, that describes
the basic ideas and terms that are used when you work with a relational
database.
High-Performance Loader Accessing and using the High-Performance Loader (HPL), to load and
User’s Guide unload large quantities of data to and from Informix databases.
Installation Guide for Instructions for installing IBM Informix Dynamic Server on Windows.
Microsoft Windows
Installation Guide for Instructions for installing IBM Informix Dynamic Server on UNIX and
UNIX and Linux Linux.

xxii IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table 1. Database Server Manuals (continued)
Manual Subject
J/Foundation Developer’s Writing user-defined routines (UDRs) in the Java programming language
Guide for Informix Dynamic Server with J/Foundation.
Large Object Locator Using the Large Object Locator, a foundation DataBlade module that can
DataBlade Module User’s be used by other modules that create or store large-object data. The Large
Guide Object Locator enables you to create a single consistent interface to large
objects and extends the concept of large objects to include data stored
outside the database.
Migration Guide Conversion to and reversion from the latest versions of Informix
database servers. Migration between different Informix database servers.
Optical Subsystem Guide The Optical Subsystem, a utility that supports the storage of BYTE and
TEXT data on optical disk.
Performance Guide Configuring and operating IBM Informix Dynamic Server to achieve
optimum performance.
R-Tree Index User’s Guide Creating R-tree indexes on appropriate data types, creating new operator
classes that use the R-tree access method, and managing databases that
use the R-tree secondary access method.
SNMP Subagent Guide The IBM Informix subagent that allows a Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) network manager to monitor the status of Informix
servers.
Storage Manager Informix Storage Manager (ISM), which manages storage devices and
Administrator’s Guide media for your Informix database server.
Trusted Facility Guide The secure-auditing capabilities of Dynamic Server, including the creation
and maintenance of audit logs.
User-Defined Routines and How to define new data types and enable user-defined routines (UDRs)
Data Types Developer’s to extend IBM Informix Dynamic Server.
Guide
Virtual-Index Interface Creating a secondary access method (index) with the Virtual-Index
Programmer’s Guide Interface (VII) to extend the built-in indexing schemes of IBM Informix
Dynamic Server. Typically used with a DataBlade module.
Virtual-Table Interface Creating a primary access method with the Virtual-Table Interface (VTI)
Programmer’s Guide so that users have a single SQL interface to Informix tables and to data
that does not conform to the storage scheme of Informix Dynamic Server.

Table 2. Client/Connectivity Manuals

Manual Subject
Client Products Installation Installing IBM Informix Client Software Developer’s Kit (Client SDK) and
Guide IBM Informix Connect on computers that use UNIX, Linux, and
Windows.
Embedded SQLJ User’s Using IBM Informix Embedded SQLJ to embed SQL statements in Java
Guide programs.

Introduction xxiii
Table 2. Client/Connectivity Manuals (continued)
Manual Subject
ESQL/C Programmer’s The IBM Informix implementation of embedded SQL for C.
Manual
GLS User’s Guide The Global Language Support (GLS) feature, which allows IBM Informix
APIs and database servers to handle different languages, cultural
conventions, and code sets.
JDBC Driver Programmer’s Installing and using Informix JDBC Driver to connect to an Informix
Guide database from within a Java application or applet.
.NET Provider Reference Using Informix .NET Provider to enable .NET client applications to
Guide access and manipulate data in Informix databases.
ODBC Driver Programmer’s Using the Informix ODBC Driver API to access an Informix database and
Manual interact with the Informix database server.
OLE DB Provider Installing and configuring Informix OLE DB Provider to enable client
Programmer’s Guide applications, such as ActiveX Data Object (ADO) applications and Web
pages, to access data on an Informix server.
Object Interface for C++ The architecture of the C++ object interface and a complete class
Programmer’s Guide reference.

Table 3. DataBlade Developer’s Kit Manuals

Manual Subject
DataBlade Developer’s Kit Developing and packaging DataBlade modules using BladeSmith and
User’s Guide BladePack.
DataBlade Module Basic orientation for developing DataBlade modules. Includes an
Development Overview example illustrating the development of a DataBlade module.
DataBlade Module Installing DataBlade modules and using BladeManager to manage
Installation and Registration DataBlade modules in Informix databases.
Guide

Compliance with Industry Standards

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International
Organization of Standardization (ISO) have jointly established a set of
industry standards for the Structured Query Language (SQL). IBM Informix
SQL-based products are fully compliant with SQL-92 Entry Level (published
as ANSI X3.135-1992), which is identical to ISO 9075:1992. In addition, many
features of IBM Informix database servers comply with the SQL-92
Intermediate and Full Level and X/Open SQL Common Applications
Environment (CAE) standards.

xxiv IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

IBM Welcomes Your Comments
We want to know about any corrections or clarifications that you would find
useful in our manuals, which will help us improve future versions. Include
the following information:
v The name and version of the manual that you are using
v Section and page number
v Your suggestions about the manual

Send your comments to us at the following email address:

[email protected]

This email address is reserved for reporting errors and omissions in our
documentation. For immediate help with a technical problem, contact IBM
Technical Support.

We appreciate your suggestions.

Introduction xxv
xxvi IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference
Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables
Objects That the System Catalog Tables Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Using the System Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Structure of the System Catalog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
SYSAGGREGATES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
SYSAMS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
SYSATTRTYPES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
SYSBLOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16
SYSCASTS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
SYSCHECKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
SYSCHECKUDRDEP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
SYSCOLATTRIBS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
SYSCOLAUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
SYSCOLDEPEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
SYSCOLUMNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
SYSCONSTRAINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
SYSDEFAULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
SYSDEPEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
SYSDIRECTIVES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
SYSDISTRIB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
SYSDOMAINS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
SYSERRORS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
SYSEXTCOLS (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31
SYSEXTDFILES (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31
SYSEXTERNAL (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32
SYSFRAGAUTH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
SYSFRAGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
SYSINDEXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
SYSINDICES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-38
SYSINHERITS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39
SYSLANGAUTH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39
SYSLOGMAP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
SYSNEWDEPEND (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
SYSOBJSTATE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
SYSOPCLASSES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
SYSOPCLSTR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-42
SYSPROCAUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
SYSPROCBODY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
SYSPROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45
SYSPROCPLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-48
SYSREFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49
SYSREPOSITORY (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49
SYSROLEAUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-50
SYSROUTINELANGS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-50
SYSSEQUENCES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 1-1

SYSSYNONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
SYSSYNTABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
SYSTABAMDATA (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-52
SYSTABAUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-53
SYSTABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-54
SYSTRACECLASSES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-56
SYSTRACEMSGS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-56
SYSTRIGBODY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-57
SYSTRIGGERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-58
SYSUSERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-59
SYSVIEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-59
SYSVIOLATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-60
SYSXTDDESC (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-61
SYSXTDTYPEAUTH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-61
SYSXTDTYPES (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-61
Information Schema (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-63
Generating the Information Schema Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-63
Accessing the Information Schema Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-64
Structure of the Information Schema Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-64

In This Chapter
The system catalog consists of tables that describe the structure of the database.
Sometimes called the data dictionary, these tables contain everything that the
database knows about itself. Each system catalog table contains specific
information about elements in the database.

This chapter provides information about the structure, content, and use of the
system catalog tables. It also discusses the Information Schema, which
provides information about the tables, views, and columns on the current
database server.

Objects That the System Catalog Tables Track

The system catalog tables maintain information about the database, including
the following categories of database objects:
v Tables, views, and synonyms
v Columns, constraints, indexes, and fragments
v Triggers
v Procedures, functions, routines, and associated messages
v Authorized users, roles, and privileges to access database objects
v Data types and casts (IDS)
v Aggregate functions (IDS)
v Access methods and operator classes (IDS)
v Sequence objects (IDS)

1-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 v External optimizer directives (IDS)
v Inheritance relationships (IDS)

Using the System Catalog

Informix database servers automatically generate the system catalog tables
when you create a database. You can query the system catalog tables as you
would query any other table in the database. The system catalog tables for a
newly created database reside in a common area of the disk called a dbspace.
Every database has its own system catalog tables. All tables and views in the
system catalog have the prefix sys (for example, the systables system catalog
table).

Not all tables with the prefix sys are true system catalog tables. For example,
the syscdr database supports the Enterprise Replication feature. Non-catalog
tables, however, have a tabid >= 100. System catalog tables all have a tabid <
100. See later in this section and “SYSTABLES” on page 1-54 for more
information about tabid numbers that the database server assigns to tables,
views, synonyms, and (in Dynamic Server) sequence objects.

Tip: Do not confuse the system catalog tables of a database with the tables in
the sysmaster, sysutils, syscdr, or (for Dynamic Server) the sysuser
databases. The names of tables in those databases also have the sys
prefix, but they contain information about an entire database server,
which might manage multiple databases. Information in the sysmaster,
sysutils, syscdr, and sysuser tables is primarily useful for database
system administrators (DBSAs). See also the IBM Informix:
Administrator's Guide and IBM Informix: Administrator's Reference.

The database server accesses the system catalog constantly. Each time an SQL
statement is processed, the database server accesses the system catalog to
determine system privileges, add or verify table or column names, and so on.

For example, the following CREATE SCHEMA block adds the customer table,
with its indexes and privileges, to the stores_demo database. This block also
adds a view, california, which restricts the data of the customer table to only
the first and last names of the customer, the company name, and the
telephone number for all customers who reside in California.
CREATE SCHEMA AUTHORIZATION maryl
CREATE TABLE customer (customer_num SERIAL(101), fname CHAR(15),
lname CHAR(15), company CHAR(20), address1 CHAR(20), address2 CHAR(20),
city CHAR(15), state CHAR(2), zipcode CHAR(5), phone CHAR(18))
GRANT ALTER, ALL ON customer TO cathl WITH GRANT OPTION AS maryl
GRANT SELECT ON customer TO public
GRANT UPDATE (fname, lname, phone) ON customer TO nhowe

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-3

 CREATE VIEW california AS
SELECT fname, lname, company, phone FROM customer WHERE state = ’CA’
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX c_num_ix ON customer (customer_num)
CREATE INDEX state_ix ON customer (state)

To process this CREATE SCHEMA block, the database server first accesses the
system catalog to verify the following information:
v The new table and view names do not already exist in the database. (If the
database is ANSI-compliant, the database server verifies that the new
names do not already exist for the specified owners.)
v The user has permission to create tables and grant user privileges.
v The column names in the CREATE VIEW and CREATE INDEX statements
exist in the customer table.

In addition to verifying this information and creating two new tables, the
database server adds new rows to the following system catalog tables:
v systables
v syscolumns
v sysviews
v systabauth
v syscolauth
v sysindexes
v sysindices (IDS)

The following two new rows of information are added to the systables system
catalog table after the CREATE SCHEMA block is run.

1-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Name First Row Second Row
tabname customer california
owner maryl maryl
partnum 16778361 0
tabid 101 102
rowsize 134 134
ncols 10 4
nindexes 2 0
nrows 0 0
created 01/26/1999 01/26/1999
version 1 0
tabtype T V
locklevel P B
npused 0 0
fextsize 16 0
nextsize 16 0
flags 0 0
site
dbname

Each table recorded in the systables system catalog table is assigned a tabid, a
system-assigned sequential number that uniquely identifies each table in the
database. The system catalog tables receive 2-digit tabid numbers, and the
user-created tables receive sequential tabid numbers that begin with 100.

The CREATE SCHEMA block adds 14 rows to the syscolumns system catalog
table. These rows correspond to the columns in the table customer and the
view california, as the following example shows.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-5

 colname tabid colno coltype collength colmin colmax
customer_num 101 1 262 4
fname 101 2 0 15
lname 101 3 0 15
company 101 4 0 20
address1 101 5 0 20
address2 101 6 0 20
city 101 7 0 15
state 101 8 0 2
zipcode 101 9 0 5
phone 101 10 0 18
fname 102 1 0 15
lname 102 2 0 15
company 102 3 0 20
phone 102 4 0 18

In the syscolumns table, each column within a table is assigned a sequential

column number, colno, that uniquely identifies the column within its table. In
the colno column, the fname column of the customer table is assigned the
value 2 and the fname column of the view california is assigned the value 1.

The colmin and colmax columns are empty. These columns contain values
when a column is the first key (or the only key) in an index, and has no
NULL or duplicate values, and the UPDATE STATISTICS statement has been
run.

The database server also adds rows to the sysviews system catalog table,
whose viewtext column contains each line of the CREATE VIEW statement
that defines the view. In that column, the x0 that precedes the column names
in the statement (for example, x0.fname) operates as an alias that
distinguishes among the same columns that are used in a self-join.

The CREATE SCHEMA block also adds rows to the systabauth system catalog
table. These rows correspond to the user privileges granted on customer and
california tables, as the following example shows.

1-6 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

grantor grantee tabid tabauth
maryl public 101 su-idx--
maryl cathl 101 SU-IDXAR
maryl nhowe 101 --*-----
maryl 102 SU-ID---

The tabauth column specifies the table-level privileges granted to users on the
customer and california tables. This column uses an 8-byte pattern, such as s
(Select), u (Update), * (column-level privilege), i (Insert), d (Delete), x (Index),
a (Alter), and r (References), to identify the type of privilege. In this example,
the user nhowe has column-level privileges on the customer table. Where a
hyphen ( - ) appears, the user has not been granted the privilege whose
position the hyphen occupies within the tabauth value.

If the tabauth privilege code appears in uppercase (for example, S for Select),
the user has this privilege and can also grant it to others; but if the privilege
code is lowercase (for example, s for Select), the user cannot grant it to others.

In addition, three rows are added to the syscolauth system catalog table.
These rows correspond to the user privileges that are granted on specific
columns in the customer table, as the following example shows.

grantor grantee tabid colno colauth

maryl nhowe 101 2 -u-
maryl nhowe 101 3 -u-
maryl nhowe 101 10 -u-

The colauth column specifies the column-level privileges that are granted on
the customer table. This column uses a 3-byte pattern, such as s (Select), u
(Update), and r (References), to identify the type of privilege. For example,
the user nhowe has Update privileges on the second column (because the
colno value is 2) of the customer table (indicated by tabid value of 101).

The CREATE SCHEMA block adds two rows to the sysindexes system catalog
table (the sysindices table for Dynamic Server). These rows correspond to the
indexes created on the customer table, as the following example shows.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-7

 idxname c_num_ix state_ix
owner maryl maryl
tabid 101 101
idxtype U D
clustered
part1 1 8
part2 0 0
part3 0 0
part4 0 0
part5 0 0
part6 0 0
part7 0 0
part8 0 0
part9 0 0
part10 0 0
part11 0 0
part12 0 0
part13 0 0
part14 0 0
part15 0 0
part16 0 0
levels
leaves
nunique
clust
idxflags

In this table, the idxtype column identifies whether the created index requires
unique values (U) or accepts duplicate values (D). For example, the c_num_ix
index on the customer.customer_num column is unique.
Accessing the System Catalog
Normal user access to the system catalog is read-only. Users with Connect or
Resource privileges cannot alter the catalog, but they can access data in the
system catalog tables on a read-only basis using standard SELECT statements.

1-8 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 For example, the following SELECT statement displays all the table names
and corresponding tabid codes of user-created tables in the database:
SELECT tabname, tabid FROM systables WHERE tabid > 99

When you use DB–Access, only the tables that you created are displayed. To
display the system catalog tables, enter the following statement:
SELECT tabname, tabid FROM systables WHERE tabid < 100

You can use the SUBSTR or SUBSTRING function to select only part of a
source string. To display the list of tables in columns, enter the following
statement:
SELECT SUBSTR(tabname, 1, 18), tabid FROM systables

Although user informix and DBAs can modify most system catalog tables
(only user informix can modify systables), it is strongly recommended that
you do not update, delete, or insert any rows in them. Modifying system
catalog tables can destroy the integrity of the database. The ALTER TABLE
statement cannot modify the size of the next extent of system catalog tables.

For certain catalog tables of Dynamic Server, however, it is valid to add

entries to the system catalog tables. For instance, in the case of the syserrors
system catalog table and the systracemsgs system catalog table, a DataBlade
module developer can directly insert entries that appear in these system
catalog tables.
Updating System Catalog Data
In Informix database servers, the optimizer determines the most efficient
strategy for executing SQL queries. The optimizer allows you to query the
database without having to consider fully which tables to search first in a join
or which indexes to use. The optimizer uses information from the system
catalog to determine the best query strategy.

If you use the UPDATE STATISTICS statement to update the system catalog
before executing a query, you can ensure that the information provided to the
optimizer is current. When you delete or modify a table, the database server
does not automatically update the related statistical data in the system
catalog. For example, if you delete one or more rows in a table with the
DELETE statement, the nrows column in the systables system catalog table,
which holds the number of rows for that table, is not updated automatically.

The UPDATE STATISTICS statement causes the database server to recalculate

data in the systables, sysdistrib, syscolumns, and sysindexes (sysindices for
Dynamic Server) system catalog tables. After you run UPDATE STATISTICS,
the systables system catalog table holds the correct value in the nrows

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-9

 column. If you specify MEDIUM or HIGH mode when you run UPDATE
STATISTICS, the sysdistrib system catalog table holds the updated
data-distribution data.

Whenever you modify a data table extensively, use the UPDATE STATISTICS
statement to update data in the system catalog. For more information on the
UPDATE STATISTICS statement, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

Structure of the System Catalog

The following system catalog tables describe the structure of an Informix
database. Here X indicates whether IDS, or XPS, or both support the table.

System Catalog Table XPS IDS Page

sysaggregates X 1-12
sysams X 1-12
sysattrtypes X 1-15
sysblobs X X 1-16
syscasts X 1-17
syschecks X X 1-18
syscheckudrdep X 1-18
syscolattribs X 1-19
syscolauth X X 1-20
syscoldepend X X 1-20
syscolumns X X 1-22
sysconstraints X X 1-26
sysdefaults X X 1-27
sysdepend X X 1-27
sysdirectives X 1-28
sysdistrib X X 1-28
sysdomains X 1-30
syserrors X 1-30
sysextcols X 1-31
sysextdfiles X 1-31
sysexternal X 1-32
sysfragauth X 1-33
sysfragments X X 1-33
sysindexes X X 1-36

1-10 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

System Catalog Table XPS IDS Page
sysindices X 1-38
sysinherits X 1-39
syslangauth X 1-39
syslogmap X 1-40
sysnewdepend X 1-40
sysobjstate X 1-41
sysopclasses X 1-41
sysopclstr X X 1-42
sysprocauth X X 1-44
sysprocbody X X 1-44
sysprocedures X X 1-45
sysprocplan X X 1-48
sysreferences X X 1-49
sysrepository X 1-49
sysroleauth X X 1-50
sysroutinelangs X 1-50
syssequences X 1-51
syssynonyms X X 1-51
syssyntable X X 1-51
systabamdata X 1-52
systabauth X X 1-53
systables X X 1-54
systraceclasses X 1-56
systracemsgs X 1-56
systrigbody X X 1-57
systriggers X X 1-58
sysusers X X 1-59
sysviews X X 1-59
sysviolations X X 1-60
sysxtddesc X 1-61
systdtypeauth X 1-61
sysxtdtypes X 1-61

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-11

 In the default database locale (U. S. English, ISO 8859-1 codeset), character
column types in these tables are CHAR and VARCHAR. For all other locales,
character column types are national character types, NCHAR and
NVARCHAR. For information about collation order of data types, see the
IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide. See also Chapter 2 of this manual.

SYSAGGREGATES (IDS)
The sysaggregates system catalog table records user-defined aggregates
(UDAs). The sysaggregates table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

name VARCHAR(128) Name of the aggregate
owner CHAR(32) Name of the owner of the aggregate
aggid SERIAL Unique code identifying the aggregate
init_func VARCHAR(128) Name of initialization UDR
iter_func VARCHAR(128) Name of iterator UDR
combine_func VARCHAR(128) Name of combine UDR
final_func VARCHAR(128) Name of finalization UDR
handlesnulls BOOLEAN NULL-handling indicator:
t = handles NULLs
f = does not handle NULLs

Each user-defined aggregate has one entry in sysaggregates that is uniquely

identified by its identifying code (the aggid value). Only user-defined
aggregates (aggregates that are not built in) have entries in sysaggregates.

Both a simple index on the aggid column and a composite index on the name
and owner columns require unique values.

SYSAMS (IDS)
The sysams system catalog table contains information that is needed to use
built-in access methods as well as those created by the CREATE ACCESS
METHOD statement of SQL that is described in the IBM Informix: Guide to
SQL Syntax. The sysams table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

am_name VARCHAR(128) Name of the access method
am_owner CHAR(32) Name of the owner of the access method

1-12 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Type Explanation
am_id INTEGER Unique identifying code for an access method

This corresponds to the am_id columns in the

systables, sysindices, and sysopclasses tables.
am_type CHAR(1) Type of access method:
P = Primary
S = Secondary
am_sptype CHAR(3) Types of spaces where the access method can
exist:
A or a = all types: extspaces, dbspaces, and
sbspaces. If the access method is not user-defined
(that is, if it is built in or registered during
database creation by the server), it supports
dbspaces.
D or d = dbspaces only
S or s = sbspaces only (smart-large-object space)
X or x = extspaces only
am_defopclass INTEGER Unique identifying code for default-operator
class

Value is the opclassid from the entry for this

operator class in the sysopclasses table.
am_keyscan INTEGER Whether a secondary access method supports a
key scan

(An access method supports a key scan if it can

return a key as well as a rowid from a call to the
am_getnext function.)
( 0 = FALSE; Non-zero = TRUE )
am_unique INTEGER Whether a secondary access method can support
unique keys
( 0 = FALSE; Non-zero = TRUE )
am_cluster INTEGER Whether a primary access method supports
clustering
( 0 = FALSE; Non-zero = TRUE )
am_rowids INTEGER Whether a primary access method supports
rowids
( 0 = FALSE; Non-zero = TRUE )
am_readwrite INTEGER Whether a primary access method can both read
and write
0 = access method is read-only
Non-zero = access method is read/write

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-13

 Column Type Explanation
am_parallel INTEGER Whether an access method supports parallel
execution
( 0 = FALSE; Non-zero = TRUE )
am_costfactor SMALLFLOAT The value to be multiplied by the cost of a scan
in order to normalize it to costing done for
built-in access methods

The scan cost is the output of the am_scancost

function.
am_create INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_CREATE
purpose for this access method

Value = procid for the routine in the

sysprocedures table.
am_drop INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_DROP purpose
function for this access method
am_open INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_OPEN purpose
function for this access method
am_close INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_CLOSE
purpose function for this access method
am_insert INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_INSERT
purpose function for this access method
am_delete INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_DELETE
purpose function for this access method
am_update INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_UPDATE
purpose function for this access method
am_stats INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_STATS purpose
function for this access method
am_scancost INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_SCANCOST
purpose function for this access method
am_check INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_CHECK
purpose function for this access method
am_beginscan INTEGER Routine specified for the AM_BEGINSCAN
purpose function for this access method
am_endscan INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_ENDSCAN
purpose function for this access method
am_rescan INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_RESCAN
purpose function for this access method
am_getnext INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_GETNEXT
purpose function for this access method

1-14 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Column Type Explanation
am_getbyid INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_GETBYID
purpose function for this access method
am_build INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_BUILD purpose
function for this access method
am_init INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_INIT purpose
function for this access method
am_truncate INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_TRUNCATE
purpose function for this access method

For each of the nearly 20 columns that follow am_costfactor, the value is the
sysprocedures.procid value for the corresponding routine.

The am_sptype column can have multiple entries. For example:

v A means the access method supports extspaces and sbspaces. If the access
method is built-in, such as a B-tree, it also supports dbspaces.
v DS means the access method supports dbspaces and sbspaces.
v sx means the access method supports sbspaces and extspaces.

A composite index on the am_name and am_owner columns in this table

allows only unique values. The am_id column has a unique index.

For information about access method functions, refer to the documentation of

your access method.

SYSATTRTYPES (IDS)
The sysattrtypes system catalog table contains information about members of
a complex data type. Each row of sysattrtypes contains information about
elements of a collection data type or fields of a row data type.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-15

 The sysattrtypes table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

extended_id INTEGER Identifying code of an extended data type

Value is the same as in the sysxtdtypes table (page

1-62).
seqno SMALLINT Identifying code of an entry having extended_id
type
levelno SMALLINT Position of member in collection hierarchy
parent_no SMALLINT Value in the seqno column of the complex data
type that contains this member
fieldname VARCHAR(128) Name of the field in a row type

Null for other complex data types

fieldno SMALLINT Field number sequentially assigned by system
(from left to right within each row type)
type SMALLINT Code for the data type

See the description of syscolumns.coltype (page

1-22).
length SMALLINT Length (in bytes) of the member
xtd_type_id INTEGER Code identifying this data type

See the description of sysxtdtypes.extended_id

(page 1-62).

Two indexes on the extended_id column and the xtd_type_id column allow
duplicate values. A composite index on the extended_id and seqno columns
allows only unique values.

SYSBLOBS
The sysblobs system catalog table specifies the storage location of BYTE and
TEXT column values. Its name is based on a legacy term for BYTE and TEXT
columns, blobs (also known as simple large objects), and does not refer to the
BLOB data type of Dynamic Server. The sysblobs table contains one row for
each BYTE or TEXT column, and has the following columns.

1-16 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Column Type Explanation
spacename VARCHAR(128) Name of partition, dbspace, or family
type CHAR(1) Code identifying the type of storage media:
M = Magnetic
O = Optical (IDS)
tabid INTEGER Code identifying the table
colno SMALLINT Column number within its table

A composite index on tabid and colno allows only unique values.

For information about the location and size of chunks of blobspaces, dbspaces,
and sbspaces for TEXT, BYTE, BLOB, and CLOB columns, see the
IBM Informix: Administrator's Guide and the IBM Informix: Administrator's
Reference.

SYSCASTS (IDS)
The syscasts system catalog table describes the casts in the database. It
contains one row for each built-in cast, each implicit cast, and each explicit
cast that a user defines. The syscasts table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

owner CHAR(32) Owner of cast (user informix for built-in casts
and user name for implicit and explicit casts)
argument_type SMALLINT Source data type on which the cast operates
argument_xid INTEGER Code for the source data type specified in the
argument_type column
result_type SMALLINT Code for the data type returned by the cast
result_xid INTEGER Data type code of the data type named in the
result_type column
routine_name VARCHAR(128) Function or procedure implementing the cast
routine_owner CHAR(32) Name of owner of the function or procedure
specified in the routine_name column
class CHAR(1) Type of cast:
E = Explicit cast
I = Implicit cast
S = Built-in cast

If routine_name and routine_owner have NULL values, this indicates that the
cast is defined without a routine. This can occur if both of the data types

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-17

 specified in the argument_type and result_type columns have the same
length and alignment, and are passed by reference, or passed by value.

A composite index on columns argument_type, argument_xid, result_type,

and result_xid allows only unique values. A composite index on columns
result_type and result_xid allows duplicate values.

SYSCHECKS
The syschecks system catalog table describes each check constraint defined in
the database. Because the syschecks table stores both the ASCII text and a
binary encoded form of the check constraint, it contains multiple rows for
each check constraint. The syschecks table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

constrid INTEGER Unique code identifying the constraint
type CHAR(1) Form in which the check constraint is stored:
B = Binary encoded
s = Select
T = Text
seqno SMALLINT Line number of the check constraint
checktext CHAR(32) Text of the check constraint

The text in the checktext column associated with B type in the type column is
in computer-readable format. To view the text associated with a particular
check constraint, use the following query with the appropriate constrid code:
SELECT * FROM syschecks WHERE constrid=10 AND type=’T’

Each check constraint described in the syschecks table also has its own row in
the sysconstraints table.

A composite index on the constrid, type, and seqno columns allows only
unique values.

SYSCHECKUDRDEP (IDS)
The syscheckudrdep system catalog table describes each check constraint that
is referenced by a user-defined routine (UDR) in the database. The
syscheckudrdep table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

udr_id INTEGER Unique code identifying the UDR
constraint_id INTEGER Unique code identifying the check constraint

1-18 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Each check constraint described in the syscheckudrdep table also has its own
row in the sysconstraints system catalog table, where the constrid column has
the same value as the constraint_id column of syscheckudrdep.

A composite index on the udr_id and constraint_id columns requires that

combinations of these values be unique.

SYSCOLATTRIBS (IDS)
The syscolattribs system catalog table describes the characteristics of smart
large objects, namely CLOB and BLOB data types. It contains one row for
each sbspace listed in the PUT clause of the CREATE TABLE statement.

Column Type Explanation

tabid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the table
colno SMALLINT Number of the column that contains the smart large object
extentsize INTEGER Pages in smart-large-object extent, expressed in kilobytes
flags INTEGER Integer representation of the combination (by addition) of
hexadecimal values of the following parameters:
LO_NOLOG The smart large object is not
( 0x00000001 = 1) logged.
LO_LOG Logging of smart large
( 0x00000010 = 2) objects conforms to current
log mode of the database.
LO_KEEP_LASTACCESS_TIME A record is kept of the most
( 0x00000100 = 4) recent access of this
smart-large-object column
by a user.
LO_NOKEEP_LASTACCESS_TIME No record is kept of the
( 0x00001000 = 8) most recent access of this
smart-large-object column
by a user.
HI_INTEG Data pages have headers
( 0x00010000= 16) and footers to detect
incomplete writes and data
corruption.
MODERATE_INTEG Data pages do not have
(Not available at this time) headers and footers.
flags1 INTEGER Reserved for future use
sbspace VARCHAR(128) Name of the sbspace

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-19

 A composite index on the tabid, colno, and sbspace columns allows only
unique combinations of these values.

SYSCOLAUTH
The syscolauth system catalog table describes each set of privileges granted
on a column. It contains one row for each set of column privileges granted in
the database. The syscolauth table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

grantor VARCHAR(32) Name of the grantor of privilege
grantee VARCHAR(32) Name of the grantee of privilege
tabid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the table
colno SMALLINT Column number within its table
colauth CHAR(3) 3-byte pattern that specifies column privileges:
s or S = Select
u or U = Update
r or R = References

If the colauth privilege code is uppercase (for example, S for Select), a user
who has this privilege can also grant it to others. If the colauth privilege code
is lowercase (for example, s for Select), the user who has this privilege cannot
grant it to others. A hyphen ( - ) indicates the absence of the privilege
corresponding to that position within the colauth pattern.

A composite index on the tabid, grantor, grantee, and colno columns allows
only unique values. A composite index on the tabid and grantee columns
allows duplicate values.

SYSCOLDEPEND
The syscoldepend system catalog table tracks the table columns specified in
check and NOT NULL constraints. Because a check constraint can involve
more than one column in a table, the syscoldepend table can contain multiple
rows for each check constraint; one row is created for each column involved
in the constraint. The syscoldepend table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

constrid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the constraint
tabid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the table
colno SMALLINT Column number within the table

1-20 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

A composite index on the constrid, tabid, and colno columns allows only
unique values. A composite index on the tabid and colno columns allows
duplicate values.

See also the syscheckudrdep system catalog table in “SYSCHECKUDRDEP

(IDS)” on page 1-18, which lists every check constraint that is referenced by a
user-defined routine.

See also the sysnewdepend table in “SYSNEWDEPEND (XPS)” on page 1-40,

which describes the column dependencies of generalized-key indexes.

See also the sysreferences table in “SYSREFERENCES” on page 1-49, which

describes dependencies of referential constraints.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-21

SYSCOLUMNS
The syscolumns system catalog table describes each column in the database.
One row exists for each column that is defined in a table or view.

Column Type Explanation

colname VARCHAR(128) Column name
tabid INTEGER Identifying code of table containing the column
colno SMALLINT Column number

The system sequentially assigns this (from left to

right within each table).
coltype SMALLINT Code indicating the data type of the column:
0 = CHAR 13 = VARCHAR
1 = SMALLINT 14 = INTERVAL
2 = INTEGE R 15 = NCHAR
3 = FLOAT 16 = NVARCHAR
4 = SMALLFLOAT 17 = INT8
5 = DECIMAL 18 = SERIAL8 *
6 = SERIAL * 19 = SET
7 = DATE 20 = MULTISET
8 = MONEY 21 = LIST
9 = NULL 22 = Unnamed ROW
10 = DATETIME 40 = Variable-length
11 = BYTE opaque type
12 = TEXT 4118 = Named ROW
collength SMALLINT Column length (in bytes)
colmin INTEGER Minimum column length (in bytes)
colmax INTEGER Maximum column length (in bytes)
extended_id INTEGER Data type code, from the sysxtdtypes table, of the
(IDS) data type specified in the coltype column
* In DB–Access, an offset value of 256 is always added to these coltype codes
because DB–Access sets SERIAL and SERIAL8 columns to NOT NULL.

Extended Parallel Server does not support opaque data types, nor the
complex data types SET, MULTISET, LIST, unnamed and named ROW.

A composite index on tabid and colno allows only unique values.

The coltype codes listed on the previous page can be incremented by bitmaps
showing the following features of the column.
Bit Value Significance When Bit Is Set
0x0100 NULL values are not allowed

1-22 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 0x0200 Value is from a host variable
0x0400 Float-to-decimal for networked database server
0x0800 DISTINCT data type
0x1000 Named ROW type
0x2000 DISTINCT type from LVARCHAR base type
0x4000 DISTINCT type from BOOLEAN base type
0x8000 Collection is processed on client system

For example, the coltype value 4118 for named row types is the decimal
representation of the hexadecimal value 0x1016, which is the same as the
hexadecimal coltype value for an unnamed row type (0 x 016), with the
named-row-type bit set. (The file $INFORMIXDIR/incl/esql/sqltypes.h
contains additional information about syscolumns.coltype codes.)
NOT NULL Constraints
Similarly, the coltype value is incremented by 256 if the column does not
allow NULL values. To determine the data type for such columns, subtract
256 from the value and evaluate the remainder, based on the possible coltype
values. For example, if the coltype value is 262, subtracting 256 leaves a
remainder of 6, indicating that the column has a SERIAL data type.
Storing the Column Data Type
The database server stores the coltype value as bitmap, as listed in
“SYSCOLUMNS” on page 1-22.
Opaque Data Types (IDS)
The BOOLEAN, BLOB, CLOB, and LVARCHAR data types are implemented
by the database server as built-in opaque data types.

A built-in opaque data type is one for which the database server provides the
type definition. Because these data types are built-in opaque types, they do
not have a unique coltype value. Instead, they have one of the coltype values
for opaque types: 41 (fixed-length opaque type), or 40 (varying-length opaque
type). The different fixed-length opaque types are distinguished by the
extended_id column in the sysxtdtypes system catalog table.

The following are the coltype values for the built-in opaque data types.

Predefined Data Type Value for coltype Column

BLOB 41
CLOB 41
BOOLEAN 41
LVARCHAR 40

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-23

 Storing Column Length
The collength column value depends on the data type of the column.

Integer-Based Data Types

A collength value for a BIGINT, DATE, INTEGER, INT8, SERIAL, SERIAL8,
or SMALLINT column is machine-independent. The database server uses the
following lengths for these integer-based data types of the SQL language.

Integer-Based Data Types Length (in Bytes)

SMALLINT 2
DATE 4
INTEGER 4
SERIAL 4
BIGINT, INT8 8 (XPS)
SERIAL8 8 (XPS)
INT8 10 (IDS)
SERIAL8 10 (IDS)

Varying-Length Character Data Types

For Dynamic Server columns of the LVARCHAR type, collength has the value
of max from the data type declaration, or 2048 if no maximum was specified.

For VARCHAR, or NVARCHAR columns, the max_size and min_space values

are encoded in the collength column using one of these formulas:
v If the collength value is positive:
collength = (min_space * 256) + max_size
v If the collength value is negative:
collength + 65536 = (min_space * 256) + max_size

Time Data Types

As noted previously, DATE columns have a value of 4 in the collength
column.

For columns of type DATETIME or INTERVAL, collength is determined using

the following formula:
(length * 256) + (first_qualifier * 16) + last_qualifier

The length is the physical length of the DATETIME or INTERVAL field, and
first_qualifier and last_qualifier have values that the following table shows.

1-24 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Field Qualifier Value Field Qualifier Value
YEAR 0 FRACTION(1) 11
MONTH 2 FRACTION(2) 12
DAY 4 FRACTION(3) 13
HOUR 6 FRACTION(4) 14
MINUTE 8 FRACTION(5) 15
SECOND 10

For example, if a DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE column has a length of 12

(such as YYYY:DD:MO:HH:MI), a first_qualifier value of 0 (for YEAR), and a
last_qualifier value of 8 (for MINUTE), then the collength value is 3080 (from
(256 * 12) + (0 * 16) + 8).

Fixed-Point Data Types

The collength value for a MONEY or DECIMAL (p, s) column can be
calculated using the following formula:
(precision * 256) + scale

Simple-Large-Object Data Types

If the data type of the column is BYTE or TEXT, collength holds the length of
the descriptor.
Storing Maximum and Minimum Values
The colmin and colmax column values hold the second-smallest and
second-largest data values in the column, respectively. For example, if the
values in an indexed column are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, the colmin value is 2 and
the colmax value is 4. Storing the second-smallest and second-largest data
values lets the database server make assumptions about the range of values in
a given column and, in turn, further optimize search strategies.

The colmin and colmax columns contain values only if the column is indexed
and you have run the UPDATE STATISTICS statement. If you store BYTE or
TEXT data in the tblspace, the colmin value is -1.

The colmin and colmax columns are valid only for data types that fit into
four bytes: SMALLFLOAT, SMALLINT, INTEGER, and the first four bytes of
CHAR. The values for all other noninteger column types are the initial four
bytes of the maximum or minimum value, which are treated as integers.

It is better to use UPDATE STATISTICS MEDIUM than to depend on colmin

and colmax values. UPDATE STATISTICS MEDIUM gives better information
and is valid for all data types.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-25

 Dynamic Server does not calculate colmin and colmax values for user-defined
data types. These columns, however, have values for user-defined data types
if a user-defined secondary access method supplies them.

SYSCONSTRAINTS
The sysconstraints system catalog table lists the constraints placed on the
columns in each database table. An entry is also placed in the sysindexes
system catalog table (or sysindices view for Dynamic Server) for each unique,
primary key, NOT NULL, or referential constraint that does not already have
a corresponding entry in sysindexes or sysindices. Because indexes can be
shared, more than one constraint can be associated with an index. The
sysconstraints table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

constrid SERIAL Code uniquely identifying the constraint
constrname VARCHAR(128) Name of the constraint
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of the owner of the constraint
tabid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the table
constrtype CHAR(1) Code identifying the constraint type:
C = Check constraint
N = Not NULL
P = Primary key
R = Referential
T = Table
U = Unique
idxname VARCHAR(128) Name of index corresponding to constraint
collation CHAR(32) Collating order at the time when the constraint
(IDS) was created.

A composite index on the constrname and owner columns allows only unique
values. An index on the tabid column allows duplicate values, and an index
on the constrid column allows only unique values.

For check constraints (where constrtype = C), the idxname is always NULL.
Additional information about each check constraint is contained in the
syschecks and syscoldepend system catalog tables.

1-26 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

SYSDEFAULTS
The sysdefaults system catalog table lists the user-defined defaults that are
placed on each column in the database. One row exists for each user-defined
default value. The sysdefaults table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

tabid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying a table
colno SMALLINT Code uniquely identifying a column
type CHAR(1) Code identifying the type of default value:
C = Current
L = Literal value
N = NULL
S = Dbservername or Sitename
T = Today
U = User
default CHAR(256) If sysdefaults.type = L, a literal default value
class (IDS) CHAR(1) Code identifying what kind of column:
T = table
t = ROW type

If no default is specified explicitly in the CREATE TABLE or the ALTER

TABLE statement, then no entry exists for that column in the sysdefaults
table.

If you specify a literal for the default value, it is stored in the default column
as ASCII text. If the literal value is not of one of the data types listed in the
next paragraph, the default column consists of two parts. The first part is the
6-bit representation of the binary value of the default value structure. The
second part is the default value in ASCII text. A blank space separates the two
parts.

If the data type of the column is not CHAR, NCHAR, NVARCHAR, or

VARCHAR, or (for Dynamic Server) BOOLEAN or LVARCHAR, a binary
representation of the default value is encoded in the default column.

A composite index on the tabid, colno, and class columns allows only unique
values. (For Extended Parallel Server, this index omits the class column.)

SYSDEPEND
The sysdepend system catalog table describes how each view or table
depends on other views or tables. One row exists in this table for each
dependency, so a view based on three tables has three rows. The sysdepend
table has the following columns.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-27

 Column Type Explanation
btabid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the base table or view
btype CHAR(1) Base object type:
T = Table
V = View
dtabid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying a dependent table or view
dtype CHAR(1) Code for the type of dependent object; currently, only
view (V = View) is implemented

The btabid and dtabid columns are indexed and allow duplicate values.

SYSDIRECTIVES (IDS)
The sysdirectives table stores external optimizer directives that can be applied
to queries. Whether queries in client applications can use these optimizer
directives depends on the setting of the IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES environment
variable on the client system, as described in Chapter 3, and on the
EXT_DIRECTIVES setting in the configuration file of the database server.

The sysdirectives table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

id SERIAL Unique code identifying the optimizer directive
query TEXT Text of the query as it appears in the application
directives TEXT Text of the optimizer directive, without comments
active SMALLINT Integer code that identifyies whether this entry is
active ( = 1 ) or test only ( = 2 )
hash_code SMALLINT For internal use only

NULL values are not valid in the query column. There is a unique index on
the id column.

SYSDISTRIB
The sysdistrib system catalog table stores data-distribution information for the
database server to use. Data distributions provide detailed table and column
information to the optimizer to improve the choice of execution paths of
SELECT statements. The sysdistrib table has the following columns.

1-28 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Type Explanation
tabid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the table where
data values were gathered
colno SMALLINT Column number in the source table
seqno INTEGER Ordinal number for multiple entries
constructed DATE Date when the data distribution was created
mode CHAR(1) Optimization level:
M = Medium
H = High
resolution SMALLFLOAT Specified in the UPDATE STATISTICS
statement
confidence SMALLFLOAT Specified in the UPDATE STATISTICS
statement
encdat STAT IDS Statistics information
CHAR(256) XPS
type CHAR(1) Type of statistics:
(IDS) A = encdat has ASCII-encoded histogram in
fixed-length character field
S = encdat has user-defined statistics

Information is stored in the sysdistrib table when an UPDATE STATISTICS

statement with mode MEDIUM or HIGH is executed for a table. (UPDATE
STATISTICS LOW does not insert a value into the mode column.)

Only user informix can select the encdat column.

Each row in the sysdistrib system catalog table is keyed by the tabid and
colno for which the statistics are collected.

For built-in data type columns, the type field is set to A. The encdat column
stores an ASCII-encoded histogram that is broken down into multiple rows,
each of which contains 256 bytes.

In Dynamic Server, for columns of user-defined data types, the type field is
set to S. The encdat column stores the statistics collected by the statcollect
user-defined routine in multirepresentational form. Only one row is stored for
each tabid and colno pair. A composite index on the tabid, colno, and seqno
columns requires unique combinations of values.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-29

SYSDOMAINS (IDS)
The sysdomains view is not used. It displays columns of other system catalog
tables. It has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

id SERIAL Unique code identifying the domain
owner CHAR(32) Name of the owner of the domain
name VARCHAR(128) Name of the domain
type SMALLINT Code identifying the type of domain

There is no index on this view.

SYSERRORS (IDS)
The syserrors system catalog table stores information about error, warning,
and informational messages returned by DataBlade modules and user-defined
routines using the mi_db_error_raise( ) DataBlade API function.

The syserrors table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

sqlstate CHAR(5) SQLSTATE value associated with the error
For more information about SQLSTATE values
and their meanings, see the GET DIAGNOSTICS
statement in the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL
Syntax.
locale CHAR(36) The locale with which this version of the message
is associated (for example, en_us.8859-1)
level SMALLINT Reserved for future use
seqno SMALLINT Reserved for future use
message VARCHAR(255) Message text

To create a new message, insert a row directly into the syserrors table. By
default, all users can view this table, but only users with the DBA privilege
can modify it.

A composite index on the sqlstate, locale, level, and seqno columns allows
only unique values.

1-30 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

SYSEXTCOLS (XPS)
The sysextcols system catalog table contains a row that describes each of the
internal columns in external table tabid of format type (fmttype) FIXED. The
sysextcols table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

tabid INTEGER Unique identifying code of a table
colno SMALLINT Code identifying the column
exttype SMALLINT Code identifying an external column type
extstart SMALLINT Starting position of column in the external data file
extlength SMALLINT External column length (in bytes)
nullstr CHAR(256) Represents NULL in external data
picture CHAR(256) Reserved for future use
decimal SMALLINT Precision for external decimals
extstype VARCHAR(128) External type name

No entries are stored in sysextcols for DELIMITED or Informix format

external files.

You can use the DBSCHEMA utility to write out the description of the
external tables. To query these system catalog tables about an external table,
use the tabid as stored in systables with tabtype = ‘E’.

An index on the tabid column allows duplicate values.

SYSEXTDFILES (XPS)
For each external table, at least one row exists in the sysextdfiles system
catalog table, which has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

tabid INTEGER Unique identifying code of an external table
dfentry CHAR(152) Data file entry

You can use DBSCHEMA to write out the description of the external tables. To
query these system catalog tables about an external table, use the tabid as
stored in systables with tabtype = ‘E’.

An index on the tabid column allows duplicate values.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-31

SYSEXTERNAL (XPS)
For each external table, a single row exists in the sysexternal system catalog
table. The tabid column associates the external table in this system catalog
table with an entry in systables.

Column Type Explanation

tabid INTEGER Unique identifying code of an external table
fmttype CHAR(1) Type of format:
D = (delimited)
F = (fixed)
I = (Informix)
codeset VARCHAR(128) ASCII, EBCDIC
recdelim CHAR(4) The record delimiter
flddelim CHAR(4) The field delimiter
datefmt CHAR(8) Reserved for future use
moneyfmt CHAR(20) Reserved for future use
maxerrors INTEGER Number of errors to allow per coserver
rejectfile CHAR(128) Name of reject file
flags INTEGER Optional load flags
ndfiles INTEGER Number of data files in sysextdfiles

You can use DBSCHEMA to write out the description of the external tables. To
query these system catalog tables about an external table, use the tabid as
stored in systables with tabtype = ‘E’.

An index on the tabid column allows only unique values.

1-32 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

SYSFRAGAUTH (IDS)
The sysfragauth system catalog table stores information about the privileges
that are granted on table fragments. This table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

grantor CHAR(32) Name of the grantor of privilege
grantee CHAR(32) Name of the grantee of privilege
tabid INTEGER Identifying code of the fragmented table
fragment VARCHAR(128) Name of dbspace where fragment is stored
fragauth CHAR(6) A 6-byte pattern specifying fragment privileges
(including 3 bytes reserved for future use):
u or U = Update
i or I = Insert
d or D = Delete

In the fragauth column, an uppercase code (such as U for Update) means that
the grantee can grant the privilege to other users; a lowercase (for example, u
for Update) means the user cannot grant the privilege to others. Hyphen ( - )
indicates the absence of the privilege for that position within the pattern.

A composite index on the tabid, grantor, grantee, and fragment columns

allows only unique values. A composite index on the tabid and grantee
columns allows duplicate values.

The following example displays the fragment-level privileges for one base
table, as they appear in the sysfragauth table. In this example, the grantee ted
can grant the Update, Delete, and Insert privileges to other users.

grantor grantee tabid fragment fragauth

dba dick 101 dbsp1 -ui---
dba jane 101 dbsp3 --i---
dba mary 101 dbsp4 --id--
dba ted 101 dbsp2 -UID--

SYSFRAGMENTS
The sysfragments system catalog table stores fragmentation information for
tables and indexes. One row exists for each table or index fragment.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-33

 The sysfragments table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

fragtype CHAR(1) Code indicating the type of fragmented object:
I = Original index fragment
i = Duplicated index fragment (XPS)
T = Original table fragment
t = Duplicated table fragment (XPS)
B = TEXT or BYTE data (XPS)
i = Index fragments of a duplicated table (XPS)
d = Data fragments of a duplicated table (XPS)
tabid INTEGER Unique identifying code of table
indexname VARCHAR(128) Name of index
colno INTEGER Identifying code of TEXT or BYTE column (IDS)
Identifying code of replica identifier (XPS)
partn INTEGER Identifying code of physical location
strategy CHAR(1) Code for type of fragment distribution strategy:
R = Round-robin fragmentation strategy
E = Expression-based fragmentation strategy
I = IN DBSPACE clause specifies a specific location
as part of fragmentation strategy
T = Table-based fragmentation strategy
H = Table is a subtable witin a table hierarchy
(IDS)
Hash-based fragmentation strategy (XPS)
location CHAR(1) Reserved for future use; shows L for local
servername VARCHAR(128) Reserved for future use
evalpos INTEGER Position of fragment in the fragmentation list
exprtext TEXT Expression for fragmentation strategy (IDS)

Contains names of the columns that are hashed

and composite information for hybrid
fragmentation strategies; shows hashed columns
followed by the fragmentation expression of the
dbslice. (XPS)
exprbin BYTE Binary version of expression
exprarr BYTE Range-partitioning data to optimize expression in
range-expression fragmentation strategy

1-34 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Type Explanation
flags INTEGER Used internally (IDS)

Bitmap indicating a hybrid fragmentation strategy

(value = 0x00000010) (XPS)

Also, an additional flag (value = 0x00000020) is set

on the first fragment of a globally detached index.
(XPS)
dbspace VARCHAR(128) Name of dbspace for fragment
levels SMALLINT Number of B+ tree index levels
npused INTEGER For table-fragmentation strategy, npused is the
number of data pages; for index-fragmentation
strategy, npused is the number of leaf pages.
nrows INTEGER For tables, nrows represents the number of rows in
the fragment; for indexes, nrows represents the
number of unique keys.
clust INTEGER Degree of index clustering; smaller numbers
correspond to greater clustering.
hybdpos INTEGER Contains the relative position of the hybrid
fragment within a dbslice or list of dbspaces
associated with a particular expression. The hybrid
fragmentation strategy (and the set of fragments
against which the hybrid strategy is applied)
determine the relative position. The first fragment
has a hybdpos value of zero (0). (XPS)
partname VARCHAR(128) Name of partition within dbspace for fragment
(IDS)

In certain situations, you can duplicate selected tables across coservers to

improve performance. If you have a duplicate copy of a small table on each
coserver, then the database server can execute some small queries (queries
that do not need rows from a table fragment on any other coserver and that
do not require more than 128 kilobytes of memory per operator) as serial
plans instead of as parallel plans that the Resource Grant Manager (RGM)
manages. This performance feature applies only to OLTP-type transactions.

The following query returns the owner and name for each of the duplicated
tables in the current database:
SELECT DISTINCT st.owner, st.tabname
FROM systables st, sysfragments sf
WHERE st.tabid = sf.tabid AND sf.fragtype = ’t’

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-35

 For more information about duplicating tables, refer to the description of the
CREATE DUPLICATE statement in IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

The strategy type T is used for attached indexes. (This is a fragmented index
whose fragmentation is the same as the table fragmentation.)

In Dynamic Server, a composite index on the fragtype, tabid, indexname, and

evalpos columns allows duplicate values.

In Extended Parallel Server, a composite index on the fragtype, tabid,

indexname, evalpos, and hybdpos columns allows duplicate values.

SYSINDEXES
The sysindexes table is a view on the sysindices table. It contains one row for
each index in the database. The sysindexes table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

idxname VARCHAR(128) Index name
owner VARCHAR(32) Owner of index (user informix for system catalog
tables and username for database tables) (IDS)
tabid INTEGER Unique identifying code of table
idxtype CHAR(1) Index type:
U = Unique
D = Duplicates allowed
G = Nonbitmap generalized-key index (XPS)
g = Bitmap generalized-key index
u = unique, bitmap
d = nonunique, bitmap
clustered CHAR(1) Clustered or nonclustered index
(C = Clustered)
part1 SMALLINT Column number (colno) of a single index or the 1st
component of a composite index
part2 SMALLINT 2nd component of a composite index
part3 SMALLINT 3rd component of a composite index
part4 SMALLINT 4th component of a composite index
part5 SMALLINT 5th component of a composite index
part6 SMALLINT 6th component of a composite index
part7 SMALLINT 7th component of a composite index
part8 SMALLINT 8th component of a composite index
part9 SMALLINT 9th component of a composite index
part10 SMALLINT 10th component of a composite index

1-36 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Type Explanation
part11 SMALLINT 11th component of a composite index
part12 SMALLINT 12th component of a composite index
part13 SMALLINT 13th component of a composite index
part14 SMALLINT 14th component of a composite index
part15 SMALLINT 15th component of a composite index
part16 SMALLINT 16th component of a composite index
levels SMALLINT Number of B-tree levels
leaves INTEGER Number of leaves
nunique INTEGER Number of unique keys in the first column
clust INTEGER Degree of clustering; smaller numbers correspond to
greater clustering
idxflags INTEGER Bitmap storing the current locking mode of the index
Normal = 0x00000001 (XPS)
Coarse = 0x00000002 (XPS)

As with most system catalog tables, changes that affect existing indexes are
reflected in this table only after you run the UPDATE STATISTICS statement.

Each part1 through part16 column in this table holds the column number
(colno) of one of the 16 possible parts of a composite index. If the component
is ordered in descending order, the colno is entered as a negative value. The
columns are filled in for B-tree indexes that do not use user-defined data
types or functional indexes. For generic B-trees and all other access methods,
the part1 through part16 columns all contain zeros.

The clust column is blank until the UPDATE STATISTICS statement is run on
the table. The maximum value is the number of rows in the table, and the
minimum value is the number of data pages in the table.

In Extended Parallel Server, the tabid column is indexed and allows duplicate
values. A composite index on the idxname, owner, and tabid columns allows
only unique values.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-37

SYSINDICES (IDS)
The sysindices system catalog table describes the indexes in the database. It
contains one row for each index that is defined in the database.

Column Type Explanation

idxname VARCHAR(128) Name of index
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of owner of index (user informix for system
catalog tables and username for database tables)
tabid INTEGER Unique identifying code of table
idxtype CHAR(1) Index type:
U = Unique
D = Duplicates allowed
clustered CHAR(1) Clustered or nonclustered index
(C = Clustered)
levels SMALLINT Number of tree levels
leaves INTEGER Number of leaves
nunique INTEGER Number of unique keys in the first column
clust INTEGER Degree of clustering; smaller numbers correspond
to greater clustering. The maximum value is the
number of rows in the table, and the minimum
value is the number of data pages in the table. This
column is blank until UPDATE STATISTICS is run
on the table.
nrows FLOAT Estimated number of rows in the table (zero until
UPDATE STATISTICS is run on the table).
indexkeys INDEX-KEYARRAY Column can have up to three fields, in the format:
procid, (col1, ... , coln), opclassid where 1 < n < 341
amid INTEGER Unique identifying code of the access method that
implements this index. (Value = am_id for that
access method in the sysams table.)
amparam LVARCHAR List of parameters used to customize the behavior
of this access method.
collation CHAR(32) Collating order at the time of index creation.

Tip: This system catalog table is changed from Version 7.2 of Informix
database servers. The earlier schema of this system catalog table is still
available as a view and can be accessed under its original name:
sysindexes.

Changes that affect existing indexes are reflected in this system catalog table
only after you run the UPDATE STATISTICS statement.

1-38 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 The fields within the indexkeys columns have the following significance:
v The procid (as in sysprocedures) appears only for a functional index on
return values of a function defined on columns of the table.
v The list of columns (col1, ... , coln) in the second field identifies the columns
on which the index is defined. The maximum is language-dependent: up to
341 for an SPL or Java UDR; up to 102 for a C UDR.
v The opclassid identifies the secondary access method that the database
server used to build and to search the index. This is the same as the
sysopclasses.opclassid value for the access method.

The tabid column is indexed and allows duplicate values. A composite index
on the idxname, owner, and tabid columns allows only unique values.

SYSINHERITS (IDS)
The sysinherits system catalog table stores information about table and
named ROW type inheritance. Every supertype, subtype, supertable, and
subtable in the database has a corresponding row in the sysinherits table.

Column Type Explanation

child INTEGER Identifying code of the subtable or subtype
parent INTEGER Identifying code of the supertable or supertype
class CHAR(1) Inheritance class:
t = named ROW type
T = table

The child and parent values are from sysxtdtypes.extended_id for named
ROW types, or from systables.tabid for tables. Simple indexes on the child
and parent columns allow duplicate values.

SYSLANGAUTH (IDS)
The syslangauth system catalog table contains the authorization information
on computer languages that are used to write user-defined routines (UDRs).

Column Type Explanation

grantor VARCHAR(32) Name of the grantor of the language authorization
grantee VARCHAR(32) Name of the grantee of the language authorization
langid INTEGER Identifying code of language in sysroutinelangs table
langauth CHAR(1) The language authorization:
u = Usage privilege granted
U = Usage privilege granted WITH GRANT OPTION

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-39

 A composite index on the langid, grantor, and grantee columns allows only
unique values. A composite index on the langid and grantee columns allows
duplicate values.

SYSLOGMAP (IDS)
The syslogmap system catalog table contains fragmentation information.

Column Type Explanation

tabloc INTEGER Code for the location of an external table
tabid INTEGER Unique identifying code of the table
fragid INTEGER Identifying code of the fragment
flags INTEGER Bitmap of modifiers from declaration of fragment

A simple index on the tabloc column and a composite index on the tabid and
fragid columns do not allow duplicate values.

SYSNEWDEPEND (XPS)
The sysnewdepend system catalog table contains information about
generalized-key indexes that are not available in the sysindexes table. The
dependencies between a generalized-key index and the tables in the FROM
clause of the CREATE INDEX statement are stored in the sysnewdepend
table, which has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

scrid1 VARCHAR(128) Name of the generalized-key index
scrid2 INTEGER Unique identifying code ( = tabid) of the indexed
table
type INTEGER Code for the type of generalized-key index
destid1 INTEGER The systables.tabid value for the table on which the
generalized-key index depends
destid2 INTEGER The column number within the destid1 table

A composite index on the scrid1, scrid2, and type columns allows duplicate
values. Another composite index on the destid1, destid2, and type columns
also allows duplicate values.

1-40 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

SYSOBJSTATE (IDS)
The sysobjstate system catalog table stores information about the state (object
mode) of database objects. The types of database objects that are listed in this
table are indexes, triggers, and constraints.

Every index, trigger, and constraint in the database has a corresponding row
in the sysobjstate table if a user creates the object. Indexes that the database
server creates on the system catalog tables are not listed in the sysobjstate
table because their object mode cannot be changed.

The sysobjstate table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

objtype CHAR(1) Code for the type of database object:
C = Constraint
I = Index
T = Trigger
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of the owner of the database object
name VARCHAR(128) Name of the database object
tabid INTEGER Identifying code of table on which the object is
defined
state CHAR(1) The current state (object mode) of the database object.
This value can be one of the following codes:
D = Disabled
E = Enabled
F = Filtering with no integrity-violation errors
G = Filtering with integrity-violation errors

A composite index on the objtype, name, owner, and tabid columns allows
only unique combinations of values. A simple index on the tabid column
allows duplicate values.

SYSOPCLASSES (IDS)
The sysopclasses system catalog table contains information about operator
classes associated with secondary access methods. It contains one row for each
operator class that has been defined in the database. The sysopclasses table
has the following columns.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-41

 Column Type Explanation
opclassname VARCHAR(128) Name of the operator class
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of the owner of the operator class
amid INTEGER Identifying code of the secondary access method
associated with this operator class
opclassid SERIAL Identifying code of the operator class
ops LVARCHAR List of names of the operators that belong to this
operator class
support LVARCHAR List of names of support functions defined for
this operator class

The opclassid value corresponds to the sysams.am_defopclass value that

specifies the default operator class for the secondary access method that the
amid column specifies.

The sysopclasses table has a composite index on the opclassname and owner
columns and an index on opclassid column. Both indexes allow only unique
values.

SYSOPCLSTR
The sysopclstr system catalog table defines each optical cluster in the
database. It contains one row for each optical cluster. The sysopclstr table has
the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

owner VARCHAR(32) Name of the owner of the optical cluster
clstrname VARCHAR(128) Name of the optical cluster
clstrsize INTEGER Size of the optical cluster
tabid INTEGER Unique identifying code for the table
blobcol1 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 1
blobcol2 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 2
blobcol3 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 3
blobcol4 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 4
blobcol5 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 5
blobcol6 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 6
blobcol7 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 7
blobcol8 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 8
blobcol9 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 9

1-42 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Type Explanation
blobcol10 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 10
blobcol11 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 11
blobcol12 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 12
blobcol13 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 13
blobcol14 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 14
blobcol15 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 15
blobcol16 SMALLINT BYTE or TEXT column number 16
clstrkey1 SMALLINT Cluster key number 1
clstrkey2 SMALLINT Cluster key number 2
clstrkey3 SMALLINT Cluster key number 3
clstrkey4 SMALLINT Cluster key number 4
clstrkey5 SMALLINT Cluster key number 5
clstrkey6 SMALLINT Cluster key number 6
clstrkey7 SMALLINT Cluster key number 7
clstrkey8 SMALLINT Cluster key number 8
clstrkey9 SMALLINT Cluster key number 9
clstrkey10 SMALLINT Cluster key number 10
clstrkey11 SMALLINT Cluster key number 11
clstrkey12 SMALLINT Cluster key number 12
clstrkey13 SMALLINT Cluster key number 13
clstrkey14 SMALLINT Cluster key number 14
clstrkey15 SMALLINT Cluster key number 15
clstrkey16 SMALLINT Cluster key number 16

The contents of this table are sensitive to CREATE OPTICAL CLUSTER,

ALTER OPTICAL CLUSTER, and DROP OPTICAL CLUSTER statements that
have been executed on databases that support optical cluster subsystems.
Changes that affect existing optical clusters are reflected in this table only
after you run the UPDATE STATISTICS statement.

A composite index on the clstrname and owner columns allows only unique
values. A simple index on the tabid column allows duplicate values.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-43

SYSPROCAUTH
The sysprocauth system catalog table describes the privileges granted on a
procedure or function. It contains one row for each set of privileges that is
granted. The sysprocauth table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

grantor VARCHAR(32) Name of grantor of privileges to access the routine
grantee VARCHAR(32) Name of grantee of privileges to access the routine
procid INTEGER Unique identifying code of the routine
procauth CHAR(1) Type of privilege granted on the routine:
e = Execute privilege on routine
E = Execute privilege WITH GRANT OPTION

A composite index on the procid, grantor, and grantee columns allows only
unique values. A composite index on the procid and grantee columns allows
duplicate values.

SYSPROCBODY
The sysprocbody system catalog table describes the compiled version of each
procedure or function in the database. Because the sysprocbody table stores
the text of the routine, each routine can have multiple rows. The sysprocbody
table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

procid INTEGER Unique identifying code for the routine
datakey CHAR(1) Type of information in the data column:
D = User document text
E = Creation time information
L = Literal value (that is, literal number or quoted
string)
P = Interpreter instruction code (p-code)
R = Return value type list
S = Routine symbol table
T = Actual routine source
seqno INTEGER Line number within the routine
data CHAR(256) Actual text of the routine

The data column contains actual data, which can be in one of these formats:
v Encoded return values list
v Encoded symbol table

1-44 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 v Literal data
v P-code for the routine
v Compiled code for the routine
v Text of the routine and its documentation

A composite index on the procid, datakey, and seqno columns allows only
unique values.

SYSPROCEDURES
The sysprocedures system catalog table lists the characteristics for each
function and procedure in the database. It contains one row for each routine.

Each function in sysprocedures has a unique value, procid, called a routine

identifier. Throughout the system catalog, a function is identified by its routine
identifier, not by its name.

For Extended Parallel Server, sysprocedures has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

procname VARCHAR(128) Name of routine
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of owner
procid SERIAL Unique identifying code for the routine
mode CHAR(1) Mode type:
D or d = DBA
O or o = Owner
P or p = Protected
R or r = Restricted
retsize INTEGER Compiled size (in bytes) of values
symsize INTEGER Compiled size (in bytes) of symbol table
datasize INTEGER Compiled size (in bytes) of constant data
codesize INTEGER Compiled size (in bytes) of routine instruction code
numargs INTEGER Number of arguments to routine

A composite index on procname and owner requires unique values.

For Dynamic Server, sysprocedures has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

procname VARCHAR(128) Name of routine
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of owner

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-45

 Column Type Explanation
procid SERIAL Unique identifying code for the routine
mode CHAR(1) Mode type:
D or d = DBA
O or o = Owner
P or p = Protected
R or r = Restricted
retsize INTEGER Compiled size (in bytes) of returned values
symsize INTEGER Compiled size (in bytes) of symbol table
datasize INTEGER Compiled size (in bytes) of constant data
codesize INTEGER Compiled size (in bytes) of routine code
numargs INTEGER Number of arguments to routine
isproc CHAR(1) Whether routine is a procedure or a function:
t = procedure
f = function
specificname VARCHAR(128) Specific name for the routine
externalname VARCHAR(255) Location of the external routine. This item is
language-specific in content and format.
paramstyle CHAR(1) Parameter style: I = Informix
langid INTEGER Language code (in sysroutinelangs table)
paramtypes RTNPARAMTYPES Information describing returned parameters
variant BOOLEAN Whether the routine is VARIANT or not:
t = is VARIANT
f = is not VARIANT
client BOOLEAN Reserved for future use
handlesnulls BOOLEAN NULL handling indicator:
t = handles NULLs
f =does not handle NULLs
percallcost INTEGER Amount of CPU per call

Integer cost to execute UDR: cost/call - 0

-(2^31-1)
commutator VARCHAR(128) Name of commutator function
negator VARCHAR(128) Name of negator function
selfunc VARCHAR(128) Name of function to estimate selectivity of
UDR
internal BOOLEAN Whether the routine can be called from SQL:
t = routine is internal, not callable from SQL
f = routine is external, callable from SQL
class CHAR(18) CPU class in which routine should be executed

1-46 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Type Explanation
stack INTEGER Stack size in bytes required per invocation
parallelizable BOOLEAN Parallelization indicator for UDR:
t = parallelizable
f = not parallelizable
costfunc VARCHAR(128) Name of cost function for UDR
selconst SMALLFLOAT Selectivity constant for UDR

In the mode column, the R mode is a special case of the O mode. A routine is
in restricted (R) mode if it was created with a specified owner who is different
from the routine creator. If routine statements involving a remote database are
executed, the database server uses the permissions of the user who executes
the routine instead of the permissions of the routine owner. In all other
scenarios, R-mode routines behave the same as O-mode routines.

You cannot use the DROP FUNCTION, DROP ROUTINE, or DROP

PROCEDURE statements to delete a protected routine. Protected routines are
indicated by lowercase in the mode column. In earlier versions, protected SPL
routines (which cannot be deleted) were indicated by a p. Starting with
Version 9.0, protected SPL routines are treated as DBA routines and cannot be
Owner routines. Thus D and O indicate DBA and Owner routines, and d and o
indicate protected DBA and protected Owner routines.

A database server can create protected SPL routines for internal use. These
protected SPL routines have p in the mode column. You cannot modify, drop,
nor display protected SPL routines.

Important: After you issue the SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statement,

the database server assigns a restricted mode to all owner routines
that you created while using the new identity.

The database server can create protected routines for internal use. The
sysprocedures table identifies these protected routines with the letter P or p in
the mode column. You cannot modify or drop protected routines, nor can you
display them through DBSCHEMA.

A unique index is on the procid column. A composite index on the procname,

isproc, numargs, and owner columns allows duplicate values, as does a
composite index on the specificname and owner columns.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-47

SYSPROCPLAN
The sysprocplan system catalog table describes the query-execution plans and
dependency lists for data-manipulation statements within each routine.
Because different parts of a routine plan can be created on different dates, this
table can contain multiple rows for each routine.

Column Type Explanation

procid INTEGER Identifying code for the routine
planid INTEGER Identifying code for the plan
datakey CHAR(1) Type of information stored in data column:
D = Dependency list
I = Information record
Q = Execution plan
seqno INTEGER Line number within the plan
created DATE Date when plan was created
datasize INTEGER Size (in bytes) of the list or plan
data CHAR(256) Encoded (compiled) list or plan (IDS)

Text of the SPL routine (XPS)

collation CHAR(32) Collating order at the time when routine was created

Before a routine is run, its dependency list in the data column is examined. If
the major version number of a table accessed by the plan has changed, or if
any object that the routine uses has been modified since the plan was
optimized (for example, if an index has been dropped), then the plan is
optimized again. When datakey is I, the data column stores information about
UPDATE STATISTICS and PDQPRIORITY.

It is possible to delete all the plans for a given routine by using the DELETE
statement on sysprocplan. When the routine is subsequently executed, new
plans are automatically generated and recorded in sysprocplan. The UPDATE
STATISTICS FOR PROCEDURE statement also updates this table.

A composite index on the procid, planid, datakey, and seqno columns allows
only unique values.

1-48 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

SYSREFERENCES
The sysreferences system catalog table lists all referential constraints on
columns. It contains a row for each referential constraint in the database.

Column Type Explanation

constrid INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the constraint
primary INTEGER Identifying code of the corresponding primary key
ptabid INTEGER Identifying code of the table that is the primary key
updrule CHAR(1) Reserved for future use; displays an R
delrule CHAR(1) Whether constraint uses cascading delete or restrict rule:
C = Cascading delete
R = Restrict (default)
matchtype CHAR(1) Reserved for future use; displays an N
pendant CHAR(1) Reserved for future use; displays an N

The constrid column is indexed and allows only unique values. The primary
column is indexed and allows duplicate values.

SYSREPOSITORY (XPS)
The sysrepository system catalog table contains data about generalized-key
indexes that the sysindexes system catalog table does not provide.

Column Type Explanation

id1 VARCHAR(128) Index from the generalized-key (GK) index
id2 INTEGER Tabid of table with the generalized-key index
type INTEGER Integer code for type of object

In this release, the only value that can appear is 1,

indicating a GK index type.
seqid SERIAL Reserved for future use

(This value is not related to syssequences.seqid.)

desc TEXT The CREATE INDEX statement of a GK index
bin BYTE Internal representation of the generalized-key index

The contents of the sysrepository table are useful when a generalized-key

index has to be rebuilt during a recovery or if a user wants to see the
CREATE statement for a specific generalized-key index.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-49

 The desc column contains the CREATE statement for each generalized-key
index in the database.

An index on the seqid column allows duplicate values. A composite index on

the id1, id2, and type columns requires unique combinations of values.

SYSROLEAUTH
The sysroleauth system catalog table describes the roles that are granted to
users. It contains one row for each role that is granted to a user in the
database. The sysroleauth table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

rolename VARCHAR(32) Name of the role
grantee VARCHAR(32) Name of the grantee of the role
is_grantable CHAR(1) Specifies whether the role is grantable:
Y = Grantable
N = Not grantable

The is_grantable column indicates whether the role was granted with the
WITH GRANT OPTION of the GRANT statement.

A composite index on the rolename and grantee columns allows only unique
values.

SYSROUTINELANGS (IDS)
The sysroutinelangs system catalog table lists the supported programming
languages for user-defined routines (UDRs). It has these columns.

Column Type Explanation

langid SERIAL Code uniquely identifying a supported language
langname CHAR(30) Name of the language, such as C or SPL
langinitfunc VARCHAR(128) Name of initialization function for the language
langpath CHAR(255) Directory path for the UDR language
langclass CHAR(18) Name of the class of the UDR language

An index on the langname column allows duplicate values.

1-50 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

SYSSEQUENCES (IDS)
The syssequences system catalog table lists the sequence objects that exist in
the database. The syssequences table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

seqid SERIAL Code uniquely identifying the sequence object
tabid INTEGER Identifying code of the sequence as a table object
start_val INT8 Starting value of the sequence
inc_val INT8 Value of the increment between successive values
max_val INT8 Largest possible value of the sequence
min_val INT8 Smallest possible value of the sequence
cycle CHAR(1) Zero means NOCYCLE, 1 means CYCLE
cache INTEGER Number of preallocated values in sequence cache
order CHAR(1) Zero means NOORDER, 1 means ORDER

SYSSYNONYMS
The syssynonyms system catalog table lists the synonyms for each table or
view. Except for database servers that have migrated from certain interim
releases of Version 1.10 Informix database servers, only the syssyntable table
describes synonyms, and the syssynonyms table is unused. It has the
following columns.

Column Type Explanation

owner VARCHAR(32) Name of the owner of the synonym
synname VARCHAR(128) Name of the synonym
created DATE Date when the synonym was created
tabid INTEGER Identifying code of a table, sequence, or view

A composite index on the owner and synonym columns allows only unique
values. The tabid column is indexed and allows duplicate values.

SYSSYNTABLE
The syssyntable system catalog table outlines the mapping between each
public or private synonym and the database object (table, sequence, or view)
that it represents. It contains one row for each entry in the systables table that
has a tabtype value of Por S. The syssyntable table has the following
columns.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-51

 Column Type Explanation
tabid INTEGER Identifying code of the public synonym
servername VARCHAR(128) Name of an external database server
dbname VARCHAR(128) Name of an external database
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of the owner of an external object
tabname VARCHAR(128) Name of an external table or view
btabid INTEGER Identifying code of a base table, sequence, or
view

ANSI-compliant databases do not support public synonyms; their syssyntable

tables can describe only synonyms whose syssyntable.tabtype value is P.

If you define a synonym for an object that is in your current database, only
the tabid and btabid columns are used. If you define a synonym for a table
that is external to your current database, the btabid column is not used, but
the tabid, servername, dbname, owner, and tabname columns are used.

The tabid column maps to systables.tabid. With the tabid information, you
can determine additional facts about the synonym from systables.

An index on the tabid column allows only unique values. The btabid column
is indexed to allow duplicate values.

SYSTABAMDATA (IDS)
The systabamdata system catalog table stores the table-specific hashing
parameters of tables that were created with a primary access method.

The systabamdata table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

tabid INTEGER Identifying code of the table
am_param CHAR(256) Access method parameter choices
am_space VARCHAR(128) Name of the storage space holding the data values

The am_param column stores configuration parameters that determine how a

primary access method accesses a given table. Each configuration parameter
in the am_param list has the format keyword=value or keyword.

The am_space column specifies the location of the table. It might reside in a
cooked file, a different database, or an sbspace within the database server.

1-52 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 The tabid column is the primary key to the systables table. This column is
indexed and must contain unique values.

SYSTABAUTH
The systabauth system catalog table describes each set of privileges that are
granted on a table, view, sequence, or synonym. It contains one row for each
set of table privileges that are granted in the database; the REVOKE statement
can modify a row. The systabauth table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

grantor VARCHAR(32) Name of the grantor of privilege
grantee VARCHAR(32) Name of the grantee of privilege
tabid INTEGER Value from systables.tabid for database object
tabauth CHAR(9) IDS Pattern that specifies privileges on the table,
CHAR(8) XPS view, synonym, or (IDS) sequence:
s or S = Select
u or U = Update
* = Column-level privilege
i or I = Insert
d or D = Delete
x or X = Index
a or A = Alter
r or R = References
n or N = Under privilege (IDS)

If the tabauth column shows a privilege code in uppercase (for example, S for
Select), this indicates that the user also has the option to grant that privilege
to others. Privilege codes listed in lowercase (for example, s for select)
indicate that the user has the specified privilege, but cannot grant it to others.

A hyphen ( - ) indicates the absence of the privilege corresponding to that

position within the tabauth pattern.

A tabauth value with an asterisk ( * ) means column-level privileges exist; see

also syscolauth (page 1-36). (In DB–Access, the Privileges option of the Info
command for a specified table can display the column-level privileges on that
table.)

A composite index on tabid, grantor, and grantee allows only unique values.
A composite index on tabid and grantee allows duplicate values.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-53

SYSTABLES
The systables system catalog table contains a row for each table object (a
table, view, synonym, or in Dynamic Server, a sequence) that has been defined
in the database, including the tables and views of the system catalog.

Column Type Explanation

tabname VARCHAR(128) Name of table, view, synonym, or (for IDS)
sequence
owner VARCHAR(32) Owner of table (user informix for system
catalog tables and username for database
tables)
partnum INTEGER Physical location code
tabid SERIAL System-assigned sequential identifying number
rowsize SMALLINT Row size
ncols SMALLINT Number of columns in the table
nindexes SMALLINT Number of indexes on the table
nrows INTEGER Number of rows in the table
created DATE Date when the table was created
version INTEGER Number that changes when table is altered
tabtype CHAR(1) Code indicating the type of object:
T = Table
E = External Table
V = View
Q = Sequence (IDS)
P = Private synonym
S = Public synonym (Type S is not available in
an ANSI-compliant database.)
locklevel CHAR(1) Lock mode for the table:
B = Page
P = Page
R = Row
T = Table (XPS)
npused INTEGER Number of data pages that have ever been
initialized in the tablespace by the database
server
fextsize INTEGER Size of initial extent (in kilobytes)
nextsize INTEGER Size of all subsequent extents (in kilobytes)

1-54 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Type Explanation
flags SMALLINT Codes for classifying permanent tables:
ST_RAW ( = 0x00000010 ) (IDS)
RAW ( = 0x00000002 ) (XPS)
STATIC ( = 0x00000004 ) (XPS)
OPERATIONAL ( = 0x00000008 ) (XPS)
STANDARD ( = 0x00000010 ) (XPS)
EXTERNAL ( = 0x00000020 ) (XPS)
site VARCHAR(128) Reserved for future use
dbname VARCHAR(128) Reserved for future use
type_xid INTEGER Code from sysxtdtypes.extended_id for typed
(IDS) tables, or 0 for untyped tables
am_id INTEGER Access method code (key to sysams table)
(IDS)
NULL or 0 indicates built-in storage manager
minrowsize SMALLINT XPS Minimum row size

Each table, view, sequence, and synonym recorded in the systables table is
assigned a tabid, which is a system-assigned SERIAL value that uniquely
identifies the object. The first 99 tabid values are reserved for the system
catalog. The tabid of the first user-defined table object in a database is always
100.

The tabid column is indexed and contains only unique values. A composite
index on the tabname and owner columns also requires unique values.

The version column contains an encoded number that is stored in systables

when a new table is created. Portions of this value are incremented when
data-definition statements, such as ALTER INDEX, ALTER TABLE, DROP
INDEX, and CREATE INDEX, are performed on the table.

In the flags column, ST_RAW represents a nonlogging permanent table in a

database that supports transaction logging.

When a prepared statement that references a database table is executed, the

version value is checked to make sure that nothing has changed since the
statement was prepared. If the version value has changed, the prepared
statement is not executed, and you must prepare the statement again.

The npused column does not reflect the number of pages used for BYTE or
TEXT data, nor the number of pages that are freed in DELETE operations.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-55

 The systables table has two rows that store information about the database
locale: GL_COLLATE with a tabid of 90 and GL_CTYPE with a tabid of 91.
To view these rows, enter the following SELECT statement:
SELECT * FROM systables WHERE tabid=90 OR tabid=91

SYSTRACECLASSES (IDS)
The systraceclasses system catalog table contains the names and identifiers of
trace classes. The systraceclasses table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

name CHAR(18) Name of the class of trace messages
classid SERIAL Identifying code of the trace class

A trace class is a category of trace messages that you can use in the
development and testing of new DataBlade modules and user-defined
routines. Developers use the tracing facility by calling the appropriate
DataBlade API routines within their code.

To create a new trace class, insert a row directly into the systraceclasses table.
By default, all users can view this table, but only users with the DBA privilege
can modify it.

The database cannot support tracing unless the MITRACE_OFF configuration

parameter is undefined.

A unique index on the name column requires each trace class to have a
unique name. The database server assigns to each class a unique sequential
code. The index on this classid column also allows only unique values.

SYSTRACEMSGS (IDS)
The systracemsgs system catalog table stores internationalized trace messages
that you can use in debugging user-defined routines.

1-56 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 The systracemsgs table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

name VARCHAR(128) Name of the message
msgid SERIAL Identifying code of the message template
locale CHAR(36) Locale with which this version of the message is
associated (for example, en_us.8859-1)
seqno SMALLINT Reserved for future use
message VARCHAR(255) The message text

DataBlade module developers create a trace message by inserting a row

directly into the systracemsgs table. Once a message is created, the
development team can specify it either by name or by msgid code, using trace
statements that the DataBlade API provides.

To create a trace message, you must specify its name, locale, and text. By
default, all users can view the systracemsgs table, but only users with the
DBA privilege can modify it.

The database cannot support tracing unless the MITRACE_OFF configuration

parameter is undefined.

A unique composite index is defined on the name and locale columns.

Another unique index is defined on the msgid column.

SYSTRIGBODY
The systrigbody system catalog table contains the ASCII text of the trigger
definition and the linearized code for the trigger. Linearized code is binary data
and code that is represented in ASCII format.

Important: The database server uses the linearized code that is stored in
systrigbody. You must not alter the content of rows that contain
linearized code.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-57

 The systrigbody table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

trigid INTEGER Identifying code of the trigger
datakey CHAR(1) Code specifying the type of data:
A = ASCII text for the body, triggered actions
B = Linearized code for the body
D = English text for the header, trigger definition
H = Linearized code for the header
S = Linearized code for the symbol table
seqno INTEGER Page number of this data segment
data CHAR(256) English text or linearized code
collation CHAR(32) Collating order at the time when trigger was created

A composite index on the trigid, datakey, and seqno columns allows only
unique values.

SYSTRIGGERS
The systriggers system catalog table contains information about the SQL
triggers in the database. This information includes the triggering event and
the correlated reference specification for the trigger. The systriggers table has
the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

trigid SERIAL Identifying code of the trigger
trigname VARCHAR(128) Name of the trigger
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of the owner of the trigger
tabid INTEGER Identifying code of the triggering table
event CHAR(1) Code for the type of triggering event:
D = Delete trigger
I = Insert trigger
U = Update trigger
S = Select trigger
d = INSTEAD OF Delete trigger
i = INSTEAD OF Insert trigger
u = INSTEAD OF Update trigger (IDS)
old VARCHAR(128) Name of value before update
new VARCHAR(128) Name of value after update
mode CHAR(1) Reserved for future use

1-58 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 A composite index on the trigname and owner columns allows only unique
values. An index on the trigid column also requires unique values. An index
on the tabid column allows duplicate values.

SYSUSERS
The sysusers system catalog table describes each set of privileges that are
granted on the database. It contains one row for each user or role that has
privileges on the database. This system catalog table has the following
columns.

Column Type Explanation

username VARCHAR(32) Name of the database user or role
usertype CHAR(1) Code specifying database-level privileges:
C = Connect (work within existing tables)
D = DBA (all privileges)
G = Role
R = Resource (create permanent tables, user-defined
data types, and indexes)
priority SMALLINT Reserved for future use
password CHAR(16) Reserved for future use
defrole VARCHAR(32) Name of the default role

An index on username allows only unique values. The username value can
be the login name of a user or the name of a role.

SYSVIEWS
The sysviews system catalog table describes each view in the database.
Because it stores the SELECT statement that created the view, sysviews can
contain multiple rows for each view. It has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

tabid INTEGER Identifying code of the view
seqno SMALLINT Line number of the SELECT statement
viewtext CHAR(64) Actual SELECT statement used to create the view

A composite index on tabid and seqno allows only unique values.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-59

SYSVIOLATIONS
The sysviolations system catalog table stores information about the constraint
violations for base tables. Every table in the database that has a violations
table and a diagnostics table associated with it has a corresponding row in the
sysviolations table, which has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

targettid INTEGER Identifying code of the target table (the base table on which
the violations table and the diagnostic table are defined)
viotid INTEGER Identifying code of the violations table
diatid INTEGER Identifying code of the diagnostics table
maxrows INTEGER Maximum number of rows that can be inserted into the
diagnostics table by a single insert, update, or delete
operation on a target table that has a filtering mode object
defined on it (IDS)

The maximum number of rows allowed in the violations

table for each coserver (XPS)

The maxrows column also signifies the maximum number of rows that can be
inserted in the diagnostics table during a single operation that enables a
disabled object or that sets a disabled object to filtering mode (provided that a
diagnostics table exists for the target table). If no maximum is specified for the
diagnostics or violations table, then maxrows contains a NULL value.

Extended Parallel Server does not use the diagnostic table when a constraint
violation occurs. Rather, the database server stores additional information in
the violations table. The violations table contains the data that the transaction
refused and an indication of the cause.

The primary key of this table is the targettid column. An additional unique
index is also defined on the viotid column.

Dynamic Server also has a unique index on the diatid column.

1-60 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

SYSXTDDESC (IDS)
The sysxtddesc system catalog table provides a text description of each UDT
defined in the database. The sysxtddesc table has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

extended_id INTEGER Code uniquely identifying the extended data types
seqno SMALLINT Value to order and identify one line of the
description of the UDT

A new line is created only if the remaining text

string is larger than 255 bytes.
description CHAR(256) Textual description of the extended data type

A composite index on extended_id and seqno allows duplicate values.

SYSXTDTYPEAUTH (IDS)
The sysxtdtypeauth system catalog table identifies the privileges for each
UDT (user-defined data type). The sysxtdtypeauth table contains one row for
each set of privileges granted and has the following columns.

Column Type Explanation

grantor VARCHAR(32) Name of grantor of privilege
grantee VARCHAR(32) Name of grantee of privilege
type INTEGER Code identifying the UDT
auth CHAR(2) Code identifying privileges on the UDT:
n or N = Under privilege
u or U = Usage privilege

If the privilege code in the auth column is uppercase (for example, ’U’ for
usage), a user who has this privilege can also grant it to others. If the code is
in lowercase, a user who has the privilege cannot grant it to others.

A composite index on type, grantor, and grantee allows only unique values.
A composite index on the type and grantee columns allows duplicate values.

SYSXTDTYPES (IDS)
The sysxtdtype system catalog table has an entry for each UDT (user-defined
data type), including opaque and distinct data types and complex data types
(named ROW type, unnamed ROW type, and COLLECTION type), that is
defined in the database. The sysxtdtypes table has the following columns.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-61

 Column Type Explanation
extended_id SERIAL Unique identifying code for extended data type
domain CHAR(1) Code for the domain of the UDT
mode CHAR(1) Code classifying the UDT:
B = Base (opaque) type
C = Collection type or unnamed ROW type
D = Distinct type
R = Named ROW type
’ ’ (blank) = Built-in type
owner VARCHAR(32) Name of the owner of the UDT
name VARCHAR(128) Name of the UDT
type SMALLINT Code classifying the UDT
source INTEGER The sysxtdtypes reference (for distinct types only)

Zero (0) indicates that a distinct UDT was created

from a built-in data type.
maxlen INTEGER The maximum length for variable-length data
types

Zero indicates a fixed-length UDT.

length INTEGER The length in bytes for fixed-length data types

Zero indicates a variable-length UDT.

byvalue CHAR(1) ’T’ = UDT is passed by value
’F’ = UDT is not passed by value
cannothash CHAR(1) ’T’ = UDT is hashable by default hash function
’F’ = UDT is not hashable by default function
align SMALLINT Alignment ( = 1, 2, 4, or 8) for this UDT
locator INTEGER Locator key for unnamed ROW type

Each extended data type is characterized by a unique identifier, called an

extended identifier (extended_id), a data type identifier (type), and the length
and description of the data type.

For distinct types created from built-in data types, the type column codes
correspond to the value of the syscolumns.coltype column (indicating the
source type) as listed on page 1-22, but incremented by the hexadecimal value
0x0000800. The file $INFORMIXDIR/incl/esql/sqltypes.h contains information
about sysxtdtypes.type and syscolumns.coltype codes.

1-62 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 An index on the extended_id column allows only unique values. An index on
the locator column allows duplicate values, as does a composite indexes on
the name and owner columns. A composite index on the type and source
columns also allows duplicate values.

Information Schema (IDS)

The Information Schema consists of read-only views that provide information
about all the tables, views, and columns in the current database server to
which you have access. These views also provide information about SQL
dialects (such as Informix, Oracle, or Sybase) and SQL standards. Note that
unlike a system catalog, whose tables describes an individual database, these
views describe the Dynamic Server instance, rather than a single database.

This version of the Information Schema views is an X/Open CAE standard.

These standards are provided so that applications developed on other
database systems can obtain Informix system catalog information without
accessing the Informix system catalog tables directly.

Important: Because the X/Open CAE standards Information Schema views

differ from ANSI-compliant Information Schema views, it is
recommended that you do not install the X/Open CAE
Information Schema views on ANSI-compliant databases.

The following Information Schema views are available:

v tables
v columns
v sql_languages
v server_info

Sections that follow contain information about how to generate and access
Information Schema views as well as information about their structure.
Generating the Information Schema Views
The Information Schema views are generated automatically when you, as
DBA, run the following DB–Access command:
dbaccess database-name $INFORMIXDIR/etc/xpg4_is.sql

The views display data from the system catalog tables. If tables, views, or
routines exist with any of the same names as the Information Schema views,
you must either rename those database objects or rename the views in the
script before you can install the views. You can drop the views with the
DROP VIEW statement on each view. To re-create the views, rerun the script.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-63

 Important: In addition to the columns specified for each Information Schema
view, individual vendors might include additional columns or
change the order of the columns. It is recommended that
applications not use the forms SELECT * or SELECT table-name*
to access an Information Schema view.
Accessing the Information Schema Views
All Information Schema views have the Select privilege granted to PUBLIC
WITH GRANT OPTION so that all users can query the views. Because no
other privileges are granted on the Information Schema views, they cannot be
updated.

You can query the Information Schema views as you would query any other
table or view in the database.
Structure of the Information Schema Views
The following Information Schema views are described in this section:
v tables
v columns
v sql_languages
v server_info

In order to accept long identifier names, most of the columns in the views are
defined as VARCHAR data types with large maximum sizes.

The tables Information Schema View

The tables Information Schema view contains one row for each table to which
you have access. It contains the following columns.

Column Data Type Explanation

table_schema VARCHAR(32) Name of owner of table
table_name VARCHAR(128) Name of table or view
table_type VARCHAR(128) BASE TABLE for table or VIEW for view
remarks VARCHAR(255) Reserved for future use

The visible rows in the tables view depend on your privileges. For example, if
you have one or more privileges on a table (such as Insert, Delete, Select,
References, Alter, Index, or Update on one or more columns), or if privileges
are granted to PUBLIC, you see the row that describes that table.

The columns Information Schema View

The columns Information Schema view contains one row for each accessible
column. It contains the following columns.

1-64 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Column Data Type Explanation
table_schema VARCHAR(128) Name of owner of table
table_name VARCHAR(128) Name of table or view
column_name VARCHAR(128) Name of the column in the table or view
ordinal_position INTEGER Position of the column within its table

The ordinal_position value is a

sequential number that starts at 1 for the
first column. This is an Informix
extension to XPG4.
data_type VARCHAR(254) Name of the data type of the column,
such as CHARACTER or DECIMAL
char_max_length INTEGER Maximum length (in bytes) for character
data types; NULL otherwise
numeric_precision INTEGER Uses one of the following values:
v Total number of digits for exact
numeric data types (DECIMAL,
INTEGER, MONEY, SMALLINT)
v Number of digits of mantissa precision
(machine-dependent) for approximate
data types (FLOAT, SMALLFLOAT)
v NULL for all other data types.
numeric_prec_radix INTEGER Uses one of the following values:
v 2 = Approximate data types (FLOAT
and SMALLFLOAT)
v 10 = Exact numeric data types
(DECIMAL, INTEGER, MONEY, and
SMALLINT)
v NULL for all other data types
numeric_scale INTEGER Number of significant digits to the right
of the decimal point for DECIMAL and
MONEY data types

0 for INTEGER and SMALLINT types

NULL for all other data types
datetime_precision INTEGER Number of digits in the fractional part of
the seconds for DATE and DATETIME
columns; NULL otherwise

This column is an Informix extension to

XPG4.
is_nullable VARCHAR(3) Indicates whether a column allows NULL
values; either YES or NO

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-65

 Column Data Type Explanation
remarks VARCHAR(254) Reserved for future use

The sql_languages Information Schema View

The sql_languages Information Schema view contains a row for each instance
of conformance to standards that the current database server supports. The
sql_languages view contains the following columns.

Column Data Type Explanation

source VARCHAR(254) Organization defining this SQL version
source_year VARCHAR(254) Year the source document was approved
conformance VARCHAR(254) Standard to which the server conforms
integrity VARCHAR(254) Indication of whether this is an integrity
enhancement feature; either YES or NO
implementation VARCHAR(254) Identification of the SQL product of the
vendor
binding_style VARCHAR(254) Direct, module, or other binding style
programming_lang VARCHAR(254) Host language for which binding style is
adapted

The sql_languages view is completely visible to all users.

The server_info Information Schema View

The server_info Information Schema view describes the database server to
which the application is currently connected. It contains two columns.

Column Data Type Explanation

server_attribute VARCHAR(254) An attribute of the database server
attribute_value VARCHAR(254) Value of the server_attribute as it applies to
the current database server

Each row in this view provides information about one attribute.

X/Open-compliant databases must provide applications with certain required
information about the database server.

1-66 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

The server_info view includes the following server_attribute information.

server_attribute Explanation
identifier_length Maximum number of bytes for a user-defined identifier
row_length Maximum number of bytes in a row
userid_length Maximum number of bytes in a user name
txn_isolation Initial transaction isolation level for the database server:

Read Uncommitted( = Default isolation level for databases with no

transaction logging; also called Dirty Read)

Read Committed( = Default isolation level for databases that are

not ANSI-compliant but that support explicit transaction
logging)

Serializable( = Default isolation level for ANSI-compliant

databases; also called Repeatable Read)
collation_seq Assumed ordering of the character set for the database server
The following values are possible:
ISO 8859-1EBCDIC

The default Informix representation shows ISO 8859-1.

The server_info view is completely visible to all users.

Chapter 1. System Catalog Tables 1-67

1-68 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference
Chapter 2. Data Types
Summary of Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Description of Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
BIGINT (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
BLOB (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
BOOLEAN (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
BYTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
CHAR(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
CHARACTER(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
CHARACTER VARYING(m,r) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
CLOB (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
DATETIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
DEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
DECIMAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Distinct (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
DOUBLE PRECISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
FLOAT(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
INT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
INT8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
INTEGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
INTERVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
LIST(e) (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
LVARCHAR(m) (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
MONEY(p,s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
MULTISET(e) (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25
NCHAR(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
NUMERIC(p,s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
NVARCHAR(m,r) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
Opaque (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
REAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27
ROW, Named (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27
ROW, Unnamed (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28
SERIAL(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30
SERIAL8(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31
SET(e) (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32
SMALLFLOAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33
SMALLINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34
TEXT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34
VARCHAR(m,r) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-36
Built-In Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38
Large-Object Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38
Simple Large Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-39
Smart Large Objects (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-39
Time Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-40

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 2-1

Extended Data Types (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
Complex Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
Collection Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-47
ROW Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-48
Distinct Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49
Opaque Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49
Data Type Casting and Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
Using Built-in Casts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
Converting from Number to Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-51
Converting Between Number and Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-52
Converting Between INTEGER and DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-52
Converting Between DATE and DATETIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-53
Using User-Defined Casts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-53
Implicit Casts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-53
Explicit Casts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-53
Determining Which Cast to Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-54
Casts for Distinct Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-54
What Extended Data Types Can Be Cast? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-56
Operator Precedence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-56

In This Chapter
Every column in a table in a database is assigned a data type. The data type
precisely defines the kinds of values that you can store in that column.

This chapter describes built-in and extended data types, casting between two
data types, and operator precedence.

Summary of Data Types

Figure 2-1 shows the logical categories of data types that Informix database
servers support. Shaded categories are for Dynamic Server only.

Data types

Built-in data types Extended data types

IDS

Numeric Large-object

Character Time Complex data types User-defined data types

Collection Row Opaque Distinct

Figure 2-1. Overview of Supported Data Types

2-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

This diagram is simplified; some built-in types are implemented as opaque
types, and are only supported on Dynamic Server. That is, opaque and built-in
are not disjunct categories, though most built-in data types are not opaque.

Built-in data types (which are system-defined) and extended data types (which
you can define) share the following characteristics. You can:
v Use them to create columns within database tables.
v Declare them as arguments and as returned types of routines.
v Use them as base types from which to create DISTINCT data types.
v Cast them to other data types.
v Declare and access host variables of these types in SPL and ESQL/C.

For exceptions, see the description of each data type. For an overview, see
“Built-In Data Types” on page 2-38 and “Extended Data Types (IDS)” on page
2-46.

You assign data types to columns with the CREATE TABLE statement and
change them with the ALTER TABLE statement. When you change an existing
column data type, all data is converted to the new data type, if possible.

For information on the ALTER TABLE and CREATE TABLE statements, on

SQL statements that create specific data types, that create and drop casts, and
on other data type topics, refer to the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

For information about how to create and use complex data types of Dynamic
Server, see the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide. For
information about how to create user-defined data types, see IBM Informix:
User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide.

All Informix database servers support the data types that Table 2-1 lists. This
chapter describes each of these built-in data types.
Table 2-1. Data Types That All Informix Database Servers Support
Data Type Explanation Page
BIGINT Is a synonym (in XPS only) for INT8 2-19
31
BYTE Stores any kind of binary data, up to 2 bytes in length 2-7
CHAR(n) Stores character strings; collation is in code-set order 2-8
CHARACTER(n) Is a synonym for CHAR 2-9
CHARACTER Stores character strings of varying length 2-9
VARYING(m,r) (ANSI compliant); collation is in code-set order
DATE Stores calendar dates 2-11
DATETIME Stores calendar date combined with time of day 2-11

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-3

 Table 2-1. Data Types That All Informix Database Servers Support (continued)
Data Type Explanation Page
DEC Is a synonym for DECIMAL 2-15
DECIMAL(p) Stores floating-point numbers with definable precision; 2-15
if database is ANSI-compliant, the scale is zero.
DECIMAL(p, s) Stores fixed-point numbers of defined scale and 2-16
precision
DOUBLE Synonym for FLOAT 2-18
PRECISION
FLOAT(n) Stores double-precision floating-point numbers 2-18
corresponding to the double data type in C
INT Is a synonym for INTEGER 2-19
INT8 Stores 8-byte integer values in range -(263 -1) to 263 -1 2-19
INTEGER Stores whole numbers in a range from -2,147,483,647 to 2-19
+2,147,483,647
INTERVAL Stores a span of time (or level of effort) in units of years 2-19
(Year|Month) and months.
INTERVAL Stores a span of time in a contiguous set of units of 2-19
(Day|Fraction) days, hours, minutes, seconds, and fractions of a second.
MONEY(p,s) Stores currency amounts 2-24
NCHAR(n) Same as CHAR, but can support localized collation 2-26
NUMERIC(p,s) Synonym for DECIMAL(p,s) 2-26
NVARCHAR(m,r) Same as VARCHAR, but can support localized collation 2-26
REAL Is a synonym for SMALLFLOAT 2-27
SERIAL Stores sequential integers ( > 0) in positive range of 2-30
INT
SERIAL8 Stores sequential integers ( > 0) in positive range of 2-31
INT8
SMALLFLOAT Stores single-precision floating-point numbers 2-33
corresponding to the float data type of the C language
SMALLINT Stores whole numbers from -32,767 to +32,767 2-34
31
TEXT Stores any kind of text data, up to 2 bytes in length 2-34
VARCHAR(m,r) Stores character strings of varying length (up to 255 2-36
bytes); collation is in code-set order.

For the character data types (CHAR, CHAR VARYING, LVARCHAR, NCHAR,
NVARCHAR, and VARCHAR), a data string can include letters, digits,
punctuation, whitespace, diacritical marks, ligatures, and other printable

2-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

symbols from the code set of the database locale. (For some East Asian locales,
multibyte characters are supported within data strings.)

Dynamic Server also supports additional data types that Table 2-2 lists.
Table 2-2. Additional Data Types That Dynamic Server Supports
Data Type Explanation Page
BLOB Stores binary data in random-access chunks 2-6
BOOLEAN Stores Boolean values true and false 2-7
CLOB Stores text data in random-access chunks 2-10
Distinct Stores data in a user-defined type that has the same 2-17
format as a source type on which it is based, but its casts
and functions can differ from those on the source type
LIST(e) Stores a sequentially ordered collection of elements, all of 2-22
the same data type, e; allows duplicate values
LVARCHAR(m) Stores variable-length strings of up to 32,739 bytes 2-23
MULTISET(e) Stores a non-ordered collection of values, with elements 2-25
all of the same data type, e; allows duplicate values.
Opaque Stores a user-defined data type whose internal structure is 2-26
inaccessible to the database server
ROW, Named Stores a named ROW type 2-27
ROW, Unnamed Stores an unnamed ROW type 2-28
SET(e) Stores a non-ordered collection of elements, all of the 2-32
same data type, e; does not allow duplicate values

Distributed DML operations and function calls that access databases of other
database servers cannot return these extended data types of Dynamic Server,
which are individually described in this chapter. (Cross-database operations
on other databases of the same Dynamic Server instance, however, can access
BOOLEAN, BLOB, CLOB, and LVARCHAR data types, which are
implemented as built-in opaque types. Such operations can also access
DISTINCT types whose base types are built-in types, and user-defined types
(UDTs), if the UDTs and DISTINCT types are explicitly cast to built-in types,
and if all of the UDTs, casts, and DISTINCT types are defined in all the
participating databases.)

For information about Informix internal data types that SQL statements
support (such as IMPEX, IMPEXBIN, and SENDRECV), see IBM Informix:
User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-5

Description of Data Types
This section describes the data types that Informix database servers support.
BIGINT (XPS)
The BIGINT data type of Extended Parallel Server is a synonym for INT8.
(See the description of INT8 on page 2-19.)
BLOB (IDS)
The BLOB data type stores any kind of binary data in random-access chunks,
called sbspaces. Binary data typically consists of saved spreadsheets,
program-load modules, digitized voice patterns, and so on. The database
server performs no interpretation of the contents of a BLOB column. A BLOB
column can be up to 4 terabytes (4*240 bytes) in length, though your system
resources might impose a lower practical limit.

The term smart large object refers to BLOB and CLOB data types. Use CLOB
data types (see page 2-10) for random access to text data. For general
information about BLOB and CLOB data types, see “Smart Large Objects
(IDS)” on page 2-39.

You can use these SQL functions to perform operations on a BLOB column:
v FILETOBLOB copies a file into a BLOB column.
v LOTOFILE copies a BLOB (or CLOB) value into an operating-system file.
v LOCOPY copies an existing smart large object to a new smart large object.

For more information on these SQL functions, see the IBM Informix: Guide to
SQL Syntax.

Within SQL, you are limited to the equality ( = ) comparison operation and
the encryption and decryption functions for BLOB data. (The encryption and
decryption functions are described in the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.)
To perform additional operations, you must use one of the application
programming interfaces (APIs) from within your client application.

You can insert data into BLOB columns in the following ways:
v With the dbload or onload utilities
v With the LOAD statement (DB–Access)
v With the FILETOBLOB function
v From BLOB (ifx_lo_t) host variables (IBM Informix ESQL/C)

If you select a BLOB column using DB–Access, only the string <SBlob value>
is returned; no actual value is displayed.

2-6 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

BOOLEAN (IDS)
The BOOLEAN data type stores TRUE or FALSE data values as a single byte.
This table shows internal and literal representations of the BOOLEAN data
type.

Logical Value Internal Representation Literal Representation

TRUE \0 ’t’
FALSE \1 ’f’
NULL Internal Use Only NULL

You can compare two BOOLEAN values to test for equality or inequality. You
can also compare a BOOLEAN value to the Boolean literals ’t’ and ’f’.
BOOLEAN values are case insensitive; ’t’ is equivalent to ’T’ and ’f’ to ’F’.

You can use a BOOLEAN column to store what a Boolean expression returns.
In the following example, the value of boolean_column is ’t’ if column1 is
less than column2, ’f’ if column1 is greater than or equal to column2, and
NULL if the value of either column1 or column2 is unknown:
UPDATE my_table SET boolean_column = lessthan(column1, column2)

BYTE
The BYTE data type stores any kind of binary data in an undifferentiated byte
stream. Binary data typically consists of digitized information, such as
spreadsheets, program load modules, digitized voice patterns, and so on. The
term simple large object refers to BYTE and text data types. No more than 195
columns of the same table can be declared as BYTE and text data types.

The BYTE data type has no maximum size. A BYTE column has a theoretical
limit of 231 bytes and a practical limit that your disk capacity determines.

You can store, retrieve, update, or delete the contents of a BYTE column. You
cannot, however, use BYTE operands in arithmetic or string operations, nor
assign literals to BYTE columns with the SET clause of the UPDATE
statement. You also cannot use BYTE items in any of the following ways:
v With aggregate functions
v With the IN clause
v With the MATCHES or LIKE clauses
v With the GROUP BY clause
v With the ORDER BY clause

BYTE operands are valid in Boolean expressions only when you are testing for
NULL values with the IS NULL or IS NOT NULL operators.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-7

 You can insert data into BYTE columns in the following ways:
v With the dbload or onload utilities
v With the LOAD statement (DB–Access)
v From BYTE host variables (IBM Informix ESQL/C )

You cannot use a quoted text string, number, or any other actual value to
insert or update BYTE columns.

When you select a BYTE column, you can choose to receive all or part of it.
To retrieve it all, use the regular syntax for selecting a column. You can also
select any part of a BYTE column by using subscripts, as the next example,
which reads the first 75 bytes of the cat_picture column associated with the
catalog number 10001:
SELECT cat_picture [1,75] FROM catalog WHERE catalog_num = 10001

A built-in cast converts BYTE values to BLOB values. For more information,
see the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.

If you select a BYTE column using the DB–Access Interactive Schema Editor,
only the string ’’<BYTE value>’’ is returned; no data value is displayed.

Important: If you try to return a BYTE column from a subquery, an error

results, even if the column is not used in a Boolean expression nor
with an aggregate.
CHAR(n)
The CHAR data type stores any string of letters, numbers, and symbols. It can
store single-byte and multibyte characters, based on the database locale. (For
more information on East Asian locales that support multibyte code sets, see
“Multibyte Characters with VARCHAR” on page 2-37.)

A CHAR(n) column has a length of n bytes, where 1 ≤ n ≤ 32,767. If you do

not specify n, CHAR(1) is the default length. Character columns typically
store alphanumeric strings, such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and so
on. When a value is retrieved or stored as CHAR(n), exactly n bytes of data
are transferred. If the string is shorter than n bytes, the string is extended with
blank spaces up to the declared length. If the data value is longer than n
bytes, a data string of length n that has been truncated from the right is
inserted or retrieved, without the database server raising an exception.

This does not create partial characters in multibyte locales. In right-to-left

locales, such as Arabic, Hebrew, or Farsi, the truncation is from the left.

2-8 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Treating CHAR Values as Numeric Values
If you plan to perform calculations on numbers stored in a column, you
should assign a number data type to that column. Although you can store
numbers in CHAR columns, you might not be able to use them in some
arithmetic operations. For example, if you insert a sum into a CHAR column,
you might experience overflow problems if the CHAR column is too small to
hold the value. In this case, the insert fails. Numbers that have leading zeros
(such as some zip codes) have the zeros stripped if they are stored as number
types INTEGER or SMALLINT. Instead, store these numbers in CHAR
columns.

Sorting and Relational Comparisons

In general, the collating order for sorting CHAR values is the order of
characters in the code set. (An exception is the MATCHES operator with
ranges; see “Collating VARCHAR Values” on page 2-37.) For more
information about collation order, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

For multibyte locales, the database supports any multibyte characters in the
code set. When storing multibyte characters in a CHAR data type, make sure
to calculate the number of bytes needed. For more information on multibyte
characters and locales, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

CHAR values are compared to other CHAR values by padding the shorter
value on the right with blank spaces until the values have equal length, and
then comparing the two values, using the code-set order for collation.

Nonprintable Characters with CHAR

A CHAR value can include tab, newline, whitespace, and nonprintable
characters. You must, however, use an application to insert nonprintable
characters into host variables and the host variables into your database. After
passing nonprintable characters to the database server, you can store or
retrieve them. After you select nonprintable characters, fetch them into host
variables and display them with your own display mechanism.

If you try to display nonprintable characters with DB–Access, your screen

returns inconsistent results. (Which characters are nonprintable is
locale-dependent. For more information, see the discussion of code-set
conversion between the client and the database server in the IBM Informix:
GLS User's Guide.)
CHARACTER(n)
The CHARACTER data type is a synonym for CHAR.
CHARACTER VARYING(m,r)
The CHARACTER VARYING data type stores a string of letters, digits, and
symbols of varying length, where m is the maximum size of the column (in

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-9

 bytes) and r is the minimum number of bytes reserved for that column. The
CHARACTER VARYING data type complies with ANSI/ISO standard for
SQL; the non-ANSI VARCHAR data type supports the same functionality. For
more information, see the description of the VARCHAR type in
“VARCHAR(m,r)” on page 2-36.
CLOB (IDS)
The CLOB data type stores any kind of text data in random-access chunks,
called sbspaces. Text data can include text-formatting information, as long as
this information is also textual, such as PostScript, Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML), Standard Graphic Markup Language (SGML), or
Extensible Markup Language (XML) data.

The term smart large object refers to CLOB and BLOB data types. The CLOB
data type supports special operations for character strings that are
inappropriate for BLOB values. A CLOB value can be up to 4 terabytes (4*240
bytes) in length.

Use the BLOB data type (see “BLOB (IDS)” on page 2-6) for random access to
binary data. For general information about the CLOB and BLOB data types,
see “Smart Large Objects (IDS)” on page 2-39.

The following SQL functions can perform operations on a CLOB column:

v FILETOCLOB copies a file into a CLOB column.
v LOTOFILE copies a CLOB (or BLOB) value into a file.
v LOCOPY copies a CLOB (or BLOB) value to a new smart large object.
v ENCRYPT_DES or ENCRYPT_TDES creates an encrypted BLOB value
from a plain-text CLOB argument.
v DECRYPT_BINAR or DECRYPT_CHAR returns an unencrypted BLOB
value from an encrypted BLOB argument (that ENCRYPT_DES or
ENCRYPT_TDES created from a plain-text CLOB value).

For more information on these SQL functions, see the IBM Informix: Guide to
SQL Syntax.

No casts exist for CLOB data. Therefore, the database server cannot convert
data of the CLOB type to any other data type, except by using these
encryption and decryption functions to return a BLOB. Within SQL, you are
limited to the equality ( = ) comparison operation for CLOB data. To perform
additional operations, you must use one of the application programming
interfaces from within your client application.

Multibyte Characters with CLOB

You can insert data into CLOB columns in the following ways:
v With the dbload or onload utilities

2-10 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 v With the LOAD statement (DB–Access)
v From CLOB (ifx_lo_t) host variables (ESQL/C).

For examples of CLOB types, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Tutorial and
the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.

With GLS, the following rules apply:

v Multibyte CLOB characters must be defined in the database locale.
v The CLOB data type is collated in code-set order.
v The database server handles code-set conversions for CLOB data.

For more information on database locales, collation order, and code-set

conversion, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.
DATE
The DATE data type stores the calendar date. DATE data types require four
bytes. A calendar date is stored internally as an integer value equal to the
number of days since December 31, 1899.

Because DATE values are stored as integers, you can use them in arithmetic
expressions. For example, you can subtract a DATE value from another DATE
value. The result, a positive or negative INTEGER value, indicates the number
of days that elapsed between the two dates. (You can use a UNITS DAY
expression to convert the result to an INTERVAL DAY TO DAY data type.)

The following example shows the default display format of a DATE column:
mm/dd/yyyy

In this example, mm is the month (1-12), dd is the day of the month (1-31), and
yyyy is the year (0001-9999). You can specify a different order of time units
and a different time-unit separator than / (or no separator) by setting the
DBDATE environment variable. For more information, see “DBDATE” on
page 3-25.

In non-default locales, you can display dates in culture-specific formats. The

locale and the GL_DATE and DBDATE environment variables (as described
in the next chapter) affect the display formatting of DATE values. They do
not, however, affect the internal storage format for DATE columns in the
database. For more information, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.
DATETIME
The DATETIME data type stores an instant in time expressed as a calendar
date and time of day. You choose how precisely a DATETIME value is stored;
its precision can range from a year to a fraction of a second.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-11

 DATETIME stores a data value as a contiguous series of fields that represents
each time unit (year, month, day, and so forth) in the data type declaration.

Field qualifiers to specify a DATETIME data type have this format:

DATETIME largest_qualifier TO smallest_qualifier

This resembles an INTERVAL field qualifier (see “INTERVAL” on page 2-19),

but DATETIME represents a point in time, rather than (like INTERVAL) a
span of time. These differences exist between DATETIME and INTERVAL
qualifiers:
v The DATETIME keyword replaces the INTERVAL keyword.
v DATETIME field qualifiers cannot specify a non-default precision for the
largest_qualifier time unit.
v A DATETIME value that includes YEAR and/or MONTH time units can
also include smaller time units, whereas an INTERVAL data type that stores
days (or smaller time units) cannot store months or years.

The largest_qualifier and smallest_qualifier of a DATETIME data type can be any

of the fields that Table 2-3 lists, provided that smallest_qualifier does not
specify a larger time unit than largest_qualifier. (The largest and smallest time
units can be the same; for example, DATETIME YEAR TO YEAR.)
Table 2-3. DATETIME Field Qualifiers
Qualifier Field Valid Entries
YEAR A year numbered from 1 to 9,999 (A.D.)
MONTH A month numbered from 1 to 12
DAY A day numbered from 1 to 31, as appropriate to the month
HOUR An hour numbered from 0 (midnight) to 23
MINUTE A minute numbered from 0 to 59
SECOND A second numbered from 0 to 59
FRACTION A decimal fraction-of-a-second with up to 5 digits of scale. The
default scale is 3 digits (a thousandth of a second). For
smallest_qualifier to specify another scale, write FRACTION(n),
where n is the desired number of digits from 1 to 5.

The declaration of a DATETIME column need not include the full YEAR to
FRACTION range of time units. It can include any contiguous subset of these
time units, or even only a single time unit.

For example, you can enter a MONTH TO HOUR value in a column declared
as YEAR TO MINUTE, as long as each entered value contains information for

2-12 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

a contiguous series of time units. You cannot, however, enter a value for only
the MONTH and HOUR; the entry must also include a value for DAY.

If you use the DB–Access TABLE menu, and you do not specify the
DATETIME qualifiers, a default DATETIME qualifier, YEAR TO YEAR, is
assigned.

A valid DATETIME literal must include the DATETIME keyword, the values
to be entered, and the field qualifiers. You must include these qualifiers
because, as noted earlier, the value that you enter can contain fewer fields
than were declared for that column. Acceptable qualifiers for the first and last
fields are identical to the list of valid DATETIME fields that Table 2-3 on page
2-12 lists.

Write values for the field qualifiers as integers and separate them with
delimiters. Table 2-4 lists the delimiters that are used with DATETIME values
in the default U.S. English locale. (These are a superset of the delimiters that
are used in INTERVAL values; see Table 2-6 on page 2-21.)
Table 2-4. Delimiters Used with DATETIME
Delimiter Placement in DATETIME Literal
Hyphen ( - ) Between the YEAR, MONTH, and DAY time-unit values
Blank space ( ) Between the DAY and HOUR time-unit values
Colon ( : ) Between the HOUR, MINUTE, and SECOND time-unit values
Decimal point ( . ) Between the SECOND and FRACTION time-unit values

Figure 2-2 shows a DATETIME YEAR TO FRACTION(3) value with

delimiters.

2003-09-23 12:42:06.001

year Day Minute Fraction

Month Hour Second

Figure 2-2. Example DATETIME Value with Delimiters

When you enter a value with fewer time-unit fields than in the column, the
value that you enter is expanded automatically to fill all the declared
time-unit fields. If you leave out any more significant fields, that is, time units
larger than any that you include, those fields are filled automatically with the

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-13

 current values for those time units from the system clock calendar. If you
leave out any less-significant fields, those fields are filled with zeros (or with
1 for MONTH and DAY) in your entry.

You can also enter DATETIME values as character strings. The character string
must include information for each field defined in the DATETIME column.
The INSERT statement in the following example shows a DATETIME value
entered as a character string:
INSERT INTO cust_calls (customer_num, call_dtime, user_id,
call_code, call_descr)
VALUES (101, ’2001-01-14 08:45’, ’maryj’, ’D’,
’Order late - placed 6/1/00’)

If call_dtime is declared as DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE, the character

string must include values for the year, month, day, hour, and minute fields.

If the character string does not contain information for all the declared fields
(or if it adds additional fields), then the database server returns an error.

All fields of a DATETIME column are two-digit numbers except for the year
and fraction fields. The year field is stored as four digits. When you enter a
two-digit value in the year field, how the abbreviated year is expanded to
four digits depends on the setting of the DBCENTURY environment variable.

For example, if you enter 02 as the year value, whether the year is interpreted
as 1902, 2002, or 2102 depends on the setting of DBCENTURY and on the
value of the system clock calendar at execution time. If you do not set
DBCENTURY, then the leading digits of the current year are appended by
default. For information about setting DBCENTURY, see “DBCENTURY” on
page 3-22.

The fraction field requires n digits where 1 ≤ n ≤ 5, rounded up to an even

number. You can use the following formula (rounded up to a whole number
of bytes) to calculate the number of bytes that a DATETIME value requires:
(total number of digits for all fields) /2 + 1

For example, a YEAR TO DAY qualifier requires a total of eight digits (four
for year, two for month, and two for day). According to the formula, this data
value requires 5, or (8/2) + 1, bytes of storage.

For information on how to use DATETIME values in arithmetic and relational

expressions, see “Manipulating DATE with DATETIME and INTERVAL
Values” on page 2-43. For more information on the DATETIME data type, see
the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

2-14 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 If you specify a locale other than U.S. English, the locale defines the
culture-specific display formats for DATETIME values. To change the default
display format, change the setting of the GL_DATETIME environment
variable.

With an ESQL API, the DBTIME environment variable also affects DATETIME
formatting. Non-default locales and settings of the GL_DATE and DBDATE
environment variables also affect the display of datetime data. They do not,
however, affect the internal storage format of a DATETIME column.

The USEOSTIME configuration parameter can affect the subsecond granularity

when the database server obtains the current time from the operating system
in SQL statements; for details, see the IBM Informix: Administrator's Reference.

For more information on DBTIME, see “DBTIME” on page 3-39. For more
information on DBCENTURY, see “DBCENTURY” on page 3-22. For more
information on locales and GLS environment variables that can specify
end-user DATETIME formats, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.
DEC
The DEC data type is a synonym for DECIMAL.
DECIMAL
The DECIMAL data type can take two forms: DECIMAL(p) floating point and
DECIMAL(p,s) fixed point. In an ANSI-compliant database, however, all
DECIMAL numbers are fixed point. By default, literal numbers that include a
decimal ( . ) point are interpreted by the database server as DECIMAL values.

DECIMAL(p) Floating Point

The DECIMAL data type stores decimal floating-point numbers up to a
maximum of 32 significant digits, where p is the total number of significant
digits (the precision).

Specifying precision is optional. If you specify no precision (p), DECIMAL is

treated as DECIMAL(16), a floating-point decimal with a precision of 16
places. DECIMAL(p) has an absolute exponent range between 10-130 and 10124.

If you declare a DECIMAL(p) column in an ANSI-compliant database, the

scale defaults to DECIMAL(p, 0), meaning that only integer values can be
stored in this data type.

In a database that is not ANSI-compliant, a DECIMAL(p) is a is a

floating-point data type of a scale large enough to store the exponential
notation for a value.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-15

 For example, the following calculation shows how many bytes of storage a
DECIMAL(5) column requires in the default locale (where the decimal point
occupies a single byte):

1 byte for the sign of the data value

1 byte for the first digit
1 byte for the decimal point
4 bytes for the rest of the digits in the declared precision of (5) - 1
1 byte for the ’e’ symbol
1 byte for the sign of the exponent
3 bytes for the exponent
------------------------------------
12 bytes (Total)

Thus, ″12345″ in a DECIMAL(5) column is displayed as ″12345.00000″ (that is,

with a scale of 6) in a database that is not ANSI-compliant.

DECIMAL (p,s) Fixed Point

In fixed-point numbers, DECIMAL(p,s), the decimal point is fixed at a specific
place, regardless of the value of the number. When you specify a column of
this type, you declare its precision (p) as the total number of digits that it can
store, from 1 to 32. You declare its scale (s) as the total number of digits in the
fractional part (that is, to the right of the decimal point).

All numbers with an absolute value less than 0.5 * 10-s have the value zero.
The largest absolute value of a DECIMAL(p,s) data type that you can store
without an overflow error is 10p-s -10-s. A DECIMAL column typically stores
numbers with fractional parts that must be stored and displayed exactly (for
example, rates or percentages). In an ANSI-compliant database, all DECIMAL
numbers must have absolute values in the range 10-32 to 10+31.

DECIMAL Storage
The database server uses one byte of disk storage to store two digits of a
decimal number, plus an additional byte to store the exponent and sign, with
the first byte representing a sign bit and a 7-bit exponent in excess-65 format.
The rest of the bytes express the mantissa as base-100 digits. The significant
digits to the left of the decimal and the significant digits to the right of the
decimal are stored in separate groups of bytes. At the maximum precision
specification, DECIMAL(32,s) data types can store s-1 decimal digits to the
right of the decimal point, if s is an odd number.

How the database server stores decimal numbers is illustrated in the

following example. If you specify DECIMAL(6,3), the data type consists of
three significant digits in the integral part and three significant digits in the
fractional part (for instance, 123.456). The three digits to the left of the decimal

2-16 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 are stored on 2 bytes (where one of the bytes only holds a single digit) and
the three digits to the right of the decimal are stored on another 2 bytes, as
Figure 2-3 illustrates.

(The exponent byte is not shown.) With the additional byte required for the
exponent and sign, DECIMAL(6,3) requires a total of 5 bytes of storage.

Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3 Byte 4

-1 23 45 6-

Significant digits to the Significant digits to the

left of decimal right of decimal

Figure 2-3. Schematic That Illustrates the Storage of Digits in a Decimal (p,s) Value

You can use the following formulas (rounded down to a whole number of
bytes) to calculate the byte storage (N) for a DECIMAL(p,s) data type (where
N includes the byte that is required to store the exponent and the sign):
If the scale is odd: N = (precision + 4) / 2
If the scale is even: N = (precision + 3) / 2

For example, the data type DECIMAL(5,3) requires 4 bytes of storage (9/2
rounded down equals 4).

There is one caveat to these formulas. The maximum number of bytes the
database server uses to store a decimal value is 17. One byte is used to store
the exponent and sign, leaving 16 bytes to store up to 32 digits of precision. If
you specify a precision of 32 and an odd scale, however, you lose 1 digit of
precision. Consider, for example, the data type DECIMAL(32,31). This decimal
is defined as 1 digit to the left of the decimal and 31 digits to the right. The 1
digit to the left of the decimal requires 1 byte of storage. This leaves only 15
bytes of storage for the digits to the right of the decimal. The 15 bytes can
accommodate only 30 digits, so 1 digit of precision is lost.
Distinct (IDS)
A distinct type is a data type that is derived from one of the following source
types (called the base type):
v A built-in type
v An existing distinct type
v An existing named ROW type
v An existing opaque type

A distinct type inherits from its source type the length and alignment on the
disk. A distinct type thus makes efficient use of the preexisting functionality
of the database server.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-17

 When you create a distinct data type, the database server automatically
creates two explicit casts: one cast from the distinct type to its source type and
one cast from the source type to the distinct type. A distinct type based on a
built-in source type does not inherit the built-in casts that are provided for the
built-in type. A distinct type does inherit, however, any user-defined casts that
have been defined on the source type.

A distinct type cannot be compared directly to its source type. To compare the
two types, you must first explicitly cast one type to the other.

You must define a distinct type in the database. Definitions of distinct types
are stored in the sysxtdtypes system catalog table. The following SQL
statements maintain the definitions of distinct types in the database:
v The CREATE DISTINCT TYPE statement adds a distinct type to the
database.
v The DROP TYPE statement removes a previously defined distinct type from
the database.

For more information about the SQL statements mentioned above, see the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax. For information about casting distinct data
types, see “Casts for Distinct Types” on page 2-54. For examples that show
how to create and register cast functions for a distinct type, see the
IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.
DOUBLE PRECISION
The DOUBLE PRECISION keywords are a synonym for the FLOAT keyword.
FLOAT(n)
The FLOAT data type stores double-precision floating-point numbers with up
to 17 significant digits. FLOAT corresponds to IEEE 4-byte floating-point, and
to the double data type in C. The range of values for the FLOAT data type is
the same as the range of the C double data type on your computer.

You can use n to specify the precision of a FLOAT data type, but SQL ignores
the precision. The value n must be a whole number between 1 and 14.

A column with the FLOAT data type typically stores scientific numbers that
can be calculated only approximately. Because floating-point numbers retain
only their most significant digits, the number that you enter in this type of
column and the number the database server displays can differ slightly.

The difference between the two values depends on how your computer stores
floating-point numbers internally. For example, you might enter a value of
1.1000001 into a FLOAT field and, after processing the SQL statement, the
database server might display this value as 1.1. This situation occurs when a

2-18 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 value has more digits than the floating-point number can store. In this case,
the value is stored in its approximate form with the least significant digits
treated as zeros.

FLOAT data types usually require 8 bytes of storage per value. Conversion of
a FLOAT value to a DECIMAL value results in 17 digits of precision.
INT
The INT data type is a synonym for INTEGER.
INT8
The INT8 data type stores whole numbers that can range in value from
–9,223,372,036,854,775,807 to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 [or -(263-1) to 263-1], for
18 or 19 digits of precision. The number –9,223,372,036,854,775,808 is a
reserved value that cannot be used. The INT8 data type is typically used to
store large counts, quantities, and so on.

Dynamic Server stores INT8 data in internal format that can require up to 10
bytes of storage. Extended Parallel Server stores INT8 values as 8 bytes.

Arithmetic operations and sort comparisons are performed more efficiently on

integer data than on floating-point or fixed-point decimal data, but INT8
cannot store data with absolute values beyond | 263-1 |. If a value exceeds
the numeric range of INT8, the database server does not store the value.
INTEGER
The INTEGER data type stores whole numbers that range from -2,147,483,647
to 2,147,483,647, for 9 or 10 digits of precision. The number 2,147,483,648 is a
reserved value and cannot be used. The INTEGER value is stored as a signed
binary integer and is typically used to store counts, quantities, and so on.

Arithmetic operations and sort comparisons are performed more efficiently on

integer data than on float or decimal data. INTEGER columns, however,
cannot store absolute values beyond (231-1). If a data value lies outside the
numeric range of INTEGER, the database server does not store the value.

INTEGER data types require 4 bytes of storage per value.

INTERVAL
The INTERVAL data type stores a value that represents a span of time.
INTERVAL types are divided into two classes: year-month intervals and
day-time intervals. A year-month interval can represent a span of years and
months, and a day-time interval can represent a span of days, hours, minutes,
seconds, and fractions of a second.

An INTERVAL value is always composed of one value or a series of values

that represents time units. Within a data-definition statement such as CREATE

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-19

 TABLE or ALTER TABLE that defines the precision of an INTERVAL data
type, the qualifiers must have the following format:
INTERVAL largest_qualifier(n) TO smallest_qualifier

Here the largest_qualifier and smallest_qualifier keywords are taken from one of
the two INTERVAL classes, as shown in Table 2-5 on page 2-20.

If SECOND (or a larger time unit) is the largest_qualifier, the declaration of an

INTERVAL data type can optionally specify n, the precision of the largest time
unit (for n ranging from 1 to 9); this is not a feature of DATETIME data types.

If smallest_qualifier is FRACTION, you can also specify a scale in the range

from 1 to 5. For FRACTION TO FRACTION qualifiers, the upper limit of n is
5, rather than 9. There are two incommensurable classes of INTERVAL data
types:
v Those with a smallest_qualifier larger than DAY
v Those with a largest_qualifier smaller than MONTH
Table 2-5. Interval Classes
Interval Class Time Units Valid Entry
YEAR-MONTH YEAR A number of years
INTERVAL
MONTH A number of months
DAY-TIME DAY A number of days
INTERVAL
HOUR A number of hours
MINUTE A number of minutes
SECOND A number of seconds
FRACTION A decimal fraction of a second, with up to 5 digits.
The default scale is 3 digits (thousandth of a
second). To specify a non-default scale, write
FRACTION(n), where 1 ≤ n ≤ 5.

As with DATETIME data types, you can define an INTERVAL to include only
the subset of time units that you need. But because the construct of “month”
(as used in calendar dates) is not a time unit that has a fixed number of days,
a single INTERVAL value cannot combine months and days; arithmetic that
involves operands of the two different INTERVAL classes is not supported.

A value entered into an INTERVAL column need not include the full range of
time units that were specified in the data-type declaration of the column. For
example, you can enter a value of HOUR TO SECOND precision into a
column defined as DAY TO SECOND. A value must always consist, however,

2-20 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

of contiguous time units. In the previous example, you cannot enter only the
HOUR and SECOND values; you must also include MINUTE values.

A valid INTERVAL literal contains the INTERVAL keyword, the values to be

entered, and the field qualifiers. (See the discussion of literal intervals in the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.) When a value contains only one field, the
largest and smallest fields are the same.

When you enter a value in an INTERVAL column, you must specify the
largest and smallest fields in the value, just as you do for DATETIME values.
In addition, you can optionally specify the precision of the first field (and the
scale of the last field if it is a FRACTION). If the largest and smallest field
qualifiers are both FRACTION, you can specify only the scale in the last field.

Acceptable qualifiers for the largest and smallest fields are identical to the list
of INTERVAL fields that Table 2-5 on page 2-20 displays.

If you use the DB–Access TABLE menu, but you specify no INTERVAL field
qualifiers, then a default INTERVAL qualifier, YEAR TO YEAR, is assigned.

The largest_qualifier in an INTERVAL value can be up to nine digits (except for

FRACTION, which cannot be more than five digits), but if the value that you
want to enter is greater than the default number of digits allowed for that
field, you must explicitly identify the number of significant digits in the value
that you enter. For example, to define an INTERVAL of DAY TO HOUR that
can store up to 999 days, you could specify it the following way:
INTERVAL DAY(3) TO HOUR

INTERVAL literals use the same delimiters as DATETIME literals (except that
MONTH and DAY time units are not valid within the same INTERVAL
value). Table 2-6 shows the INTERVAL delimiters.
Table 2-6. INTERVAL Delimiters
Delimiter Placement in an INTERVAL Literal
Hyphen Between the YEAR and MONTH portions of the value
Blank space Between the DAY and HOUR portions of the value
Colon Between the HOUR, MINUTE, and SECOND portions of the value
Decimal point Between the SECOND and FRACTION portions of the value

You can also enter INTERVAL values as character strings. The character string
must include information for the same time units that were specified in the
data-type declaration for the column. The INSERT statement in the following
example shows an INTERVAL value entered as a character string:

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-21

 INSERT INTO manufact (manu_code, manu_name, lead_time)
VALUES (’BRO’, ’Ball-Racquet Originals’, ’160’)

Because the lead_time column is defined as INTERVAL DAY(3) TO DAY, this

INTERVAL value requires only one field, the span of days required for lead
time. If the character string does not contain information for all fields (or adds
additional fields), the database server returns an error. For additional
information on entering INTERVAL values as character strings, see the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

By default, all fields of an INTERVAL column are two-digit numbers, except

for the year and fraction fields. The year field is stored as four digits. The
fraction field requires n digits where 1 ≤ n ≤ 5, rounded up to an even
number. You can use the following formula (rounded up to a whole number
of bytes) to calculate the number of bytes required for an INTERVAL value:
(total number of digits for all fields)/2 + 1

For example, INTERVAL YEAR TO MONTH requires six digits (four for year
and two for month), and requires 4, or (6/2) + 1, bytes of storage.

For information on using INTERVAL data in arithmetic and relational

operations, see “Manipulating DATE with DATETIME and INTERVAL Values”
on page 2-43. For information on using INTERVAL as a constant expression,
see the description of the INTERVAL Field Qualifier in the IBM Informix:
Guide to SQL Syntax.
LIST(e) (IDS)
The LIST data type is a collection type that stores ordered, non-unique
elements; that is, it allows duplicate element values. The elements of a LIST
have ordinal positions; that is, the list has a first element, a second element,
and so on. (For a collection type with no ordinal positions, see “MULTISET(e)
(IDS)” on page 2-25 and “SET(e) (IDS)” on page 2-32.)

No more than 97 columns of the same table can be declared as LIST data
types. (The same restriction applies to SET and MULTISET collection types.)

By default, the database server inserts LIST elements at the end of the list. To
support the ordinal position of a LIST, the INSERT statement provides the AT
clause. This clause allows you to specify the position at which you want to
insert a list-element value. For more information, see the INSERT statement in
the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

All elements in a LIST have the same element type. To specify the element
type, use the following syntax:
LIST(element_type NOT NULL)

2-22 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 The element_type of a LIST can be any of the following data types:
v A built-in type, except SERIAL, SERIAL8, BYTE, and TEXT
v A distinct type
v An unnamed or named row type
v Another collection type
v An opaque type

You must specify the NOT NULL constraint for LIST elements. No other
constraints are valid for LIST columns. For more information on the syntax of
the LIST data type, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

You can use LIST where any other data type is valid. For example:
v After the IN predicate in the WHERE clause of a SELECT statement to
search for matching LIST values
v As an argument to the CARDINALITY or mi_collection_card( ) function to
determine the number of elements in a LIST column

You cannot use LIST values as arguments to an aggregate function such as

AVG, MAX, MIN, or SUM.

Two list values are equal if they have the same elements in the same order.
The following examples both are list values but are not equal:
LIST{"blue", "green", "yellow"}
LIST{"yellow", "blue", "green"}

The above statements are not equal because the values are not in the same
order. To be equal, the second statement would have to be:
LIST{"blue", "green", "yellow"}

LVARCHAR(m) (IDS)
You can use the LVARCHAR data type to create a column for storing
variable-length character strings whose upper limit (m) can be up to 32,739
bytes. (You can use the VARCHAR data type for strings no longer than 255
bytes.)

By default, the database server interprets quoted strings as LVARCHAR types.

It also uses LVARCHAR for input and output casts for opaque data types.

The LVARCHAR data type stores opaque data types in the string (external)
format. Each opaque type has an input support function and cast, which
convert it from LVARCHAR to a form that database servers can manipulate.
Each opaque type also has an output support function and cast, which
convert it from its internal representation to LVARCHAR.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-23

 Important: When LVARCHAR is declared (with no size specification) as the
data type of a column in a database table, the default maximum
size is 2 kilobytes (2048 bytes), but you can specify an explicit
maximum length of up to 32,739 bytes. When LVARCHAR is used
in I/O operations on an opaque data type, however, the
maximum size is limited only by the operating system.

LVARCHAR is implemented as a built-in opaque UDT. Only a subset of the

string operations on CHAR and VARCHAR values are valid for LVARCHAR,
and like other opaque types, LVARCHAR columns of remote tables are not
accessible in distributed queries. For more information about LVARCHAR, see
IBM Informix: User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide.
MONEY(p,s)
The MONEY data type stores currency amounts. Like the DECIMAL(p,s) data
type, MONEY can store fixed-point numbers up to a maximum of 32
significant digits, where p is the total number of significant digits (the
precision) and s is the number of digits to the right of the decimal point (the
scale).

Unlike the DECIMAL data type, the MONEY data type is always treated as a
fixed-point decimal number. The database server defines the data type
MONEY(p) as DECIMAL(p,2). If the precision and scale are not specified, the
database server defines a MONEY column as DECIMAL(16,2).

You can use the following formula (rounded down to a whole number of
bytes) to calculate the byte storage for a MONEY data type:
If the scale is odd: N = (precision + 4) / 2
If the scale is even: N = (precision + 3) / 2

For example, a MONEY data type with a precision of 16 and a scale of 2

(MONEY(16,2)) requires 10 or (16 + 3)/2, bytes of storage.

In the default locale, client applications format values from MONEY columns
with the following currency notation:
v A currency symbol: a dollar sign ( $ ) at the front of the value
v A thousands separator: a comma ( , ) that separates every three digits in the
integer part of the value
v A decimal point: a period ( . ) between the integer and fractional parts of
the value

To change the format for MONEY values, change the DBMONEY

environment variable. For valid DBMONEY settings, see “DBMONEY” on
page 3-30.

2-24 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 The default value that the database server uses for scale is locale-dependent.
The default locale specifies a default scale of two. For non-default locales, if
the scale is omitted from the declaration, the database server creates MONEY
values with a locale-specific scale.

The currency notation that client applications use is locale-dependent. If you

specify a nondefault locale, the client uses a culture-specific format for
MONEY values that might differ from the default U.S. English format in the
leading (or trailing) currency symbol, thousands separator, and decimal
separator, depending on what the locale files specify. For more information on
locale dependency, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.
MULTISET(e) (IDS)
The MULTISET data type is a collection type that stores a non-ordered set that
can include duplicate element values. The elements in a MULTISET have no
ordinal position. That is, there is no concept of a first, second, or third element
in a MULTISET. (For a collection type with ordinal positions for elements, see
the LIST data type on page 2-22.)

All elements in a MULTISET have the same element type. To specify the
element type, use the following syntax:
MULTISET(element_type NOT NULL)

The element_type of a collection can be any of the following types:

v Any built-in type, except SERIAL, SERIAL8, BYTE, and TEXT
v An unnamed or a named ROW type
v Another collection type or opaque type

You can use MULTISET anywhere that you use any other data type, unless
otherwise indicated. For example:
v After the IN predicate in the WHERE clause of a SELECT statement to
search for matching MULTISET values
v As an argument to the CARDINALITY or mi_collection_card( ) function to
determine the number of elements in a MULTISET column

You cannot use MULTISET values as arguments to an aggregate function such

as AVG, MAX, MIN, or SUM.

You must specify the NOT NULL constraint for MULTISET elements. No
other constraints are valid for MULTISET columns. For more information on
the MULTISET collection type, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

Two multiset data values are equal if they have the same elements, even if the
elements are in different positions within the set. The following examples are
both multiset values but are not equal:

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-25

 MULTISET {"blue", "green", "yellow"}
MULTISET {"blue", "green", "yellow", "blue"}

The following multiset values are equal:

MULTISET {"blue", "green", "blue", "yellow"}
MULTISET {"blue", "green", "yellow", "blue"}

No more than 97 columns of the same table can be declared as MULTISET

data types. (The same restriction applies to SET and LIST collection types.)
Named ROW
See “ROW, Named (IDS)” on page 2-27.
NCHAR(n)
The NCHAR data type stores fixed-length character data. The data can be a
string of single-byte or multibyte letters, digits, and other symbols that are
supported by the code set of the database locale. The main difference between
CHAR and NCHAR data types is the collating order.

The collation order of the CHAR data type follows the code-set order, but the
collating order of the NCHAR data type can be a localized order, if
DB_LOCALE (or SET COLLATION) specifies a localized collation. For more
information about NCHAR, see the description of “DBNLS (IDS)” on page
3-32.
NUMERIC(p,s)
The NUMERIC data type is a synonym for fixed-point DECIMAL.
NVARCHAR(m,r)
The NVARCHAR data type stores strings of varying lengths. The string can
include digits, symbols, and single-byte and (in some locales) multibyte
characters. The main difference between VARCHAR and NVARCHAR data
types is the collation order. Collation of VARCHAR data follows code-set
order, but NVARCHAR collation can be locale specific, if DB_LOCALE (or
SET COLLATION) has specified a localized collation. (The section “Collating
VARCHAR Values” on page 2-37 describes an exception.)

A column declared as NVARCHAR, without parentheses or parameters, has a

maximum size of one byte, and a reserved size of zero.

No more than 195 columns of the same table can be NVARCHAR data types.
Opaque (IDS)
An opaque type is a data type for which you must provide the following
information to the database server:
v A data structure for how the data values are stored on disk

2-26 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 v Support functions to determine how to convert between the disk storage
format and the user format for data entry and display
v Secondary access methods that determine how the index on this data type
is built, used, and manipulated
v User functions that use the data type
v A system catalog entry to register the opaque type in the database

The internal structure of an opaque type is not visible to the database server
and can only be accessed through user-defined routines. Definitions for
opaque types are stored in the sysxtdtypes system catalog table. These SQL
statements maintain the definitions of opaque types in the database:
v The CREATE OPAQUE TYPE statement registers a new opaque type in the
database.
v The DROP TYPE statement removes a previously defined opaque type from
the database.

For more information on the above-mentioned SQL statements, see the

IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax. For information on how to create opaque
types and an example of an opaque type, see IBM Informix: User-Defined
Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide.
REAL
The REAL data type is a synonym for SMALLFLOAT.
ROW, Named (IDS)
A named ROW type is declared by its name. That identifier must be unique
within the schema. An unnamed ROW type is a ROW type that contains
fields but has no user-defined name. Only named ROW types support data
type inheritance. For more information, see “ROW Data Types” on page 2-48.

Defining Named ROW Types

You must declare and register in the database a new named ROW type by
using the CREATE ROW TYPE statement of SQL. Definitions for named ROW
types are stored in the sysxtdtypes system catalog table.

The fields of a ROW data type can be any built-in data type or UDT, but
TEXT or BYTE fields of a ROW type are valid in typed tables only. If you
want to assign a ROW type to a column, its elements cannot be TEXT or
BYTE data types.

In general, the data type of a field of a ROW type can be any of these types:
v A built-in type (except for the TEXT or BYTE data types)
v A collection type (LIST, MULTISET, or SET)
v A distinct type

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-27

 v Another named or unnamed ROW type
v An opaque type

These SQL statements maintain the definitions of named ROW data types:
v The CREATE ROW TYPE statement adds a named ROW type to the
database.
v The DROP ROW TYPE statement removes a previously defined named
ROW type from the database.

No more than 195 columns of the same table can be named ROW types.

For details about these SQL syntax statements, see the IBM Informix: Guide to
SQL Syntax. For examples of how to create and use named ROW types, see
the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.

Equivalence and Named ROW Types

No two named ROW types can be equal, even if they have identical
structures, because they have different names. For example, the following
named ROW types have the same structure (the same number of fields and
the same order of data types of fields within the row) but are not equal:
name_t (lname CHAR(15), initial CHAR(1), fname CHAR(15))
emp_t (lname CHAR(15), initial CHAR(1), fname CHAR(15))

Named ROW Types and Inheritance

Named ROW types can be part of a type-inheritance hierarchy. One named
ROW type can be the parent (or supertype) of another named ROW type. A
subtype in a hierarchy inherits all the properties of its supertype. Type
inheritance is discussed in the CREATE ROW TYPE statement in the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax and in the IBM Informix: Database Design
and Implementation Guide.

Typed Tables
Tables that are part of an inheritance hierarchy must be typed tables. Typed
tables are tables that have been assigned a named ROW type. For the syntax
you use to create typed tables, see the CREATE TABLE statement in the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax. Table inheritance and its relation to type
inheritance is also discussed in that section. For information about how to
create and use typed tables, see the IBM Informix: Database Design and
Implementation Guide.
ROW, Unnamed (IDS)
An unnamed ROW type contains fields but has no user-declared name. An
unnamed ROW type is defined by its structure. Two unnamed ROW types are
equal if they have the same structure (meaning the ordered list of the data
types of the fields). If two unnamed ROW types have the same number of

2-28 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

fields, and if the order of the data type of each field in one ROW type
matches the order of data types of the corresponding fields in the other ROW
data type, then the two unnamed ROW data types are equal.

For example, the following unnamed ROW types are equal:

ROW (lname char(15), initial char(1) fname char(15))
ROW (dept char(15), rating char(1) name char(15))

The following ROW types have the same number of fields and the same data
types, but are not equal, because their fields are not in the same order:
ROW (x integer, y varchar(20), z real)
ROW (x integer, z real, y varchar(20))

A field of an unnamed ROW type can be any of the following data types:
v A built-in type
v A collection type
v A distinct type
v Another ROW type
v An opaque type

Unnamed ROW types cannot be used in typed tables or in type inheritance

hierarchies. For more information on unnamed ROW types, see the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax and the IBM Informix: Database Design and
Implementation Guide.

Creating Unnamed ROW Types

You can create an unnamed ROW type in several ways:
v You can declare an unnamed ROW type using the ROW keyword. Each
field in a ROW can have a different field type. To specify the field type, use
the following syntax:
ROW(field_name field_type, ...)
The field_name must conform to the rules for SQL identifiers. (See the
Identifier section in the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.)
v To generate an unnamed ROW type, use the ROW keyword as a
constructor with a series of values. A corresponding unnamed ROW type is
created, using the default data types of the specified values.
For example, the following declaration:
ROW(1, ’abc’, 5.30)
defines this unnamed ROW data type:
ROW (x INTEGER, y VARCHAR, z DECIMAL)
v You can create an unnamed ROW type by an implicit or explicit cast from a
named ROW type or from another unnamed ROW type.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-29

 v The rows of any table (except a table defined on a named ROW type) are
unnamed ROW types.

No more than 195 columns of the same table can be unnamed ROW types.

Inserting Values into Unnamed ROW Type Columns

When you specify field values for an unnamed ROW type, list the field values
after the constructor and between parentheses. For example, suppose you
have an unnamed ROW-type column. The following INSERT statement adds
one group of field values to this ROW column:
INSERT INTO table1 VALUES (ROW(4, ’abc’))

You can specify a ROW column in the IN predicate in the WHERE clause of a
SELECT statement to search for matching ROW values. For more information,
see the Condition section in the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.
SERIAL(n)
The SERIAL data type stores a sequential integer, in the positive range of the
INT8 data type, that is automatically assigned by the database server when a
new row is inserted. A table can have no more than one SERIAL column, but
it can have one SERIAL and one SERIAL8 column.

SERIAL values in a column are not automatically unique. You must apply a
unique index or primary key constraint to this column to prevent duplicate
serial numbers. If you use the interactive schema editor in DB–Access to
define the table, a unique index is applied automatically to a SERIAL column.

SERIAL numbers might not be consecutive, because of concurrent users,

rollbacks, and other factors.

The DEFINE variable LIKE column syntax of SPL for indirect typing declares a
variable of the INTEGER data type if column is a SERIAL data type.

The default serial starting number is 1, but you can assign a non-default
initial value, n, when you create or alter the table. Any number greater than 0
can be your starting number. The maximum SERIAL is 2,147,483,647. If you
assign a number greater than 2,147,483,647, you receive a syntax error. (Use
the SERIAL8 data type, rather than SERIAL, if you need a larger range.)

After a nonzero number is assigned, it cannot be changed. You can insert a

value into a SERIAL column (using the INSERT statement) or reset a serial
column (using the ALTER TABLE statement), if the new value does not
duplicate any existing value in the column. To insert into a SERIAL column,
your database server increments by one the previous value (or the reset value,
if that is larger) and assigns the result as the entered value. If ALTER TABLE

2-30 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 has reset the next value of a SERIAL column to a value smaller than values
already in that column, however, the next value follows this formula:
(maximum existing value in SERIAL column) + 1

For example, if you reset the serial value of customer.customer_num to 50,

when the largest existing value is 128, the next assigned number will be 129.
For more details on SERIAL data entry, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL
Syntax.

A SERIAL column can store unique codes (for example, order, invoice, or
customer numbers). SERIAL data values require four bytes of storage, and
have the same precision as the INTEGER data type. For details of another
way to assign unique whole numbers to each row of a database table, see the
CREATE SEQUENCE statement in IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.
SERIAL8(n)
The SERIAL8 data type stores a sequential integer, in the positive range of the
INT8 data type, that is assigned automatically by the database server when a
new row is inserted. It behaves like the SERIAL data type, but with a larger
range. (For more information on how to insert values into SERIAL8 columns,
see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.)

A SERIAL8 data column is commonly used to store large, unique numeric

codes (for example, order, invoice, or customer numbers). SERIAL8 data
values have the same precision and storage requirements as INT8 values
(page 2-19). The following restrictions apply to SERIAL8 columns:
v You can define only one SERIAL8 column in a table.
A table, however, can have one SERIAL8 and one SERIAL column.
v SERIAL8 column values are not automatically unique.
You must apply a unique index or primary key constraint to this column to
prevent duplicate SERIAL8 numbers.
v The SERIAL8 data type does not allow a negative, zero, or NULL value.

The DEFINE variable LIKE column syntax of SPL for indirect typing declares a
variable of the INT8 data type if column is a SERIAL8 data type.

Assigning a Starting Value for SERIAL8

The default serial starting number is 1, but you can assign an initial value, n,
when you create or alter the table. To start the values at 1 in a SERIAL8
column of a table, give the value 0 for the SERIAL8 column when you insert
rows into that table. The database server will assign the value 1 to the
SERIAL8 column of the first row of the table. The largest SERIAL8 value that
you can assign is 263-1 (9,223,372,036,854,775,807). If you assign a value greater

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-31

 than this, you receive a syntax error. When the database server generates a
SERIAL8 value of this maximum number, it wraps around and starts
generating values beginning at 1.

After a nonzero SERIAL8 number is assigned, it cannot be changed. You can,

however, insert a value into a SERIAL8 column (using the INSERT statement)
or reset the SERIAL8 value n (using the ALTER TABLE statement), as long as
that value does not duplicate any existing values in the column.

When you insert a number into a SERIAL8 column or reset the next value of a
SERIAL8 column, your database server assigns the next number in sequence
to the number entered. If you reset the next value of a SERIAL8 column to a
value that is less than the values already in that column, however, the next
value is computed using the following formula:
maximum existing value in SERIAL8 column + 1

For example, if you reset the SERIAL8 value of the customer_num column in
the customer table to 50, when the highest-assigned customer number is 128,
the next customer number assigned is 129.

Using SERIAL8 with INT8

All the arithmetic operators that are valid for INT8 (such as +, -, *, and /) and
all the SQL functions that are valid for INT8 (such as ABS, MOD, POW, and
so on) are also valid for SERIAL8 values. Data conversion rules that apply to
INT8 also apply to SERIAL8, but with a NOT NULL constraint on SERIAL8.

The value of a SERIAL8 column of one table can be stored in an INT8

columns of another table. In the second table, however, the INT8 values are
not subject to the constraints on the original SERIAL8 column.
SET(e) (IDS)
The SET data type is an unordered collection type that stores unique elements;
duplicate element values are not valid. (For a collection type that supports
duplicate values, see the description of MULTISET in “MULTISET(e) (IDS)” on
page 2-25.)

No more than 97 columns of the same table can be declared as SET data
types. (The same restriction also applies to MULTISET and LIST collection
types.)

The elements in a SET have no ordinal position. That is, no construct of a

first, second, or third element in a SET exists. (For a collection type with
ordinal positions for elements, see “LIST(e) (IDS)” on page 2-22.) All elements
in a SET have the same element type. To specify the element type, use this
syntax:
SET(element_type NOT NULL)

2-32 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 The element_type of a collection can be any of the following types:
v A built-in type, except SERIAL, SERIAL8, BYTE, and TEXT
v A named or unnamed ROW type
v Another collection type
v An opaque type

You must specify the NOT NULL constraint for SET elements. No other
constraints are valid for SET columns. For more information on the syntax of
the SET collection type, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

You can use SET anywhere that you use any other data type, unless otherwise
indicated. For example:
v After the IN predicate in the WHERE clause of a SELECT statement to
search for matching SET values
v As an argument to the CARDINALITY or mi_collection_card( ) function to
determine the number of elements in a SET column

SET values are not valid as arguments to an aggregate function such as AVG,
MAX, MIN, or SUM. For more information, see the Condition and Expression
sections in the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

The following examples declare two sets. The first statement declares a set of
integers and the second declares a set of character elements.
SET(INTEGER NOT NULL)
SET(CHAR(20) NOT NULL)

The following examples construct the same sets from value lists:
SET{1, 5, 13}
SET{"Oakland", "Menlo Park", "Portland", "Lenexa"}

In the following example, a SET constructor function is part of a CREATE

TABLE statement:
CREATE TABLE tab
(
c CHAR(5),
s SET(INTEGER NOT NULL)
);

The following set values are equal:

SET{"blue", "green", "yellow"}
SET{"yellow", "blue", "green"}

SMALLFLOAT
The SMALLFLOAT data type stores single-precision floating-point numbers
with approximately nine significant digits. SMALLFLOAT corresponds to the

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-33

 float data type in C. The range of values for a SMALLFLOAT data type is the
same as the range of values for the C float data type on your computer.

A SMALLFLOAT data type column typically stores scientific numbers that can
be calculated only approximately. Because floating-point numbers retain only
their most significant digits, the number that you enter in this type of column
and the number the database displays might differ slightly depending on how
your computer stores floating-point numbers internally.

For example, you might enter a value of 1.1000001 in a SMALLFLOAT field

and, after processing the SQL statement, the application might display this
value as 1.1. This difference occurs when a value has more digits than the
floating-point number can store. In this case, the value is stored in its
approximate form with the least significant digits treated as zeros.

SMALLFLOAT data types usually require 4 bytes of storage. Conversion of a

SMALLFLOAT value to a DECIMAL value results in 9 digits of precision.
SMALLINT
The SMALLINT data type stores small whole numbers that range from
–32,767 to 32,767. The maximum negative number, –32,768, is a reserved value
and cannot be used. The SMALLINT value is stored as a signed binary
integer.

Integer columns typically store counts, quantities, and so on. Because the
SMALLINT data type requires only two bytes per value, arithmetic operations
are performed efficiently. SMALLINT, however, stores only a limited range of
values, compared to other built-in numeric data types. If a number is outside
the range of the minimum and maximum SMALLINT values, the database
server does not store the data value, but instead issues an error message.
TEXT
The TEXT data type stores any kind of text data. It can contain both
single-byte and multibyte characters that the locale supports. The term simple
large object refers to the TEXT and BYTE data types.

A TEXT column has a theoretical limit of 231 bytes (two gigabytes) and a
practical limit that your available disk storage determines.

Important: An error results if you try to return a TEXT column from a

subquery, even if no TEXT column is used in a comparison
condition or with the IN predicate.

No more than 195 columns of the same table can be declared as TEXT data
types. (The same restriction also applies to BYTE data types.)

2-34 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

You can store, retrieve, update, or delete the values in a TEXT column. You
cannot, however, use TEXT operands in arithmetic or string expressions, nor
can you assign literals to TEXT columns in the SET clause of the UPDATE
statement. You also cannot use TEXT values in any of the following ways:
v With aggregate functions
v With the IN clause
v With the MATCHES or LIKE clauses
v With the GROUP BY clause
v With the ORDER BY clause

You can use TEXT operands in Boolean expressions only when you are testing
for NULL values with the IS NULL or IS NOT NULL operators.

You can insert data into TEXT columns in the following ways:
v With the dbload or onload utilities
v With the LOAD statement (DB–Access)
v From TEXT host variables (ESQL)

You cannot use a quoted text string, number, or any other actual value to
insert or update TEXT columns.

When you select a TEXT column, you can choose to receive all or part of it.
To retrieve it all, use the regular syntax for selecting a column. You can also
select any part of a TEXT column by using subscripts, as this example shows:
SELECT cat_descr [1,75] FROM catalog WHERE catalog_num = 10001

This statement reads the first 75 bytes of the cat_descr column associated with
the catalog_num value 10001.

A built-in cast exists to convert TEXT objects to CLOB objects. For more
information, see the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.

Strings of the TEXT data type are collated in code-set order. For more
information on collating orders, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

Nonprintable Characters in TEXT Values

TEXT columns typically store documents, program source files, and so on. In
the default U.S. English locale, data objects of type TEXT can contain a
combination of printable ASCII characters and the following control
characters:
v Tab (CTRL-I)
v New line (CTRL-J)
v New page (CTRL-L)

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-35

 Both printable and nonprintable characters can be inserted in text columns.
IBM Informix products do not do any checking of data values that are
inserted in a column of the TEXT data type. (Applications may have difficulty,
however, in displaying TEXT values that include non-printable characters.)
For detailed information on entering and displaying nonprintable characters,
refer to “Nonprintable Characters with CHAR” on page 2-9.
Unnamed ROW
See “ROW, Unnamed (IDS)” on page 2-28.
VARCHAR(m,r)
The VARCHAR data type stores character strings of varying length that
contain single-byte and (if the locale supports them) multibyte characters,
where m is the maximum size (in bytes) of the column and r is the minimum
number of bytes reserved for that column. A column declared as VARCHAR
without parentheses or parameters has a maximum size of one byte, and a
reserved size of zero.

The VARCHAR data type is the Informix implementation of a character

varying data type. The ANSI standard data type for varying-length character
strings is CHARACTER VARYING.

The size of the maximum size (m) parameter of a VARCHAR column can
range from 1 to 255 bytes. If you are placing an index on a VARCHAR
column, the maximum size is 254 bytes. You can store character strings that
are shorter, but not longer, than the m value that you specify.

Specifying the minimum reserved space (r) parameter is optional. This value
can range from 0 to 255 bytes but must be less than the maximum size (m) of
the VARCHAR column. If you do not specify any minimum value, it defaults
to 0. You should specify this parameter when you initially intend to insert
rows with short or NULL character strings in the column but later expect the
data to be updated with longer values.

For variable-length strings longer than 255 bytes, you can use the LVARCHAR
data type, whose upper limit is 32,739 bytes, instead of VARCHAR. Because
LVARCHAR is implemented as a built-in opaque data type, however, you
cannot access LVARCHAR columns in distributed queries of remote tables.

In an index based on a VARCHAR column (or on a NVARCHAR column),

each index key has a length that is based on the data values that are actually
entered, rather than on the declared maximum size of the column. (See,
however, “IFX_PAD_VARCHAR (IDS)” on page 3-53 for information on how
you can configure the effective size of VARCHAR and NVARCHAR data
strings that Dynamic Server sends or receives.)

2-36 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

When you store a string in an VARCHAR column, only the actual data
characters are stored. The database server does not strip a VARCHAR string
of any user-entered trailing blanks, nor pad a VARCHAR value to the
declared length of the column. If you specify a reserved space (r), but some
data strings are shorter than r bytes, some space reserved for rows goes
unused.

VARCHAR values are compared to other VARCHAR values (and to other

character-string data types) in the same way that CHAR values are compared.
The shorter value is padded on the right with blank spaces until the values
have equal lengths; then they are compared for the full length.

No more than 195 columns of the same table can be VARCHAR data types.

Nonprintable Characters with VARCHAR

Nonprintable VARCHAR characters are entered, displayed, and treated in the
same way that nonprintable characters in CHAR values are treated. For
details, see the section “Nonprintable Characters with CHAR” on page 2-9.

Storing Numeric Values in a VARCHAR Column

When you insert a numeric value in a VARCHAR column, the stored value
does not get padded with trailing blanks to the maximum length of the
column. The number of digits in a numeric VARCHAR value is the number of
characters that you need to store that value. For example, in the next example,
the value stored in table mytab is 1.
create table mytab (col1 varchar(10));
insert into mytab values (1);

Tip: VARCHAR treats C null (binary 0) and string terminators as termination

characters for nonprintable characters.

Multibyte Characters with VARCHAR

In some East Asian locales, VARCHAR data types can store multibyte
characters if the database locale supports a multibyte code set. If you store
multibyte characters, make sure to calculate the number of bytes needed. For
more information, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

Collating VARCHAR Values

The main difference between the NVARCHAR and the VARCHAR data types
(like the difference between CHAR and NCHAR) is the difference in collating
order. In general, collation of VARCHAR (like CHAR and LVARCHAR )
values is in the order of the characters as they appear in the code set.

An exception is the MATCHES operator, which applies a localized collation to

NVARCHAR and VARCHAR values (as well as to CHAR, LVARCHAR, and
NCHAR values) if you use bracket ( [ ] ) symbols to define ranges when

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-37

 DB_LOCALE (or SET COLLATION) has specified a localized collating order.
For more information, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

Built-In Data Types

Informix database servers support the following built-in data types.

Category Data Types

Character CHAR, CHARACTER VARYING, LVARCHAR,
NCHAR, NVARCHAR, VARCHAR
Numeric DECIMAL, FLOAT, INT8, INTEGER, MONEY,
SERIAL, SERIAL8, SMALLFLOAT, SMALLINT
Large-object Simple-large-object types: BYTE, TEXT
Smart-large-object types: BLOB, CLOB
Time DATE, DATETIME, INTERVAL
Miscellaneous BOOLEAN

Extended Parallel Server does not support BLOB, CLOB, or LVARCHAR. For
a description of character, numeric, and miscellaneous data types, refer to the
appropriate entry in “Description of Data Types” on page 2-6. Page references
are in the alphabetical list in Table 2-1 on page 2-3.

Sections that follow provide additional information on large-object and time

data types.
Large-Object Data Types
A large object is a data object that is logically stored in a table column but
physically stored independent of the column. Large objects are stored separate
from the table because they typically store a large amount of data. Separation
of this data from the table can increase performance.

Figure 2-4 shows the large-object data types.

Large objects

Simple large objects Smart large objects

BYTE TEXT BLOB CLOB

Figure 2-4. Large-Object Data Types

Only Dynamic Server supports BLOB and CLOB data types.

2-38 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

For the relative advantages and disadvantages of simple and smart large
objects, see the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.

Simple Large Objects

Simple large objects are a category of large objects that have a theoretical size
limit of 231 bytes and a practical limit that your disk capacity determines.
Informix database servers support these simple-large-object data types:
BYTE Stores binary data. For more detailed information about this
data type, see the description on page 2-7.
TEXT Stores text data. For more detailed information about this data
type, see the description on page 2-34.

No more than 195 columns of the same table can be declared as BYTE or
TEXT data types. Unlike smart large objects, simple large objects do not
support random access to the data. When you transfer a simple large object
between a client application and the database server, you must transfer the
entire BYTE or TEXT value. If the data cannot fit into memory, you must store
the data value in an operating-system file and then retrieve it from that file.

The database server stores simple large objects in blobspaces. A blobspace is a

logical storage area that contains one or more chunks that only store BYTE
and TEXT data. For information on how to define blobspaces, see your
IBM Informix: Administrator's Guide.

Smart Large Objects (IDS)

Smart large objects are a category of large objects that support random access
to the data and are generally recoverable. The random access feature allows
you to seek and read through the smart large object as if it were an
operating-system file.

Smart large objects are also useful for opaque data types with large storage
requirements. (See the description of opaque data types in “Opaque Data
Types” on page 2-49.) They have a theoretical size limit of 242 bytes and a
practical limit that your disk capacity determines.

Dynamic Server supports the following smart-large-object data types:

BLOB Stores binary data. For more information about this data type,
see the description on page 2-6.
CLOB Stores text data. For more information about this data type,
see the description on page 2-10.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-39

 Dynamic Server stores smart large objects in sbspaces. An sbspace is a logical
storage area that contains one or more chunks that store only BLOB and
CLOB data. For information on how to define sbspaces, see your
IBM Informix: Performance Guide.

When you define a BLOB or CLOB column, you can determine the following
large-object characteristics:
v LOG and NOLOG: whether the database server should log the smart large
object in accordance with the current database log mode
v KEEP ACCESS TIME and NO KEEP ACCESS TIME: whether the database
server should keep track of the last time the smart large object was accessed
v HIGH INTEG and MODERATE INTEG: whether the database server should
use page headers to detect data corruption

Use of these characteristics can affect performance. For information, see your
IBM Informix: Performance Guide.

When an SQL statement accesses a smart-large-object, the database server

does not send the actual BLOB or CLOB data. Instead, it establishes a pointer
to the data and returns this pointer. The client application can then use this
pointer in open, read, or write operations on the smart large object.

To access a BLOB or CLOB column from within a client application, use one
of the following application programming interfaces (APIs):
v From within an IBM Informix ESQL/C program, use the smart-large-object
API. (For more information, see the IBM Informix: ESQL/C Programmer's
Manual.)
v From within a DataBlade module, use the Client and Server API. (For more
information, see the IBM Informix: DataBlade API Programmer's Guide.)

For information on smart large objects, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL
Syntax and IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.
Time Data Types
DATE and DATETIME data values represent zero-dimensional points in time;
INTERVAL data values represent 1-dimensional spans of time, with positive
or negative values. DATE precision is always an integer count of days, but
various field qualifiers can define the DATETIME and INTERVAL precision.
You can use DATE, DATETIME, and INTERVAL data in arithmetic and
relational expressions. You can manipulate a DATETIME value with another
DATETIME value, an INTERVAL value, the current time (specified by the
keyword CURRENT), or some unit of time (using the keyword UNITS).

You can use a DATE value in most contexts where a DATETIME value is
valid, and vice versa. You also can use an INTERVAL operand in arithmetic

2-40 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

operations where a DATETIME value is valid. In addition, you can add two
INTERVAL values and multiply or divide an INTERVAL value by a number.

An INTERVAL column can hold a value that represents the difference

between two DATETIME values or the difference between (or sum of) two
INTERVAL values. In either case, the result is a span of time, which is an
INTERVAL value. Conversely, if you add or subtract an INTERVAL from a
DATETIME value, another DATETIME value is produced, because the result is
a specific time.

Table 2-7 lists the binary arithmetic operations that you can perform on DATE,
DATETIME, and INTERVAL operands, as well as the data type that is
returned by the arithmetic expression.
Table 2-7. Arithmetic Operations on DATE, DATETIME, and INTERVAL Values
Operand 1 Operator Operand 2 Result
DATE - DATETIME INTERVAL
DATETIME - DATE INTERVAL
DATE + or - INTERVAL DATETIME
DATETIME - DATETIME INTERVAL
DATETIME + or - INTERVAL DATETIME
INTERVAL + DATETIME DATETIME
INTERVAL + or - INTERVAL INTERVAL
DATETIME - CURRENT INTERVAL
CURRENT - DATETIME INTERVAL
INTERVAL + CURRENT DATETIME
CURRENT + or - INTERVAL DATETIME
DATETIME + or - UNITS DATETIME
INTERVAL + or - UNITS INTERVAL
INTERVAL * or / NUMBER INTERVAL

No other combinations are allowed. You cannot add two DATETIME values
because this operation does not produce either a specific time or a span of
time. For example, you cannot add December 25 and January 1, but you can
subtract one from the other to find the time span between them.

Manipulating DATETIME Values

You can subtract most DATETIME values from each other. Dates can be in
any order and the result is either a positive or a negative INTERVAL value.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-41

 The first DATETIME value determines the precision of the result, which
includes the same time units as the first operand.

If the second DATETIME value has fewer fields than the first, the precision of
the second operand is increased automatically to match the first.

In the following example, subtracting the DATETIME YEAR TO HOUR value

from the DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE value results in a positive interval
value of 60 days, 1 hour, and 30 minutes. Because minutes were not included
in the second operand, the database server sets the minutes value for the
second operand to 0 before performing the subtraction.
DATETIME (2003-9-30 12:30) YEAR TO MINUTE
- DATETIME (2003-8-1 11) YEAR TO HOUR

Result: INTERVAL (60 01:30) DAY TO MINUTE

If the second DATETIME operand has more fields than the first (regardless of
whether the precision of the extra fields is larger or smaller than those in the
first operand), the additional time unit fields in the second value are ignored
in the calculation.

In the next expression (and its result), the year is not included for the second
operand. Therefore, the year is set automatically to the current year (from the
system clock-calendar), in this example 2005, and the resulting INTERVAL is
negative, which indicates that the second date is later than the first.
DATETIME (2005-9-30) YEAR TO DAY
- DATETIME (10-1) MONTH TO DAY

Result: INTERVAL (-1) DAY TO DAY [assuming that the current

year is 2005]

Manipulating DATETIME with INTERVAL Values

INTERVAL values can be added to or subtracted from DATETIME values. In
either case, the result is a DATETIME value. If you are adding an INTERVAL
value to a DATETIME value, the order of values is unimportant; however, if
you are subtracting, the DATETIME value must come first. Adding or
subtracting a positive INTERVAL value simply moves the DATETIME result
forward or backward in time. The expression shown in the following example
moves the date ahead by three years and five months:
DATETIME (2000-8-1) YEAR TO DAY
+ INTERVAL (3-5) YEAR TO MONTH

Result: DATETIME (2004-01-01) YEAR TO DAY

Important: Evaluate the logic of your addition or subtraction. Remember that

months can have 28, 29, 30, or 31 days and that years can have
365 or 366 days.

2-42 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

In most situations, the database server automatically adjusts the calculation
when the operands do not have the same precision. In certain contexts,
however, you must explicitly adjust the precision of one value to perform the
calculation. If the INTERVAL value you are adding or subtracting has fields
that are not included in the DATETIME value, you must use the EXTEND
function to increase the precision of the DATETIME value. (For more
information on the EXTEND function, see the Expression segment in the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.)

For example, you cannot subtract an INTERVAL MINUTE TO MINUTE value

from the DATETIME value in the previous example that has a YEAR TO DAY
field qualifier. You can, however, use the EXTEND function to perform this
calculation, as the following example shows:
EXTEND (DATETIME (2003-8-1) YEAR TO DAY, YEAR TO MINUTE)
- INTERVAL (720) MINUTE(3) TO MINUTE

Result: DATETIME (2003-07-31 12:00) YEAR TO MINUTE

The EXTEND function allows you to explicitly increase the DATETIME

precision from YEAR TO DAY to YEAR TO MINUTE. This allows the
database server to perform the calculation, with the resulting extended
precision of YEAR TO MINUTE.

Manipulating DATE with DATETIME and INTERVAL Values

You can use DATE operands in some arithmetic expressions with DATETIME
or INTERVAL operands by writing expressions to do the manipulating, as
Table 2-8 shows.
Table 2-8. Results of Expressions That Manipulate DATE with DATETIME or INTERVAL
Values
Expression Result
DATE – DATETIME INTERVAL
DATETIME – DATE INTERVAL
DATE + or – INTERVAL DATETIME

In the cases that Table 2-8 shows, DATE values are first converted to their
corresponding DATETIME equivalents, and then the expression is evaluated
by the rules of arithmetic.

Although you can interchange DATE and DATETIME values in many

situations, you must indicate whether a value is a DATE or a DATETIME data
type. A DATE value can come from the following sources:
v A column or program variable of type DATE
v The TODAY keyword

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-43

 v The DATE( ) function
v The MDY function
v A DATE literal

A DATETIME value can come from the following sources:

v A column or program variable of type DATETIME
v The CURRENT keyword
v The EXTEND function
v A DATETIME literal

The database locale defines the default DATE and DATETIME formats. For
the default locale, U.S. English, these formats are ’mm/dd/yy’ for DATE values
and ’yyyy-mm-dd hh:MM:ss’ for DATETIME values.

To represent DATE and DATETIME values as character strings, the fields in

the strings must be in proper order. In other words, when a DATE value is
expected, the string must be in DATE format and when a DATETIME value is
expected, the string must be in DATETIME format. For example, you can use
the string 10/30/2003 as a DATE string but not as a DATETIME string.
Instead, you must use 2003-10-30 or 03-10-30 as the DATETIME string.

In a nondefault locale, literal DATE and DATETIME strings must match the
formats that the locale defines. For more information, see the IBM Informix:
GLS User's Guide.

You can customize the DATE format that the database server expects with the
DBDATE and GL_DATE environment variables. You can customize the
DATETIME format that the database server expects with the DBTIME and
GL_DATETIME environment variables. For more information, see “DBDATE”
on page 3-25 and “DBTIME” on page 3-39. For more information on all these
environment variables, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

You can also subtract one DATE value from another DATE value, but the
result is a positive or negative INTEGER count of days, rather than an
INTERVAL value. If an INTERVAL value is required, you can either use the
UNITS DAY operator to convert the INTEGER value into an INTERVAL DAY
TO DAY value, or else use EXTEND to convert one of the DATE values into a
DATETIME value before subtracting.

For example, the following expression uses the DATE( ) function to convert
character string constants to DATE values, calculates their difference, and then
uses the UNITS DAY keywords to convert the INTEGER result into an
INTERVAL value:

2-44 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

(DATE (’5/2/1994’) - DATE (’4/6/1955’)) UNITS DAY

Result: INTERVAL (12810) DAY(5) TO DAY

Important: Because of the high precedence of UNITS relative to other SQL

operators, you should generally enclose any arithmetic expression
that is the operand of UNITS within parentheses, as in the
preceding example.

If you need YEAR TO MONTH precision, you can use the EXTEND function
on the first DATE operand, as the following example shows:
EXTEND (DATE (’5/2/1994’), YEAR TO MONTH) - DATE (’4/6/1955’)

Result: INTERVAL (39-01) YEAR TO MONTH

The resulting INTERVAL precision is YEAR TO MONTH, because the

DATETIME value came first. If the DATE value had come first, the resulting
INTERVAL precision would have been DAY(5) TO DAY.

Manipulating INTERVAL Values

You can add or subtract INTERVAL values only if both values are from the
same class; that is, if both are year-month or both are day-time. In the
following example, a SECOND TO FRACTION value is subtracted from a
MINUTE TO FRACTION value:
INTERVAL (100:30.0005) MINUTE(3) TO FRACTION(4)
- INTERVAL (120.01) SECOND(3) TO FRACTION

Result: INTERVAL (98:29.9905) MINUTE TO FRACTION(4)

The use of numeric qualifiers alerts the database server that the MINUTE and
FRACTION in the first value and the SECOND in the second value exceed the
default number of digits.

When you add or subtract INTERVAL values, the second value cannot have a
field with greater precision than the first. The second INTERVAL, however,
can have a field of smaller precision than the first. For example, the second
INTERVAL can be HOUR TO SECOND when the first is DAY TO HOUR. The
additional fields (in this case MINUTE and SECOND) in the second
INTERVAL value are ignored in the calculation.

Multiplying or Dividing INTERVAL Values

You can multiply or divide INTERVAL values by numbers. Any remainder
from the calculation is ignored, however, and the result is truncated to the
precision of the INTERVAL. The following expression multiplies an
INTERVAL value by a literal number that has a fractional part:
INTERVAL (15:30.0002) MINUTE TO FRACTION(4) * 2.5

Result: INTERVAL (38:45.0005) MINUTE TO FRACTION(4)

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-45

 In this example, 15 * 2.5 = 37.5 minutes, 30 * 2.5 = 75 seconds, and 2 * 2.5 = 5
FRACTION (4). The 0.5 minute is converted into 30 seconds and 60 seconds
are converted into 1 minute, which produces the final result of 38 minutes, 45
seconds, and 0.0005 of a second. The result of any calculation has the same
precision as the original INTERVAL operand.

Extended Data Types (IDS)

Dynamic Server enables you to create extended data types to characterize data
that cannot easily be represented with the built-in data types. (You cannot,
however, use extended data types in distributed transactions that query
external tables.) You can create these categories of extended data types:
v Complex data types
v Distinct data types
v Opaque data types

Sections that follow provide an overview of each of these data types.

For more information about extended data types, see the IBM Informix:
Database Design and Implementation Guide and IBM Informix: User-Defined
Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide.
Complex Data Types
A complex data type can store one or more values of other built-in and
extended data types. Figure 2-5 shows the complex types that Dynamic Server
supports.

Complex data types

Collection data types ROW data types

LIST MULTISET SET Named ROW type Unnamed ROW type

Figure 2-5. Complex Data Types of Dynamic Server

2-46 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

The following table summarizes the structure of the complex data types.

Data Type Description

Collection types: Complex data types that are made up of elements, each
of which is of the same data type.
LIST A group of ordered elements, each of which need not be
unique within the group.
MULTISET A group of elements, each of which need not be unique.
The order of the elements is ignored.
SET A group of elements, each of which is unique. The order
of the elements is ignored.
ROW types: Complex data types that are made up of fields.
Named ROW type Row types that are identified by their name.
Unnamed ROW type Row types that are identified by their structure.

Complex data types can be nested. For example, you can construct a ROW
type whose fields include one or more sets, multisets, ROW types, and lists.
Likewise, a collection type can have elements whose data type is a ROW type
or a collection type.

Complex types that include opaque types inherit the following support
functions.

input export LO_handles

output import_binary hash
send export_binary lessthan
recv assign equal
import destroy lessthan (ROW only)

Sections that follow summarize the complex data types. For more information,
see the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.

Collection Data Types

A collection data type is a complex type that is made up of one or more
elements, all of the same data type. A collection element can be of any data
type (including other complex types) except BYTE, TEXT, SERIAL, or
SERIAL8.

Important: An element cannot have a NULL value. You must specify the NOT
NULL constraint for collection elements. No other constraints are
valid for collections.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-47

 Dynamic Server supports three kinds of built-in collection types: LIST, SET,
and MULTISET. The keywords used to declare these collections are the names
of the type constructors or just constructors. For the syntax of collection types,
see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax. No more than 97 columns of the
same table can be declared as collection data types.

When you specify element values for a collection, list the element values after
the constructor and between braces ( { } ). For example, suppose you have a
collection column with the following MULTISET data type:
CREATE TABLE table1
(
mset_col MULTISET(INTEGER NOT NULL)
)

The next INSERT statement adds one group of element values to this column.
(The word MULTISET in these two examples is the MULTISET constructor.)
INSERT INTO table1 VALUES (MULTISET{5, 9, 7, 5})

You can leave the braces empty to indicate an empty set:

INSERT INTO table1 VALUE (MULTISET{})

An empty collection is not equivalent to a NULL value for the column.

Accessing Collection Data: To access the elements of a collection column,

you must fetch the collection into a collection variable and modify the
contents of the collection variable. Collection variables can be either of the
following types:
v Variables in an SPL routine
For more information, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Tutorial.
v Host variables in an IBM Informix ESQL/C program
For more information, see the IBM Informix: ESQL/C Programmer's Manual.

You can also use nested dot notation to access collection data. For more about
accessing elements of a collection, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Tutorial.

Important: Collection data types are not valid as arguments to functions that
are used for functional indexes.

ROW Data Types

A ROW data type is an ordered collection of one or more elements, called
fields. Each field has a name and a data type. The fields of a ROW are
comparable to the columns of a table, but with important differences:
v A field has no default clause.
v You cannot define constraints on a field.

2-48 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 v You can only use fields with row types, not with tables.

Two kinds of ROW data types exist:

v Named ROW data types are identified by their names.
v Unnamed ROW data types are identified by their structure.

The structure of an unnamed ROW data type is the number (and the order of
data types) of its fields.

No more than 195 columns of the same table can be declared as ROW data
types. For more information about ROW data types, see “ROW, Named (IDS)”
on page 2-27 and “ROW, Unnamed (IDS)” on page 2-28.

You can cast between named and unnamed ROW data types; this is described
in the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.
Distinct Data Types
A distinct data type has the same internal structure as some other source data
type in the database. The source type can be a built-in or extended data type.
What distinguishes a distinct type from its source type are support functions
that are defined on the distinct type.

No more than 195 columns in the same table can be DISTINCT types that are
based on BYTE, TEXT, ROW, LVARCHAR, NVARCHAR, or VARCHAR source
types, and no more than 97 can have collection source types. For more
information, see the section “Distinct (IDS)” on page 2-17. See also
IBM Informix: User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide.
Opaque Data Types
An opaque data type is a user-defined data type that is fully encapsulated.
That is, its internal structure is unknown to the database server. User-defined
types (UDTs) that are not DISTINCT types whose source types are built-in
types are opaque.

The built-in data types BLOB, BOOLEAN, CLOB, and LVARCHAR are
implemented as opaque data types. You cannot access these built-in opaque
data types in cross-server distributed operations, but you can access them in
other databases of the same Dynamic Server instance.

For more information, see the section “Opaque (IDS)” on page 2-26. See also
IBM Informix: User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-49

Data Type Casting and Conversion
Occasionally, the data type that was assigned to a column with the CREATE
TABLE statement is inappropriate. You might wish to change the data type of
a column when you need to store larger values than the current data type can
accommodate. The database server allows you to change the data type of the
column or to cast its values to a different data type with either of the
following methods:
v Use the ALTER TABLE statement to modify the data type of a column.
For example, if you create a SMALLINT column and later find that you
need to store integers larger than 32,767, you must change the data type of
that column to store the larger value. You can use ALTER TABLE to change
the data type to INTEGER. The conversion changes the data type of all
values that currently exist in the column as well as any new values that
might be added.
v Use the CAST AS keywords or the double colon (::) cast operator to cast a
value to a different data type.
Casting does not permanently alter the data type of a value; it expresses the
value in a more convenient form. Casting user-defined data types into
built-in types allows client programs to manipulate data types without
knowledge of their internal structure.

If you change data types, the new data type must be able to store all of the
old value.

Both data-type conversion and casting depend on casts registered in the

syscasts system catalog table. For information about syscasts, see “SYSCASTS
(IDS)” on page 1-17.

A cast is either built-in or user defined. Guidelines exist for casting distinct
and extended data types. For more information about casting opaque data
types, see IBM Informix: User-Defined Routines and Data Types Developer's Guide.
For information about casting other extended data types, see the
IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.
Using Built-in Casts
User informix owns built-in casts. They govern conversions from one built-in
data type to another. Built-in casts allow the database server to attempt the
following data-type conversions:
v A character type to any other character type
v A character type to or from another built-in type
v A numeric type to any other numeric type

The database server automatically invokes appropriate built-in casts when

required. For time data types, conversion between DATE and DATETIME data

2-50 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

types requires explicit casts with the EXTEND function, and explicit casts with
the UNITS operator are required for number-to-INTERVAL conversion.
Built-in casts are not available for converting large (BYTE, BLOB, CLOB, and
TEXT) built-in types to other built-in data types.

When you convert a column from one built-in data type to another, the
database server applies the appropriate built-in casts to each value already in
the column. If the new data type cannot store any of the resulting values, the
ALTER TABLE statement fails.

For example, if you try to convert a column from the INTEGER data type to
the SMALLINT data type and the following values exist in the INTEGER
column, the database server does not change the data type, because
SMALLINT columns cannot accommodate numbers greater than 32,767:
100 400 700 50000 700

The same situation might occur if you attempt to transfer data from FLOAT
or SMALLFLOAT columns to INTEGER, SMALLINT, or DECIMAL columns.
Errors of overflow, underflow, or truncation can occur during data type
conversion.

Sections that follow describe database server behavior during certain types of
casts and conversions.

Converting from Number to Number

When you convert data from one number data type to another, you
occasionally find rounding errors. The following table indicates which
numeric data type conversions are acceptable and what kinds of errors you
can encounter when you convert between certain numeric data types.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-51

 SMALL SMALL
Target Type INT INTEGER INT8 FLOAT FLOAT DECIMAL
SMALLINT OK OK OK OK OK OK
INTEGER E OK OK E OK P
INT8 E E OK D E P
SMALLFLOAT E E E OK OK P
FLOAT E E E D OK P
DECIMAL E E E D D P
Legend:
OK No error
P An error can occur, depending on the precision of the decimal
E An error can occur, depending on the data value
D No error, but less significant digits might be lost

For example, if you convert a FLOAT value to DECIMAL(4,2), your database

server rounds off the floating-point number before storing it as DECIMAL.

This conversion can result in an error depending on the precision assigned to

the DECIMAL column.

Converting Between Number and Character

You can convert a character column (of a data type such as CHAR, NCHAR,
NVARCHAR, or VARCHAR) to a numeric column. If a data string, however,
contains any characters that are not valid in a number column (for example,
the letter l instead of the number 1), the database server returns an error.

You can also convert a numeric column to a character column. If the character
column is not large enough to receive the number, however, the database
server generates an error. If the database server generates an error, it cannot
complete the ALTER TABLE statement or cast, and leaves the column values
as characters. You receive an error message and the statement is rolled back
automatically (regardless of whether you are in a transaction).

Converting Between INTEGER and DATE

You can convert an integer column (SMALLINT, INTEGER, or INT8) to a
DATE value. The database server interprets the integer as a value in the
internal format of the DATE column. You can also convert a DATE column to
an integer column. The database server stores the internal format of the DATE
column as an integer representing a Julian date.

2-52 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Converting Between DATE and DATETIME
You can convert DATE columns to DATETIME columns. If the DATETIME
column contains more fields than the DATE column, however, the database
server either ignores the fields or fills them with zeros. The illustrations in the
following list show how these two data types are converted (assuming that
the default date format is mm/dd/yyyy):
v If you convert DATE to DATETIME YEAR TO DAY, the database server
converts the existing DATE values to DATETIME values. For example, the
value 08/15/2002 becomes 2002-08-15.
v If you convert DATETIME YEAR TO DAY to the DATE format, the value
2002-08-15 becomes 08/15/2002.
v If you convert DATE to DATETIME YEAR TO SECOND, the database
server converts existing DATE values to DATETIME values and fills in the
additional DATETIME fields with zeros. For example, 08/15/2002 becomes
2002-08-15 00:00:00.
v If you convert DATETIME YEAR TO SECOND to DATE, the database
server converts existing DATETIME to DATE values but drops fields for
time units smaller than DAY. For example, 2002-08-15 12:15:37 becomes
08/15/2002.
Using User-Defined Casts
Implicit and explicit casts are owned by the users who create them. They
govern casts and conversions between user-defined data types and other data
types. Developers of user-defined data types must create certain implicit and
explicit casts and the functions that are used to implement them. The casts
allow user-defined types to be expressed in a form that clients can
manipulate.

For information on how to register and use implicit and explicit casts, see the
CREATE CAST statement in the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax and the
IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.

Implicit Casts
Implicit casts allow you to convert a user-defined data type to a built-in type
or vice versa. The database server automatically invokes a single implicit cast
when needed to evaluate and compare expressions or pass arguments.
Operations that require more than one implicit cast fail.

Users can explicitly invoke an implicit cast using the CAST AS keywords or
the double colon ( :: ) cast operator.

Explicit Casts
Explicit casts, unlike implicit casts or built-in casts, are never invoked
automatically by the database server. Users must invoke them explicitly with
the CAST AS keywords or with the double colon ( :: ) cast operator.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-53

 Determining Which Cast to Apply
The database server uses the following rules to determine which cast to apply
in a particular situation:
v To compare two built-in types, the database server automatically invokes
the appropriate built-in casts.
v The database server applies only one implicit cast per operand. If two or
more casts are needed to convert the operand to the desired type, the user
must explicitly invoke the additional casts.
In the following example, the literal value 5.55 is implicitly cast to
DECIMAL, and is then explicitly cast to MONEY, and finally to yen:
CREATE DISTINCT TYPE yen AS MONEY
. . .
INSERT INTO currency_tab
VALUES (5.55::MONEY::yen)
v To compare a distinct type to its source type, the user must explicitly cast
one type to the other.
v To compare a distinct type to a type other than its source, the database
server looks for an implicit cast between the source type and the desired
type.
If neither cast is registered, the user must invoke an explicit cast between
the distinct type and the desired type. If this cast is not registered, the
database server automatically invokes a cast from the source type to the
desired type.
If none of these casts is defined, the comparison fails.
v To compare an opaque type to a built-in type, the user must explicitly cast
the opaque type to a data type that the database server understands (such
as LVARCHAR, SENDRECV, IMPEX, or IMPEXBIN). The database server
then invokes built-in casts to convert the results to the desired built-in type.
v To compare two opaque types, the user must explicitly cast one opaque
type to a form that the database server understands (such as LVARCHAR,
SENDRECV, IMPEX, or IMPEXBIN) and then explicitly cast this type to the
second opaque type.

For information about casting and the IMPEX, IMPEXBIN, LVARCHAR, and
SENDRECV types, see IBM Informix: User-Defined Routines and Data Types
Developer's Guide.
Casts for Distinct Types
You define a distinct type based on a built-in type or an existing opaque type
or ROW type. Although data of the distinct type has the same length and
alignment and is passed in the same way as data of the source type, the two
cannot be compared directly. To compare a distinct type and its source type,
you must explicitly cast one type to the other.

2-54 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

When you create a new distinct type, the database server automatically
registers two explicit casts:
v A cast from the distinct type to its source type
v A cast from the source type to the distinct type

You can create an implicit cast between a distinct type and its source type. To
create an implicit cast, however, you must first drop the default explicit cast
between the distinct type and its source type.

You also can use all casts that have been registered for the source type
without modification on the distinct type. You can also create and register
new casts and support functions that apply only to the distinct type.

For examples that show how to create a cast function for a distinct type and
register the function as cast, see the IBM Informix: Database Design and
Implementation Guide.

Important: For releases of Dynamic Server earlier than Version 9.21, distinct
data types inherited the built-in casts that are provided for the
source type. The built-in casts of the source type are not inherited
by distinct data types in this release.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-55

 What Extended Data Types Can Be Cast?
The next table shows the extended data type combinations that you can cast.

Named Unnamed
Opaque Distinct ROW ROW Collection Built-in
Target Type Type Type Type Type Type Type
Opaque Explicit or Explicit Explicit Not Valid Not Valid Explicit or
Type implicit implicit3
Distinct Explicit3 Explicit Explicit Not Valid Not Valid Explicit or
Type implicit
Named Explicit3 Explicit Explicit3 Explicit1 Not Valid Not Valid
ROW Type
Unnamed Not Valid Not Valid Explicit1 Implicit1 Not Valid Not Valid
ROW Type
Collection Not Valid Not Valid Not Valid Not Valid Explicit2 Not Valid
Type
Built-in Explicit or Explicit Not Valid Not Valid Not Valid System
Type implicit3 or defined
implicit (implicit)
1
Applies when two ROW types are structurally equivalent or casts exist to handle
data conversions where corresponding field types are not the same.2 Applies when a
cast exists to convert between the element types of the respective collection types.3
Applies when a user-defined cast exists to convert between the two data types.

The table shows only whether or not a cast between a source type and a
target type are possible. In some cases, you must first create a user-defined
cast before you can perform a conversion between two data types. In other
cases, the database server provides either an implicit cast or a built-in cast
that you must explicitly invoke.

Operator Precedence
An operator is a symbol or keyword that can appear in an SQL expression.
Most SQL operators are restricted in the data types of their operands and
returned values. Some operators only support operands of built-in data types;
others can support built-in and extended data types as operands.

The following table shows the precedence of the operators that Informix
database servers support, in descending (highest to lowest) order of
precedence. Operators with the same precedence are listed in the same row.

2-56 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Operator Precedence Example in Expression
. (membership) customer.phone [1, 3]
[ ] (substring)
UNITS x UNITS DAY
+ -y
- (unary)
:: (cast) NULL::TEXT
* x/y
/
+ x -y
- (binary)
|| (concatenation) customer.fname || customer.lname
ANY orders.ship_date > SOME
ALL (SELECT paid_date FROM orders)
SOME
NOT NOT y
< x >= y
<=
=
>
>=
!=
<>
IN customer.fname MATCHES y
BETWEEN ... AND
LIKE
MATCHES
AND x AND y
OR x OR y

See the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax for the syntax and semantics of
these SQL operators.

Chapter 2. Data Types 2-57

2-58 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference
Chapter 3. Environment Variables
Types of Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Where to Set Environment Variables on UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Where to Set Environment Variables on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Using Environment Variables on UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Setting Environment Variables in a Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Setting Environment Variables at Login Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Syntax for Setting Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Unsetting Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Modifying an Environment-Variable Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Viewing Your Environment-Variable Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Checking Environment Variables with the chkenv Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Rules of Precedence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Using Environment Variables on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Environment Settings for Native Windows Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Environment Settings for Command-Prompt Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Using the System Applet to Work with Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Using the Command Prompt to Work with Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Using dbservername.cmd to Initialize a Command-Prompt Environment . . . . . . . . 3-13
Rules of Precedence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
List of Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
AC_CONFIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
AFDEBUG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
ANSIOWNER (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
CPFIRST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
DBACCNOIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
DBANSIWARN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
DBBLOBBUF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
DBCENTURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
DBDATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
DBDELIMITER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
DBEDIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
DBFLTMASK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
DBLANG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
DBMONEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
DBNLS (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
DBONPLOAD (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
DBPATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
DBPRINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
DBREMOTECMD (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
DBSPACETEMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
DBTEMP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
DBTIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 3-1

 DBUPSPACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
DEFAULT_ATTACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
DELIMIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
ENVIGNORE (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
FET_BUF_SIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
IBM_XPS_PARAMS (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
IFMX_CART_ALRM (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
IFMX_HISTORY_SIZE (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
IFX_DIRECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
IFX_LONGID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
IFX_NETBUF_SIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
IFX_PAD_VARCHAR (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
IFX_UPDDESC (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
IMCADMIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
IMCCONFIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
IMCSERVER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
INFORMIXC (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
INFORMIXCONCSMCFG (IDS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
INFORMIXCONRETRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
INFORMIXCONTIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
INFORMIXCPPMAP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-58
INFORMIXDIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-58
INFORMIXKEYTAB (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
INFORMIXOPCACHE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
INFORMIXSERVER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
INFORMIXSHMBASE (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
INFORMIXSQLHOSTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-61
INFORMIXSTACKSIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-62
INFORMIXTERM (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-62
INF_ROLE_SEP (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-63
INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
ISM_COMPRESSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_FILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65
ISM_ENCRYPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65
ISM_MAXLOGSIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65
ISM_MAXLOGVERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
JAR_TEMP_PATH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
JAVA_COMPILER (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
LD_LIBRARY_PATH (UNIX). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67
LIBERAL_MATCH (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67

3-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 LIBPATH (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
NODEFDAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
ONCONFIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
OPTCOMPIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-69
OPTMSG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-70
OPTOFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-70
OPT_GOAL (IDS, UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-71
PATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-71
PDQPRIORITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-72
Using PDQPRIORITY with Dynamic Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-73
Using PDQPRIORITY with Extended Parallel Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-73
PLCONFIG (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-74
PLOAD_LO_PATH (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-74
PLOAD_SHMBASE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-74
PSORT_DBTEMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-75
PSORT_NPROCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-76
RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-77
SHLIB_PATH (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-77
STMT_CACHE (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-77
TERM (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-78
TERMCAP (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-78
TERMINFO (UNIX). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-79
THREADLIB (UNIX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-79
TOBIGINT (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-80
USETABLEAME (IDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-80
XFER_CONFIG (XPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-81
Index of Environment Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-81

In This Chapter
Various environment variables affect the functionality of your IBM Informix
products. You can set environment variables that identify your terminal,
specify the location of your software, and define other parameters.

Some environment variables are required; others are optional. You must either
set or accept the default setting for required environment variables.

This chapter describes how to use the environment variables that apply to one
or more IBM Informix products and shows how to set them.

Types of Environment Variables

Two types of environment variables are discussed in this chapter:
v Informix-specific environment variables
Set Informix environment variables when you want to work with
IBM Informix products. Each IBM Informix product manual specifies the
environment variables that you must set to use that product.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-3

 v Operating-system-specific environment variables
IBM Informix products rely on the correct setting of certain standard
operating system environment variables. For example, you must always set
the PATH environment variable.

In a UNIX environment, you might also need to set the TERMCAP or

TERMINFO environment variable to use some products effectively.

The GLS environment variables that support nondefault locales are described
in the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide. The GLS variables are included in the
list of environment variables in Table 3-1 on page 3-14 and in the topic index
in Table 3-4 on page 3-81, but are not discussed in this manual.

The database server uses the environment variables that were in effect at the
time when the database server was initialized.

The onstat - g env command lists the active environment settings.

Tip: Additional environment variables that are specific to your client

application or SQL API might be discussed in the manual for that
product.

Important: Do not set any environment variable in the home directory of user
informix (nor in the file .informix in that directory) while
initializing the database and creating the sysmaster database.

Where to Set Environment Variables on UNIX

You can set environment variables on UNIX in the following places:
v At the system prompt on the command line
When you set an environment variable at the system prompt, you must
reassign it the next time you log into the system. See also “Using
Environment Variables on UNIX” on page 3-6.
v In an environment-configuration file
An environment-configuration file is a common or private file where you
can set all the environment variables that IBM Informix products use. The
use of such files reduces the number of environment variables that you
must set at the command line or in a shell file.
v In a login file
Values of environment variables set in your .login, .cshrc, or .profile file are
assigned automatically every time you log into the system.
v In the SET ENVIRONMENT statement of SQL
Values of some environment variables can reset by the SET
ENVIRONMENT statement. The scope of the new settings is generally the

3-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 routine that executed the SET ENVIRONMENT statement, but it is the
current session for the OPTCOMPIND environment variable of Dynamic
Server, as described in the section “OPTCOMPIND” on page 3-69, and for
environment variables of Extended Parallel Server that the sysdbopen( ) or
sysdbclose( ) SPL routines can set. For more information on these routines
and on the SET ENVIRONMENT statement, see the IBM Informix: Guide to
SQL Syntax.

In IBM Informix ESQL/C, you can set supported environment variables

within an application with the putenv( ) system call and retrieve values with
the getenv( ) system call, if your UNIX system supports these functions. For
more information on putenv( ) and getenv( ), see the IBM Informix: ESQL/C
Programmer's Manual and your C documentation.

Where to Set Environment Variables on Windows

You can set environment variables in several places on Windows, depending
on which IBM Informix application you use.

For native Windows IBM Informix applications, such as the database server,
environment variables can be set only in the Windows registry. Environment
variables set in the registry cannot be modified elsewhere.

For utilities that run in a command-prompt session, such as dbaccess,

environment variables can be set in several ways, as described in
“Environment Settings for Command-Prompt Utilities” on page 3-11.

The SET ENVIRONMENT statement of SQL can set certain routine-specific

environment options. For more information, refer to the description of SET
ENVIRONMENT in the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

To use client applications such as ESQL/C or the Schema Tools on Windows

environment, use the Setnet32 utility to set environment variables. For
information about the Setnet32 utility, see the IBM Informix: Client Products
Installation Guide for your operating system.

In IBM Informix ESQL/C, you can set supported environment variables

within an application with the ifx_putenv( ) function and retrieve values with
the ifx_getenv( ) function, if your Windows system supports them. For more
information on ifx_putenv( ) and ifx_getenv( ), see the IBM Informix: ESQL/C
Programmer's Manual.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-5

Using Environment Variables on UNIX
The following sections discuss setting, unsetting, modifying, and viewing
environment variables. If you already use an IBM Informix product, some or
all of the appropriate environment variables might be set.
Setting Environment Variables in a Configuration File
The common (shared) environment-configuration file that is provided with
IBM Informix products resides in $INFORMIXDIR/etc/informix.rc.
Permissions for this shared file must be set to 644.

A user can override the system or shared environment variables by setting

variables in a private environment-configuration file. This file must have all of
the following characteristics:
v Stored in the user’s home directory
v Named .informix
v Permissions set to readable by the user

An environment-configuration file can contain comment lines (preceded by

the # comment indicator) and variable definition lines that set values
(separated by blank spaces or tabs), as the following example shows:
# This is an example of an environment-configuration file
#
DBDATE DMY4-
#
# These are ESQL/C environment variable settings
#
INFORMIXC gcc
CPFIRST TRUE

You can use the ENVIGNORE environment variable, described in

“ENVIGNORE (UNIX)” on page 3-43, to override one or more entries in an
environment-configuration file. Use the Informix chkenv utility, described in
“Checking Environment Variables with the chkenv Utility” on page 3-9, to
perform a sanity check on the contents of an environment-configuration file.
The chkenv utility returns an error message if the file contains a bad
environment variable or if the file is too large.

The first time you set an environment variable in a shell file or

environment-configuration file, you must tell the shell process to read your
entry before you work with your IBM Informix product. If you use a C shell,
source the file; if you use a Bourne or Korn shell, use a period ( . ) to execute
the file.
Setting Environment Variables at Login Time
Add commands that set your environment variables to the appropriate login
file:

3-6 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 For C shell .login or .cshrc
For Bourne shell or Korn shell
.profile
Syntax for Setting Environment Variables
Use standard UNIX commands to set environment variables. The examples in
the following table show how to set the ABCD environment variable to value
for the C shell, Bourne shell, and Korn shell. The Korn shell also supports a
shortcut, as the last row indicates. Environment variables are case sensitive.

Shell Command
C setenv ABCD value

Bourne ABCD=value
export ABCD

Korn ABCD=value
export ABCD

Korn export ABCD=value

The following diagram shows how the syntax for setting an environment
variable is represented throughout this chapter. These diagrams indicate the
setting for the C shell; for the Bourne or Korn shells, use the syntax illustrated
in the preceding table.


setenv ABCD value


For more information on how to read syntax diagrams, see “Syntax

Diagrams” on page xiii of the Introduction.
Unsetting Environment Variables
To unset an environment variable, enter the following command.

Shell Command
C unsetenv ABCD
Bourne or Korn unset ABCD

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-7

 Modifying an Environment-Variable Setting
Sometimes you must add information to an environment variable that is
already set. For example, the PATH environment variable is always set on
UNIX. When you use an IBM Informix product, you must add to the PATH
setting the name of the directory where the executable files for the
IBM Informix products are stored.

In the following example, the INFORMIXDIR is /usr/informix. (That is,

during installation, the IBM Informix products were installed in the /usr
/informix directory.) The executable files are in the bin subdirectory,
/usr/informix/bin. To add this directory to the front of the C shell PATH
environment variable, use the following command:
setenv PATH /usr/informix/bin:$PATH

Rather than entering an explicit pathname, you can use the value of the
INFORMIXDIR environment variable (represented as $INFORMIXDIR), as
the following example shows:
setenv INFORMIXDIR /usr/informix
setenv PATH $INFORMIXDIR/bin:$PATH

You might prefer to use this version to ensure that your PATH entry does not
conflict with the search path that was set in INFORMIXDIR, and so that you
do not have to reset PATH whenever you change INFORMIXDIR. If you set
the PATH environment variable on the C shell command line, you might need
to include braces ( { } ) with the existing INFORMIXDIR and PATH, as the
following command shows:
setenv PATH ${INFORMIXDIR}/bin:${PATH}

For more information about how to set and modify environment variables,
refer to the manuals for your operating system.
Viewing Your Environment-Variable Settings
After you install one or more IBM Informix products, enter the following
command at the system prompt to view your current environment settings.

UNIX Version Command

BSD UNIX env

UNIX System V printenv

3-8 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Checking Environment Variables with the chkenv Utility
The chkenv utility checks the validity of shared or private
environment-configuration files. It validates the names of the environment
variables in the file, but not their values. Use chkenv to provide debugging
information when you define, in an environment-configuration file, all the
environment variables that your IBM Informix products use.


chkenv filename

pathname

filename is the name of the environment-configuration file to be

debugged.
pathname is the full directory path in which the environment variable
file is located.

File $INFORMIXDIR/etc/informix.rc is the shared environment-configuration

file. A private environment-configuration file is stored as .informix in the
home directory of the user. If you specify no pathname for chkenv, the utility
checks both the shared and private environment configuration files. If you
provide a pathname, chkenv checks only the specified file.

Issue the following command to check the contents of the shared

environment-configuration file:
chkenv informix.rc

The chkenv utility returns an error message if it finds a bad

environment-variable name in the file or if the file is too large. You can
modify the file and rerun the utility to check the modified
environment-variable names.

IBM Informix products ignore all lines in the environment-configuration file,

starting at the point of the error, if the chkenv utility returns the following
message:
-33523 filename: Bad environment variable on line number.

If you want the product to ignore specified environment-variables in the file,

you can also set the ENVIGNORE environment variable. For a discussion of
the use and format of environment-configuration files and the ENVIGNORE
environment variable, see page 3-43.
Rules of Precedence
When an IBM Informix product accesses an environment variable, normally
the following rules of precedence apply:
1. Of highest precedence is the value that is defined in the environment
(shell) by explicitly setting the value at the shell prompt.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-9

 2. The second highest precedence goes to the value that is defined in the
private environment-configuration file in the home directory of the user
(~/.informix).
3. The next highest precedence goes to the value that is defined in the
common environment-configuration file ($INFORMIXDIR/etc/informix.rc).
4. The lowest precedence goes to the default value, if one exists.

For precedence information about GLS environment variables, see the

IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

Important: If you set one or more environment variables before you start the
database server, and you do not explicitly set the same
environment variables for your client products, the clients will
adopt the original settings.

Using Environment Variables on Windows

The following sections discuss setting, viewing, unsetting, and modifying
environment variables for native Windows applications and command-prompt
utilities.
Environment Settings for Native Windows Applications
IBM Informix native Windows applications, such as the database server itself,
store their configuration information in the Windows registry. To modify this
information, you must use the Registry Editor, regedt32.exe.

Important: In order to use the Registry Editor to change database server

environment variables, you must belong to either the
Administrators or Informix-Admin groups. For information on
assigning users to groups, see your operating-system
documentation.

To manipulate environment variables with the Registry Editor:

1. Launch the Registry Editor, regedt32.exe, and choose the window titled
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
2. In the left pane, double-click the SOFTWARE registry key (shown as a
small, yellow file folder icon).
The SOFTWARE registry key expands to show several subkeys, one of
which is Informix. Continue down the tree in the following sequence:
OnLine, dbservername, Environment.
Substitute the name of your database server for dbservername.
3. With the Environment registry key selected in the left pane, you should
see a list of environment variables and their values in the right pane (for
example, CLIENT_LOCALE:REG_SZ:EN_US.CP1252).

3-10 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 4. Change existing environment variables, if needed.
a. Double-click the environment variable.
b. Type the new value in the String Editor dialog box.
c. Click OK to accept the value.
5. Add new environment variables, if needed.
a. Choose Edit > Add Value in the Registry Editor.
b. Enter the name of the environment variable in the Value Name edit
box and choose REG_SZ as the data type.
c. Click OK and type a value for the environment variable in the String
Editor dialog box.
6. Delete an environment variable, if needed.
a. Select the variable name.
b. Choose Edit > Delete in the Registry Editor.
Environment Settings for Command-Prompt Utilities
You can set environment variables for command-prompt utilities in the
following ways:
v With the System applet in the Control Panel
v In a command-line session

Using the System Applet to Work with Environment Variables

The System applet provides a graphical interface to create, modify, and delete
system-wide and user-specific variables. Environment variables that are set
with the System applet are visible to all command-prompt sessions.

To change environment variables with the System applet in the control

panel:
1. Double-click the System applet icon from the Control Panel window.
Click the Environment tab near the top of the window. Two list boxes
display System Environment Variables and User Environment Variables.
System Environment Variables apply to an entire system, and User
Environment Variables apply only to the sessions of the individual user.
2. To change the value of an existing variable, select that variable.
The name of the variable and its current value appear in the boxes at the
bottom of the window.
3. Highlight the existing value and type the new value.
4. To add a new variable, highlight an existing variable and type the new
variable name in the box at the bottom of the window.
5. Next, enter the value for the new variable at the bottom of the window
and click the Set button.
6. To delete a variable, select the variable and click the Delete button.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-11

 Important: In order to use the System applet to change System environment
variables, you must belong to the Administrators group. For
information on assigning users to groups, see your
operating-system documentation.

Using the Command Prompt to Work with Environment Variables

The following diagram shows the syntax for setting an environment variable
at a command prompt in Windows.


set ABCD = value


If no value is specified, the environment variable is unset, as if it did not exist.

For more information on how to read syntax diagrams, see “Syntax

Diagrams” on page xiii of the introduction.

To view your current settings after one or more IBM Informix products are
installed, enter the following command at the command prompt.


set


Sometimes you must add information to an environment variable that is

already set. For example, the PATH environment variable is always set in
Windows environments. When you use an IBM Informix product, you must
add the name of the directory where the executable files for the IBM Informix
products are stored to the PATH.

In the following example, INFORMIXDIR is d:\informix (that is, during

installation, IBM Informix products were installed in the d: \informix
directory). The executable files are in the bin subdirectory, d:\informix\bin.
To add this directory at the beginning of the PATH environment-variable
value, use the following command:
set PATH=d:\informix\bin;%PATH%

Rather than entering an explicit pathname, you can use the value of the
INFORMIXDIR environment variable (represented as %INFORMIXDIR%),
as the following example shows:
set INFORMIXDIR=d:\informix
set PATH=%INFORMIXDIR%\bin;%PATH%

You might prefer to use this version to ensure that your PATH entry does not
contradict the search path that was set in INFORMIXDIR and to avoid the
need to reset PATH whenever you change INFORMIXDIR.

3-12 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 For more information about setting and modifying environment variables,
refer to your operating-system manuals.

Using dbservername.cmd to Initialize a Command-Prompt Environment

Each time that you open a Windows command prompt, it acts as an
independent environment. Therefore, environment variables that you set
within it are valid only for that particular command-prompt instance.

For example, if you open one command window and set the variable,
INFORMIXDIR, and then open another command window and type set to
check your environment, you will find that INFORMIXDIR is not set in the
new command-prompt session.

The database server installation program creates a batch file that you can use
to configure command-prompt utilities, ensuring that your command-prompt
environment is initialized correctly each time that you run a
command-prompt session. The batch file, dbservername.cmd, is located in
%INFORMIXDIR%, and is a plain text file that you can modify with any text
editor. If you have more than one database server installed in
%INFORMIXDIR%, there will be more than one batch file with the .cmd
extension, each bearing the name of the database server with which it is
associated.

To run dbservername.cmd from a command prompt, type dbservername or

configure a command prompt so that it runs dbservername.cmd automatically
at start up.
Rules of Precedence
When an IBM Informix product accesses an environment variable, normally
the following rules of precedence apply:
1. The highest precedence goes to the value that is defined in the
environment by explicitly setting the value at the command prompt.
2. The second highest precedence goes to the value that is defined in the
System control panel as a User Environment Variable.
3. The third highest precedence goes to the value that is defined in the
System control panel as a System Environment Variable.
4. The lowest precedence goes to the default value.

Important: Because Windows services access only environment variables that

are set in the registry, the preceding rules of precedence do not
apply for IBM Informix native Windows applications. For native
Windows applications, the highest precedence goes to variables
that are explicitly defined in the registry, and the lowest
precedence goes to the default value. In addition, if you set one or
more environment variables before you start the database server,

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-13

 and you do not explicitly set the same environment variables for
client products, the clients will adopt the original settings.

List of Environment Variables

Table 3-1 contains an alphabetical list of the environment variables that you
can set for an Informix database server and SQL API products. Most of these
environment variables are described in this chapter on the pages listed in the
“Page” column. The v symbol indicates that XPS or Dynamic Server (or both,
if both columns are so marked) support the environment variable.

The notation ERG in the Page column indicates an environment variable that
must be set with the CDR_ENV configuration parameter and that is described
in the appendix on configuration parameters and environment variables of the
IBM Informix: Dynamic Server Enterprise Replication Guide.

The notation GLS in the Page column indicates a GLS environment variable
that is valid in nondefault locales and that is described in the GLS
environment variables chapter of IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.
Table 3-1. Alphabetical List Of Environment Variables
Environment Variable XPS IDS Restrictions Page
AC_CONFIG X X ON-Bar 3-18
AFDEBUG JVM 3-18
ANSIOWNER X None 3-18
BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE X SQL APIs and 3-19
DB-Access only
CC8BITLEVEL ESQL/C only GLS
CDRSITES_731 X ER only ERG
CDRSITES_92X X ER only ERG
CDR_LOGDELTA X ER only ERG
CDR_PERFLOG X ER only ERG
CDR_ROUTER X ER only ERG
CDR_RMSCALEFACT X ER only ERG
CLIENT_LOCALE X X None GLS
CPFIRST X X ESQL/C only 3-20
DBACCNOIGN X X DB-Access only 3-20
DBANSIWARN X X None 3-21
DBBLOBBUF X X UNLOAD only 3-22
DBCENTURY SQL APIs only 3-22

3-14 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table 3-1. Alphabetical List Of Environment Variables (continued)
Environment Variable XPS IDS Restrictions Page
DBDATE X X None 3-25; GLS
DBDELIMITER X X None 3-28
DBEDIT X X None 3-28
DBFLTMASK X X DB-Access only 3-29
DBLANG X X None 3-29; GLS
DBMONEY X X None 3-30; GLS
DBNLS X 3-32
DBONPLOAD X HPL only 3-33
DBPATH X X None 3-33
DBPRINT X X UNIX only 3-35
DBREMOTECMD X X UNIX only 3-36
DBSPACETEMP X X None 3-36
DBTEMP X DB-Access, Gateways 3-38
DBTIME SQL APIs only 3-39; GLS
DBUPSPACE X X None 3-41
DB_LOCALE X X None GLS
DEFAULT_ATTACH X Deprecated 3-42
DELIMIDENT X X None 3-42
ENVIGNORE X X UNIX only 3-43
ESQLMF X X ESQL/C only GLS
FET_BUF_SIZE X X SQL APIs, DB-Access only 3-44
GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM X None 3-45
GLS8BITFSYS X X None GLS
GL_DATE X X None GLS
GL_DATETIME X X None GLS
IBM_XPS_PARAMS X None 3-45
IFMX_CART_ALRM X None 3-46
IFMX_HISTORY_SIZE X DB-Access 3-47
IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS X None 3-47
IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS X None 3-48
IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE X None 3-48
IFX_DIRECTIVES X X None 3-49

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-15

Table 3-1. Alphabetical List Of Environment Variables (continued)
Environment Variable XPS IDS Restrictions Page
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES X X Set on the client only 3-49
IFX_LONGID X X None 3-51
IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE X X UNIX only 3-52
IFX_NETBUF_SIZE X X None 3-53
IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING X X None 3-52
IFX_PAD_VARCHAR X None 3-53
IFX_UPDDESC X None 3-53
IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND X None 3-53
IMCADMIN X 3-54
IMCCONFIG X 3-55
IMCSERVER X 3-55
INFORMIXC ESQL/C, UNIX only 3-55
INFORMIXCONCSMCFG X None 3-56
INFORMIXCONRETRY X X None 3-56
INFORMIXCONTIME X X None 3-56
INFORMIXCPPMAP X None 3-58
INFORMIXDIR X X None 3-58
INFORMIXKEYTAB X X UNIX only 3-59
INFORMIXOPCACHE X Optical Subsystem only 3-59
INFORMIXSERVER X X None 3-60
INFORMIXSHMBASE X X UNIX only 3-60
INFORMIXSQLHOSTS X X None 3-61
INFORMIXSTACKSIZE X X None 3-62
INFORMIXTERM X X DB-Access, UNIX only 3-62
INF_ROLE_SEP X None 3-63
INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF X Windows only 3-64
ISM_COMPRESSION X X ISM, ON–Bar only 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_FILE X X ISM only 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL X X ISM, ON–Bar only 3-65
ISM_ENCRYPTION X X ISM, ON–Bar only 3-65
ISM_MAXLOGSIZE X X ISM only 3-65
ISM_MAXLOGVERS X X ISM only 3-66

3-16 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table 3-1. Alphabetical List Of Environment Variables (continued)
Environment Variable XPS IDS Restrictions Page
JAR_TEMP_PATH X JVM 3-66
JAVA_COMPILER X JVM 3-66
JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE X JVM 3-66
LD_LIBRARY_PATH SQL APIs, UNIX only 3-67
LIBERAL_MATCH X None 3-67
LIBPATH SQL APIs, UNIX only 3-68
NODEFDAC X X None 3-68
ONCONFIG X X None 3-68
OPTCOMPIND X X None 3-69
OPTMSG ESQL/C only 3-70
OPTOFC ESQL/C only 3-70
OPT_GOAL X UNIX only 3-71
PATH X X None 3-71
PDQPRIORITY X X None 3-72
PLCONFIG X HPL only 3-74
PLOAD_LO_PATH X HPL only 3-74
PLOAD_SHMBASE X HPL only 3-74
PSORT_DBTEMP X X None 3-75
PSORT_NPROCS X X None 3-76
RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE X None 3-77
SERVER_LOCALE X X None GLS
SHLIB_PATH X X UNIX only 3-77
STMT_CACHE X None 3-77
TERM X X UNIX only 3-78
TERMCAP X X UNIX only 3-78
TERMINFO X X UNIX only 3-79
THREADLIB ESQL/C, UNIX only 3-80
TOBIGINT X dbschema only 3-80
USETABLENAME X None 3-80
XFER_CONFIG X None 3-81

Tip: You might encounter references to environment variables that are not
listed in Table 3-1 on page 3-14. Most likely, these environment variables

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-17

 are not supported in this release or are used to maintain backward
compatibility with certain earlier product versions. For information, refer
to an earlier version of your IBM Informix documentation.

Environment Variables
Sections that follow discuss (in alphabetical order) environment variables that
IBM Informix database server products and their utilities use.

Important: The descriptions of the following environment variables include

the syntax for setting the environment variable on UNIX. For a
general description of how to set these environment variables on
Windows, see “Environment Settings for Native Windows
Applications” on page 3-10 and “Environment Settings for
Command-Prompt Utilities” on page 3-11.
AC_CONFIG
You can set the AC_CONFIG environment variable to specify the path for the
ac_config.std configuration file for the archecker utility, which checks the
validity and completeness of an ON–Bar storage-space backup. The
ac_config.std file contains default archecker configuration parameters.


setenv AC_CONFIG pathname


pathname is the location of the ac_config.std configuration file in

$INFORMIXDIR/etc or %INFORMIXDIR%\etc.

For information on archecker, see your IBM Informix: Backup and Restore
Guide.
AFDEBUG
You can create files to hold verbose messages from the Java virtual machine
(JVM) about releasing memory that had been allocated to objects by setting
the AFDEBUG environment variable.


setenv AFDEBUG


No value is required. You can also set the configuration parameter AFCRASH
to 0x00000010 to achieve the same result.
ANSIOWNER (IDS)
In an ANSI-compliant database, you can prevent the default behavior of
upshifting lowercase letters in owner names that are not delimited by
quotation marks by setting the ANSIOWNER environment variable to 1.

3-18 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference



setenv ANSIOWNER 1


To prevent upshifting of lowercase letters in owner names in an

ANSI-compliant database, you must set ANSIOWNER before you initialize
Dynamic Server.

The following table shows how an ANSI-compliant database of Dynamic

Server stores or reads the specified name of a database object called oblong if
you were the owner of oblong and your userid (in all lowercase letters) were
owen:
Table 3-2. Lettercase of implicit, unquoted, and quoted owner names, with and without
ANSIOWNER
Owner Format Specification ANSIOWNER = 1 ANSIOWNER Not Set
Implicit: oblong owen.oblong OWEN.oblong
Unquoted: owen.oblong owen.oblong OWEN.oblong
Quoted: ’owen’.oblong owen.oblong owen.oblong

Because they do not match the lettercase of your userid, any SQL statements
that specified the formats that are stored as OWEN.oblong would fail with
errors.
BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE (XPS)
The BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE environment variable functions the same as the
FET_BUF_SIZE environment variable, but supports a larger cursor buffer.


setenv BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE size


size is a positive integer that is larger than the default buffer size.

The size can be no greater than 4 gigabytes and specifies the size (in bytes) of
the fetch buffer that holds data retrieved by a query. For example, to set a
buffer size to 5,000 bytes on a UNIX system that uses the C shell, set the
BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE environment variable with the following command:
setenv BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE 5000

When BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE is set to a valid value, the new value overrides

the default value (or any previously set value of BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE). The
default setting for the fetch buffer is dependent on row size. The processing of
BYTE and TEXT values is not affected by BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE.

No error is raised if BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE is set to a value less than the

default size or out of the range of SMALLINT values. In these cases, however,
the invalid fetch buffer size is ignored and the default size is in effect.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-19

 If you set BIG_FET_BUF_SIZE to a valid value, that value is in effect for the
local database server as well as for any remote database server from which
you retrieve rows through a distributed query in which the local server is the
coordinator and the remote server is subordinate. The greater the size of the
buffer, the more rows can be returned and the less frequently the client
application must wait for returned rows. A large buffer can improve
performance by reducing the overhead of filling the client-side buffer.
CPFIRST
Set the CPFIRST environment variable to specify the default compilation
order for all ESQL/C source files in your programming environment.


setenv CPFIRST TRUE

FALSE

When you compile an ESQL/C program with CPFIRST not set, the ESQL/C
preprocessor runs first, by default, on the program source file and then passes
the resulting file to the C language preprocessor and compiler. You can,
however, compile an ESQL/C program source file in the following order:
1. Run the C preprocessor
2. Run the ESQL/C preprocessor
3. Run the C compiler and linker

To use a nondefault compilation order for a specific program, you can either
give the program source file a .ecp extension, run the -cp option with the esql
command on a program source file with a .ec extension, or set CPFIRST.

Set CPFIRST to TRUE (uppercase only) to run the C preprocessor before the
ESQL/C preprocessor on all ESQL/C source files in your environment,
irrespective of whether the -cp option is passed to the esql command or the
source files have the .ec or the .ecp extension.

To restore the default order on a system where the CPFIRST environment

variable has been set to TRUE, you can set CPFIRST to FALSE. On UNIX
systems that support the C shell, the following command has the same effect:
unsetenv CPFIRST

DBACCNOIGN
The DBACCNOIGN environment variable affects the behavior of the
DB–Access utility if an error occurs under one of the following circumstances:
v You run DB–Access in nonmenu mode.
v In Dynamic Server only, you execute the LOAD command with DB–Access
in menu mode.

3-20 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Set the DBACCNOIGN environment variable to 1 to roll back an incomplete
transaction if an error occurs while you run the DB–Access utility under either
of the preceding conditions.


setenv DBACCNOIGN 1


For example, assume DB–Access runs the following SQL commands:

DATABASE mystore
BEGIN WORK

INSERT INTO receipts VALUES (cust1, 10)

INSERT INTO receipt VALUES (cust1, 20)
INSERT INTO receipts VALUES (cust1, 30)

UPDATE customer
SET balance =
(SELECT (balance-60)
FROM customer WHERE custid = ’cust1’)
WHERE custid = ’cust1
COMMIT WORK

Here, one statement has a misspelled table name: the receipt table does not
exist. If DBACCNOIGN is not set in your environment, DB–Access inserts
two records into the receipts table and updates the customer table. Now, the
decrease in the customer balance exceeds the sum of the inserted receipts.

But if DBACCNOIGN is set to 1, messages appear that indicate that

DB–Access rolled back all the INSERT and UPDATE statements. The messages
also identify the cause of the error so that you can resolve the problem.

LOAD Statement Example

You can set DBACCNOIGN to protect data integrity during a LOAD
statement, even if DB–Access runs the LOAD statement in menu mode.

Assume you execute the LOAD statement from the DB–Access SQL menu.
Forty-nine rows of data load correctly, but the 50th row contains an invalid
value that causes an error. If you set DBACCNOIGN to 1, the database server
does not insert the forty-nine previous rows into the database. If
DBACCNOIGN is not set, the database server inserts the first forty-nine
rows.
DBANSIWARN
Setting the DBANSIWARN environment variable indicates that you want to
check for Informix extensions to ANSI-standard SQL syntax. Unlike most
environment variables, you do not need to set DBANSIWARN to a value.
You can set it to any value or to no value.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-21



setenv DBANSIWARN


Running DB–Access with DBANSIWARN set is functionally equivalent to

including the -ansi flag when you invoke DB–Access (or any IBM Informix
product that recognizes the -ansi flag) from the command line. If you set
DBANSIWARN before you run DB–Access, any syntax-extension warnings
are displayed on the screen within the SQL menu.

At runtime, the DBANSIWARN environment variable causes the sixth

character of the sqlwarn array in the SQL Communication Area (SQLCA) to
be set to W when a statement is executed that is recognized as including any
Informix extension to the ANSI/ISO standard for SQL syntax.

For details on SQLCA, see the IBM Informix: ESQL/C Programmer's Manual.

After you set DBANSIWARN, Informix extension checking is automatic until

you log out or unset DBANSIWARN. To turn off Informix extension
checking, you can disable DBANSIWARN with this command:
unsetenv DBANSIWARN

DBBLOBBUF
The DBBLOBBUF environment variable controls whether TEXT or BYTE
values are stored temporarily in memory or in a file while being processed by
the UNLOAD statement. DBBLOBBUF affects only the UNLOAD statement.


setenv DBBLOBBUF size


size represents the maximum size of TEXT or BYTE data in

kilobytes.

If the TEXT or BYTE data size is smaller than the default of 10 kilobytes (or
the setting of DBBLOBBUF), the TEXT or BYTE value is temporarily stored in
memory. If the data size is larger than the default or the DBBLOBBUF setting,
the data value is written to a temporary file. For instance, to set a buffer size
of 15 kilobytes, set DBBLOBBUF as in the following example:
setenv DBBLOBBUF 15

Here any TEXT or BYTE value smaller than 15 kilobytes is stored temporarily
in memory. Values larger than 15 kilobytes are stored temporarily in a file.
DBCENTURY
To avoid problems in expanding abbreviated years, applications should
require entry of 4-digit years, and should always display years as four digits.
The DBCENTURY environment variable specifies how to expand literal DATE
and DATETIME values that are entered with abbreviated year values.

3-22 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 R


setenv DBCENTURY F

C
P

When DBCENTURY is not set (or is set to R), the first two digits of the
current year are used to expand 2-digit year values. For example, if today’s
date is 09/30/2003, then the abbreviated date 12/31/99 expands to
12/31/2099, and the abbreviated date 12/31/00 expands to 12/31/2000.

The R, P, F, and C settings choose algorithms for expanding two-digit years.

Setting Algorithm
R = Current Use the first two digits of the current year to expand the year value.
P = Past Expanded dates are created by prefixing the abbreviated year value
with 19 and 20. Both dates are compared to the current date, and the
most recent date that is earlier than the current date is used.
F = Future Expanded dates are created by prefixing the abbreviated year value
with 20 and 21. Both dates are compared to the current date, and the
earliest date that is later than the current date is used.
C = Closest Expanded dates are created by prefixing the abbreviated year value
with 19, 20, and 21. These three dates are compared to the current
date, and the date that is closest to the current date is used.

Settings are case sensitive, and no error is issued for invalid settings. If you
enter f (for example), then the default (R) setting takes effect. The P and F
settings cannot return the current date, which is not in the past or future.

Years entered as a single digit are prefixed with 0 and then expanded.
Three-digit years are not expanded. Pad years earlier than 100 with leading
zeros.

Examples of Expanding Year Values

The following examples illustrate how various settings of DBCENTURY cause
abbreviated years to be expanded in DATE and DATETIME values.

DBCENTURY = P:
Example data type: DATE
Current date: 4/6/2003
User enters: 1/1/1
Prefix with "19" expansion : 1/1/1901
Prefix with "20" expansion: 1/1/2001
Analysis: Both are prior to current date, but 1/1/2001 is closer to
current date.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-23

 Important: The effect of DBCENTURY depends on the current date from the
system clock-calendar. Thus, 1/1/1, the abbreviated date in this
example, would instead be expanded to 1/1/1901 if the current
date were 1/1/2001 and DBCENTURY = P.

DBCENTURY = F:
Example data type: DATETIME year to month
Current date: 5/7/2005
User enters: 1-1
Prefix with "20" expansion: 2001-1
Prefix with "21" expansion: 2101-1
Analysis: Only date 2101-1 is after the current date, so it is chosen.

DBCENTURY = C:
Example data type: DATE
Current date: 4/6/2000
User enters: 1/1/1
Prefix with "19" expansion : 1/1/1901
Prefix with "20" expansion: 1/1/2001
Prefix with "21" expansion: 1/1/2101
Analysis: Here 1/1/2001 is closest to the current date, so it is chosen.

DBCENTURY = R or DBCENTURY Not Set:

Example data type: DATETIME year to month
Current date: 4/6/2000
User enters: 1-1
Prefix with "20" expansion: 2001-1

Example data type: DATE

Current date: 4/6/2003
User enters: 0/1/1
Prefix with "20" expansion: 2000/1
Analysis: In both examples, the Prefix with "20" algorithm is used.

Setting DBCENTURY does not affect IBM Informix products when the locale
specifies a non-Gregorian calendar, such as Hebrew or Islamic calendars. The
leading digits of the current year are used for alternate calendar systems
when the year is abbreviated.

Abbreviated Years and Expressions in Database Objects

When an expression in a database object (including a check constraint,
fragmentation expression, SPL routine, trigger, or UDR) contains a literal date
or DATETIME value in which the year has one or two digits, the database
server evaluates the expression using the setting that DBCENTURY (and
other relevant environment variables) had when the database object was
created (or was last modified). If DBCENTURY has been reset to a new value,
the new value is ignored when the abbreviated year is expanded.

3-24 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 For example, suppose a user creates a table and defines the following check
constraint on a column named birthdate:
birthdate < ’09/25/50’

The expression is interpreted according to the value of DBCENTURY when

the constraint was defined. If the table that contains the birthdate column is
created on 09/23/2000 and DBCENTURY =C, the check constraint expression
is consistently interpreted as birthdate < ’09/25/1950’ when inserts or
updates are performed on the birthdate column. Even if different values of
DBCENTURY are set when users perform inserts or updates on the birthdate
column, the constraint expression is interpreted according to the setting at the
time when the check constraint was defined (or was last modified).

Database objects created on some earlier versions of Dynamic Server do not

support the priority of creation-time settings.

For legacy objects to acquire this feature:

1. Drop the objects.
2. Re-create them (or for fragmentation expressions, detach them and then
reattach them).

After the objects are redefined, date literals within expressions of the objects
will be interpreted according to the environment at the time when the object
was created or was last modified. Otherwise, their behavior will depend on
the runtime environment and might become inconsistent if this changes.

Administration of a database that includes a mix of legacy objects and new

objects might become difficult because of differences between the new and the
old behavior for evaluating date expressions. To avoid this, it is recommended
that you redefine any legacy objects.

The value of DBCENTURY and the current date are not the only factors that
determine how the database server interprets date and DATETIME values.
The DBDATE, DBTIME, GL_DATE, and GL_DATETIME environment
variables can also influence how dates are interpreted. For information about
GL_DATE and GL_DATETIME, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

Important: The behavior of DBCENTURY for Dynamic Server and Extended

Parallel Server is not backwards compatible.
DBDATE
The DBDATE environment variable specifies the end-user formats of DATE
values. On UNIX systems that use the C shell, set DBDATE with this syntax.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-25

 MD Y4 /


setenv DBDATE DM Y2 -

Y4 MD .
Y2 DM .
0

The following formatting symbols are valid in the DBDATE setting:

-./ are characters that can appear as separators in a date format.
0 indicates that no separator is displayed between time units.
D, M are characters that represent the day and the month.
Y2, Y4 are characters that represent the year and the precision of the
year.

Some East Asian locales support additional syntax for era-based dates. For
details of era-based formats, see IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

DBDATE can specify the following attributes of the display format:

v The order of time units (the month, day, and year) in a date
v Whether the year appears with two digits (Y2) or four digits (Y4)
v The separator between the month, day, and year time units

For the U.S. English locale, the default for DBDATE is MDY4/, where M
represents the month, D represents the day, Y4 represents a four-digit year, and
slash ( / ) is the time-units separator (for example, 01/08/2002). Other valid
characters for the separator are a hyphen ( - ), a period ( . ), or a zero (0). To
indicate no separator, use the zero. The slash ( / ) is used by default if you
attempt to specify a character other than a hyphen, period, or zero as a
separator, or if you do not include any separator in the DBDATE
specification.

If DBDATE is not set on the client, any DBDATE setting on the database
server overrides the MDY4/ default on the client. If DBDATE is set on the
client, that value (rather than the setting on the database server) is used by
the client.

The following table shows some examples of valid DBDATE settings and
their corresponding displays for the date 8 January, 2005:

3-26 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

DBDATE Representation of DBDATE Representation of
Setting January 8, 2005: Setting January 8, 2005:
MDY4/ 01/08/2005 Y2DM. 05.08.01
DMY2- 08-01-05 MDY20 010805
MDY4 01/08/2005 Y4MD* 2005/01/08

Formats Y4MD* (because asterisk is not a valid separator) and MDY4 (with no
separator defined) both display the default symbol (slash) as the separator.

Important: If you use the Y2 format, the setting of the DBCENTURY

environment variable can also affect how literal DATE values are
evaluated in data entry.

Also, certain routines that IBM Informix ESQL/C calls can use the DBTIME
variable, rather than DBDATE, to set DATETIME formats to international
specifications. For more information, see the discussion of the DBTIME
environment variable in “DBTIME” on page 3-39 and in the IBM Informix:
ESQL/C Programmer's Manual.

The setting of the DBDATE variable takes precedence over that of the
GL_DATE environment variable, as well as over any default DATE format
that CLIENT_LOCALE specifies. For information about GL_DATE and
CLIENT_LOCALE, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

End-user formats affect the following contexts:

v When you display DATE values, IBM Informix products use the DBDATE
environment variable to format the output.
v During data entry of DATE values, IBM Informix products use the
DBDATE environment variable to interpret the input.

For example, if you specify a literal DATE value in an INSERT statement, the
database server expects this literal value to be compatible with the format that
DBDATE specifies. Similarly, the database server interprets the date that you
specify as the argument to the DATE( ) function to be in DBDATE format.

DATE Expressions in Database Objects

When an expression in a database object (including a check constraint,
fragmentation expression, SPL routine, trigger, or UDR) contains a literal date
value, the database server evaluates the expression using the setting that
DBDATE (or other relevant environment variables) had when the database
object was created (or was last modified). If DBDATE has been reset to a new
value, the new value is ignored when the literal DATE is evaluated.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-27

 For example, suppose DBDATE is set to MDY2/ and a user creates a table
with the following check constraint on the column orderdate:
orderdate < ’06/25/98’

The date of the preceding expression is formatted according to the value of

DBDATE when the constraint is defined. The check constraint expression is
interpreted as orderdate < ’06/25/98’ regardless of the value of DBDATE
during inserts or updates on the orderdate column. Suppose DBDATE is
reset to DMY2/ when a user inserts the value ’30/01/98’ into the orderdate
column. The date value inserted uses the date format DMY2/, whereas the
check constraint expression uses the date format MDY2/.

See “Abbreviated Years and Expressions in Database Objects” on page 3-24 for
a discussion of legacy objects from earlier versions of Informix database
servers that are always evaluated according to the runtime environment. That
section describes how to redefine objects so that dates are interpreted
according to environment variable settings that were in effect when the object
was defined (or when the object was last modified).

Important: The behavior of DBDATE for Dynamic Server and Extended

Parallel Server is not backwards compatible.
DBDELIMITER
The DBDELIMITER environment variable specifies the field delimiter used
with the dbexport utility and with the LOAD and UNLOAD statements.


setenv DBDELIMITER ’delimiter’


delimiter is the field delimiter for unloaded data files.

The delimiter can be any single character, except those in the following list:
v Hexadecimal digits (0 through 9, a through f, A through F)
v Newline or CTRL-J
v The backslash ( \ ) symbol

The vertical bar ( | = ASCII 124) is the default. To change the field delimiter
to a plus ( + ) symbol, for example, you can set DBDELIMITER as follows:
setenv DBDELIMITER ’+’

DBEDIT
The DBEDIT environment variable specifies the text editor to use with SQL
statements and command files in DB–Access. If DBEDIT is set, the specified
text editor is invoked automatically. If DBEDIT is not set, you are prompted
to specify a text editor as the default for the rest of the session.

3-28 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference



setenv DBEDIT editor


editor is the name of the text editor you want to use.

For most UNIX systems, the default text editor is vi. If you use another text
editor, be sure that it creates flat ASCII files. Some word processors in
document mode introduce printer control characters that can interfere with the
operation of your IBM Informix product.

To specify the EMACS text editor, set DBEDIT with the following command:
setenv DBEDIT emacs

DBFLTMASK
The DB–Access utility displays the floating-point values of data types FLOAT,
SMALLFLOAT, and DECIMAL(p) within a 14-character buffer. By default,
DB–Access displays as many digits to the right of the decimal point as will fit
into this character buffer. Therefore, the actual number of decimal digits that
DB–Access displays depends on the size of the floating-point value.

To reduce the number of digits displayed to the right of the decimal point in
floating-point values, set DBFLTMASK to the desired number of digits.


setenv DBFLTMASK scale


scale is the number of decimal digits that you want the

IBM Informix client application to display in the
floating-point values. Here scale must be smaller than 16, the
default number of digits displayed.

If the floating-point value contains more digits to the right of the decimal than
DBFLTMASK specifies, DB–Access rounds the value to the specified number
of digits. If the floating-point value contains fewer digits to the right of the
decimal, DB–Access pads the value with zeros. If you set DBFLTMASK to a
value greater than can fit into the 14-character buffer, however, DB–Access
rounds the value to the number of digits that can fit.
DBLANG
The DBLANG environment variable specifies the subdirectory of
$INFORMIXDIR or the full pathname of the directory that contains the
compiled message files that an IBM Informix product uses.


setenv DBLANG relative_path

full_path

relative_path is a subdirectory of $INFORMIXDIR.

full_path is the pathname to the compiled message files.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-29

 By default, IBM Informix products put compiled messages in a locale-specific
subdirectory of the $INFORMIXDIR/msg directory. These compiled message
files have the file extension .iem. If you want to use a message directory other
than $INFORMIXDIR/msg, where, for example, you can store message files
that you create, you must perform the following steps:

To use a message directory other than $INFORMIXDIR/msg:

1. Use the mkdir command to create the appropriate directory for the
message files.
You can make this directory under the directory $INFORMIXDIR or
$INFORMIXDIR/msg, or you can make it under any other directory.
2. Set the owner and group of the new directory to informix and the access
permission for this directory to 755.
3. Set the DBLANG environment variable to the new directory. If this is a
subdirectory of $INFORMIXDIR or $INFORMIXDIR/msg, then you need
only list the relative path to the new directory. Otherwise, you must
specify the full pathname of the directory.
4. Copy the .iem files or the message files that you created to the new
message directory that $DBLANG specifies.
All the files in the message directory should have the owner and group
informix and access permission 644.

IBM Informix products that use the default U.S. English locale search for
message files in the following order:
1. In $DBLANG, if DBLANG is set to a full pathname
2. In $INFORMIXDIR/msg/$DBLANG, if DBLANG is set to a relative
pathname
3. In $INFORMIXDIR/$DBLANG, if DBLANG is set to a relative pathname
4. In $INFORMIXDIR/msg/en_us/0333
5. In $INFORMIXDIR/msg/en_us.8859-1
6. In $INFORMIXDIR/msg
7. In $INFORMIXDIR/msg/english

For more information on search paths for messages, see the description of
DBLANG in the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.
DBMONEY
The DBMONEY environment variable specifies the display format of values
in columns of smallfloat, FLOAT, DECIMAL, or MONEY data types, and of
complex data types derived from any of these data types.

3-30 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 ’$’ .


setenv DBMONEY front ,

’front ’ back
‘back’

$ is a currency symbol that precedes MONEY values in the

default locale if no other front symbol is specified, or if
DBMONEY is not set.
, or . is a comma or period (the default) that separates the integral
part from the fractional part of the FLOAT, DECIMAL, or
MONEY value. Whichever symbol you do not specify
becomes the thousands separator.
back is a currency symbol that follows the MONEY value.
front is a currency symbol that precedes the MONEY value.

The back symbol can be up to seven characters and can contain any character
that the locale supports, except a digit, a comma ( , ), or a period ( . ) symbol.
The front symbol can be up to seven characters and can contain any character
that the locale supports except a digit, a comma ( , ), or a period ( . ) symbol.
If you specify any character that is not a letter of the alphabet for front or back,
you must enclose the front or back setting between single quotation ( ’ ) marks.

When you display MONEY values, IBM Informix products use the
DBMONEY setting to format the output. DBMONEY has no effect, however,
on the internal format of data values that are stored in columns of the
database.

If you do not set DBMONEY, then MONEY values for the default locale, U.S.
English, are formatted with a dollar sign ( $ ) that precedes the MONEY
value, a period ( . ) that separates the integral from the fractional part of the
MONEY value, and no back symbol. For example, 100.50 is formatted as
$100.50.

Suppose you want to represent MONEY values as DM (deutsche mark) units,

using the currency symbol DM and comma ( , ) as the decimal separator. Enter
the following command to set the DBMONEY environment variable:
setenv DBMONEY DM,

Here DM is the front currency symbol that precedes the MONEY value, and a
comma separates the integral from the fractional part of the MONEY value.
As a result, the value 100.50 is displayed as DM100,50.

For more information about how DBMONEY formats MONEY values in

nondefault locales, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-31

 DBNLS (IDS)
The DBNLS environment variable specifies whether automatic data type
conversion is supported between NCHAR and NVARCHAR database columns
and CHAR and VARCHAR variables (respectively) of client systems.

Global Language Support (GLS) does not require the DBNLS environment
variable. But Dynamic Server databases continue to support the legacy
behavior of DBNLS, which supports applications that manipulate tables with
NCHAR or NVARCHAR columns.


setenv DBNLS

‘1’
‘2’

For UNIX systems that use the C shell, the following command line enables
client applications such as DB-Access, IBM Informix SQL, IBM Informix 4GL,
IBM Informix Dynamic 4GL, and embedded-SQL applications such as
ESQL/C or ESQL/COBOL to convert automatically between CHAR and
VARCHAR variables of the client application and NCHAR and NVARCHAR
columns of the database:
setenv DBNLS 1

This setting also supports the automatic conversion of values retrieved from
NCHAR columns into CHAR variables, and the conversion of NVARCHAR
column values into VARCHAR variables.

Similarly, when DBNLS = 1, character strings stored as CHAR variables can

be inserted into NCHAR columns, and character strings stored as VARCHAR
variables can be inserted into NVARCHAR database columns.

To support these features, DBNLS must also be set to 1 on the client system.
This setting also enables the client system to display dates, numbers, and
currency values in formats specified on the client locale.

Conversely, each of the following command lines disables automatic

conversion between CHAR and VARCHAR variables of the client application
and NCHAR and NVARCHAR columns of the database and also prevents
Dynamic Server from using the locale files of the client system:
setenv DBNLS

unsetenv DBNLS

On UNIX systems that use the C shell, either of these commands disables
automatic conversion to and from NCHAR and NVARCHAR data values (by
setting no value for DBNLS).

3-32 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Another possible setting for DBNLS is 2. If you enter at the command line
setenv DBNLS 2

then automatic data type conversion between NCHAR and CHAR and
between NVARCHAR and VARCHAR is supported (if the client system has
DBNLS set to 1 or 2), but the database server can have a different locale from
the client system.
DBONPLOAD (IDS)
The DBONPLOAD environment variable specifies the name of the database
that the onpload utility of the High-Performance Loader (HPL) uses. If
DBONPLOAD is set, onpload uses the specified name as the name of the
database; otherwise, the default name of the database is onpload.


setenv DBONPLOAD dbname


dbname specifies the name of the database that the onpload utility
uses.

For example, to specify the name load_db as the name of the database, enter
the following command:
setenv DBONPLOAD load_db

For more information, see the IBM Informix: High-Performance Loader User's
Guide.
DBPATH
The DBPATH environment variable identifies database servers that contain
databases. DBPATH can also specify a list of directories (in addition to the
current directory) in which DB–Access looks for command scripts (.sql files).

The CONNECT DATABASE, START DATABASE, and DROP DATABASE

statements use DBPATH to locate the database under two conditions:
v If the location of a database is not explicitly stated
v If the database cannot be located in the default server

The CREATE DATABASE statement does not use DBPATH.

To add a new DBPATH entry to existing entries, see “Modifying an

Environment-Variable Setting” on page 3-8.
: [16]

setenv DBPATH  pathname


/ / servername / full_pathname
/ / servername

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-33

 full_pathname is the full path, from root, of a directory where .sql files are
stored.
pathname is the valid relative path of a directory where .sql files are
stored.
servername is the name of an Informix database server where databases
are stored. You cannot reference database files with a
servername.

DBPATH can contain up to 16 entries. Each entry must be less than 128
characters. In addition, the maximum length of DBPATH depends on the
hardware platform on which you set DBPATH.

When you access a database with the CONNECT, DATABASE, START

DATABASE, or DROP DATABASE statement, the search for the database is
done first in the directory or database server specified in the statement. If no
database server is specified, the default database server that was specified by
the INFORMIXSERVER environment variable is used.

If the database is not located during the initial search, and if DBPATH is set,
the database servers and directories in DBPATH are searched for in the
specified database. These entries are searched in the same order in which they
are listed in the DBPATH setting.

Using DBPATH with DB-Access

If you use DB–Access and select the Choose option from the SQL menu
without having already selected a database, you see a list of all the .sql files
in the directories listed in your DBPATH. Once you select a database, the
DBPATH is not used to find the .sql files. Only the .sql files in the current
working directory are displayed.

Searching Local Directories

Use a pathname without a database server name to search for .sql scripts on
your local computer. In the following example, the DBPATH setting causes
DB–Access to search for the database files in your current directory and then
in the Joachim and Sonja directories on the local computer:
setenv DBPATH /usr/joachim:/usr/sonja

As the previous example shows, if the pathname specifies a directory name

but not a database server name, the directory is sought on the computer that
runs the default database server that the INFORMIXSERVER specifies; see
“INFORMIXSERVER” on page 3-60. For instance, with the previous example,
if INFORMIXSERVER is set to quality, the DBPATH value is interpreted, as
the following example shows, where the double slash precedes the database
server name:
setenv DBPATH //quality/usr/joachim://quality/usr/sonja

3-34 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Searching Networked Computers for Databases
If you use more than one database server, you can set DBPATH explicitly to
contain the database server and directory names that you want to search for
databases. For example, if INFORMIXSERVER is set to quality but you also
want to search the marketing database server for /usr/joachim, set DBPATH
as the following example shows:
setenv DBPATH //marketing/usr/joachim:/usr/sonja

Specifying a Servername
You can set DBPATH to contain only database server names. This feature
allows you to locate only databases; you cannot use it to locate command
files.

The database administrator must include each database server mentioned by

DBPATH in the $INFORMIXDIR/etc/sqlhosts file. For information on
communication-configuration files and dbservernames, see your IBM Informix:
Administrator's Guide and the IBM Informix: Administrator's Reference.

For example, if INFORMIXSERVER is set to quality, you can search for a

database first on the quality database server and then on the marketing
database server by setting DBPATH, as the following example shows:
setenv DBPATH //marketing

If you use DB–Access in this example, the names of all the databases on the
quality and marketing database servers are displayed with the Select option
of the DATABASE menu.
DBPRINT
The DBPRINT environment variable specifies the default printing program.


setenv DBPRINT program


program is any command, shell script, or UNIX utility that produces

standard ASCII output.

If you do not set DBPRINT, the default program is found in one of two places:
v For most BSD UNIX systems, the default program is lpr.
v For UNIX System V, the default program is usually lp.

Enter the following command to set the DBPRINT environment variable to

specify myprint as the print program:
setenv DBPRINT myprint

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-35

 DBREMOTECMD (UNIX)
Set the DBREMOTECMD environment variable to override the default
remote shell to perform remote tape operations with the database server. You
can set dbremotecmd to a simple command or to a full pathname.


setenv DBREMOTECMD command

pathname

command is a command to override the default remote shell.

pathname is a pathname to override the default remote shell.

If you do not specify the full pathname, the database server searches your
PATH for the specified command. It is highly recommended that you use the
full pathname syntax on interactive UNIX platforms to avoid problems with
similarly named programs in other directories and possible confusion with the
restricted shell (/usr/bin/rsh).

The following command sets DBREMOTECMD for a simple command name:

setenv DBREMOTECMD rcmd

The next command to set DBREMOTECMD specifies a full pathname:

setenv DBREMOTECMD /usr/bin/remsh

For more information on DBREMOTECMD, see the discussion in your

IBM Informix: Archive and Backup Guide about how to use remote tape devices
with your database server for archives, restores, and logical-log backups.
DBSPACETEMP
The DBSPACETEMP environment variable specifies the dbspaces in which
temporary tables are built

You can list dbspaces, separated by colon ( : ) or comma ( , ) symbols to

spread temporary space across any number of disks.
,

setenv DBSPACETEMP  temp_dbspace


temp_dbspace is the name of a valid existing temporary dbspace.

DBSPACETEMP overrides any default dbspaces that the DBSPACETEMP

parameter specifies in the configuration file of the database server.

Important: The dbspaces that you list in DBSPACETEMP must be composed

of chunks that are allocated as raw UNIX devices.

3-36 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

For example, the following command to set the DBSPACETEMP environment
variable specifies three dbspaces for temporary tables:
setenv DBSPACETEMP sorttmp1:sorttmp2:sorttmp3

Separate the dbspace entries with either colons or commas. The number of
dbspaces is limited by the maximum size of the environment variable, as
defined by your operating system. Your database server does not create a
dbspace specified by the environment variable if the dbspace does not exist.

The two classes of temporary tables are explicit temporary tables that the user
creates and implicit temporary tables that the database server creates. Use
DBSPACETEMP to specify the dbspaces for both types of temporary tables.

If you create an explicit temporary table with the CREATE TEMP TABLE
statement and do not specify a dbspace for the table either in the IN dbspace
clause or in the FRAGMENT BY clause, the database server uses the settings
in DBSPACETEMP to determine where to create the table.

If you create an explicit temporary table with the SELECT INTO TEMP
statement, the database server uses the settings in DBSPACETEMP to
determine where to create the table.

If DBSPACETEMP is set, and the dbspaces that it lists include both logging
and non-logging dbspaces, the database server stores temporary tables that
implicitly or explicitly support transaction logging in a logged dbspace, and
non-logging temporary tables in a non-logging dbspace.

The database server creates implicit temporary tables for its own use while
executing join operations, SELECT statements with the GROUP BY clause,
SELECT statements with the ORDER BY clause, and index builds.

When it creates explicit or implicit temporary tables, the database server uses
disk space for writing the temporary data. If there are conflicts among settings
or statement specifications for the location of a temporary table, these conflicts
are resolved in this descending (highest to lowest) order of precedence:
1. What the IN or FRAGMENT BY clause of a DDL or DML statement
specifies
2. For Extended Parallel Server, what a SET TEMP TABLE_SPACE statement
specifies
3. On UNIX platforms, the operating-system directory or directories that the
environment variable PSORT_DBTEMP specifies, if this is set
4. The dbspace or dbspaces that the environment variable DBSPACETEMP
specifies, if this is set
5. The dbspace or dbspaces that the ONCONFIG parameter DBSPACETEMP
specifies.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-37

 6. The dbspace or dbspaces that the ONCONFIG parameter TABLESPACE
specifies.
7. The operating-system file space in /tmp (UNIX) or %temp% (Windows)
8. For Extended Parallel Server, in a non-criticl space, if none of the above
are specified
9. For Dynamic Server, in the space where the database was created, if none
of the above are specified

Important: If the DBSPACETEMP environment variable is set to an invalid

value, the database server defaults to the root dbspace for explicit
temporary tables and to /tmp for implicit temporary tables, not to
the DBSPACETEMP configuration parameter. In this situation, the
database server might fill /tmp to the limit and eventually bring
down the database server or kill the file system.
DBTEMP (IDS)
The DBTEMP environment variable is used by DB-Access and IBM Informix
Enterprise Gateway products as well as by Dynamic Server and by earlier
database servers. DBTEMP resembles DBSPACETEMP, specifying the
directory in which to place temporary files and temporary tables.


setenv DBTEMP pathname


pathname is the full pathname of the directory for temporary files and
tables.

For DB-Access to work correctly on Windows platforms, DBTEMP should be

set to $INFORMIXDIR/infxtmp.

The following example sets DBTEMP to the pathname usr/magda/mytemp for

UNIX systems that use the C shell:
setenv DBTEMP usr/magda/mytemp

Important: DBTEMP can point to an NFS-mounted directory only if the

vendor of that NFS device is certified by IBM. For information
about NFS products for mounting storage space for an Informix
database server, see the product compatibility data at
http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/pubs/smv/
index.html.

If DBTEMP is not set, the database server creates temporary files in the /tmp
directory and temporary tables in the DBSPACETEMP directory. See
“DBSPACETEMP” on page 3-36 for the default if DBSPACETEMP is not set.
Similarly, if you do not set DBTEMP on the client system, temporary files
(such as those created for scroll cursors) are created in the /tmp directory.

3-38 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 You might experience unexpected behavior or failure in operations on values
of large or complex data types, such as BYTE or ROW, if DBTEMP is not set.
DBTIME
The DBTIME environment variable specifies a formatting mask for the
display and data-entry format of DATETIME values.

setenv DBTIME ’  literal ’


% special
- min . precision
0

literal is a literal white space or any printable character.

min is a literal integer, setting the minimum number of characters
in the substring for the value that special specifies.
precision is the number of digits for the value of any time unit, or the
maximum number of characters in the name of a month.
special is one of the placeholder characters that are listed following.

These terms and symbols are described in the pages that follow.

This quoted string can include literal characters as well as placeholders for the
values of individual time units and other elements of a DATETIME value.
DBTIME takes effect only when you call certain IBM Informix ESQL/C
DATETIME routines. (For details, see the IBM Informix: ESQL/C Programmer's
Manual.) If DBTIME is not set, the behavior of these routines is undefined,
and ″YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss.fffff″ is the default display and input format for
DATETIME YEAR TO FRACTION(5) literal values in the default locale.

The percentage ( % ) symbol gives special significance to the special

placeholder symbol that follows. Without a preceding % symbol, any
character within the formatting mask is interpreted as a literal character, even
if it is the same character as one of the placeholder characters in the following
list. Note also that the special placeholder symbols are case sensitive.

The following characters within a DBTIME format string are placeholders for
time units (or for other features) within a DATETIME value.
%b is replaced by the abbreviated month name.
%B is replaced by the full month name.
%d is replaced by the day of the month as a decimal number
[01,31].

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-39

 %Fn is replaced by a fraction of a second with a scale that the
integer n specifies. The default value of n is 2; the range of n
is 0 ≤ n ≤ 5.
%H is replaced by the hour (24-hour clock).
%I is replaced by the hour (12-hour clock).
%M is replaced by the minute as a decimal number [00,59].
%m is replaced by the month as a decimal number [01,12].
%p is replaced by A.M. or P.M. (or the equivalent in the locale
file).
%S is replaced by the second as a decimal number [00,59].
%y is replaced by the year as a four-digit decimal number.
%Y is replaced by the year as a four-digit decimal number. User
must enter a four-digit value.
%% is replaced by % (to allow % in the format string).

For example, consider this display format for DATETIME YEAR TO SECOND:
Mar 21, 2001 at 16 h 30 m 28 s

If the user enters a two-digit year value, this value is expanded to 4 digits
according to the DBCENTURY environment variable setting. If DBCENTURY
is not set, then the string 19 is used by default for the first two digits.

Set DBTIME as the following command line (for the C shell) shows:
setenv DBTIME ’%b %d, %Y at %H h %M m %S s’

The default DBTIME produces the following ANSI SQL string format:
2001-03-21 16:30:28

You can set the default DBTIME as the following example shows:
setenv DBTIME ’%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S’

An optional field width and precision specification (w.p) can immediately

follow the percent (%) character. It is interpreted as follows:
w Specifies the minimum field width. The value is right-justified
with blank spaces on the left.
-w Specifies the minimum field width. The value is left-justified
with blank spaces on the right.
0w Specifies the minimum field width. The value is right-justified
and padded with zeros on the left.

3-40 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 p Specifies the precision of d, H, I, m, M, S, y, and Y time unit
values, or the maximum number of characters in b and B
month names.

The following limitations apply to field-width and precision specifications:

v If the data value supplies fewer digits than precision specifies, the value is
padded with leading zeros.
v If a data value supplies more characters than precision specifies, excess
characters are truncated from the right.
v If no field width or precision is specified for d, H, I, m, M, S, or y
placeholders, 0.2 is the default, or 0.4 for the Y placeholder.
v A precision specification is significant only when converting a DATETIME
value to an ASCII string, but not vice versa.

The F placeholder does not support this field-width and precision syntax.

Like DBDATE, GL_DATE, or GL_DATETIME, the DBTIME setting controls

only the character-string representation of data values; it cannot change the
internal storage format of the DATETIME column. (For information about
formatting DATE values, see the discussion of DBDATE on page 3-25.)

In East Asian locales that support era-based dates, DBTIME can also specify
Japanese or Taiwanese eras. See IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide for details of
additional placeholder symbols for setting DBTIME to display era-based
DATETIME values, and for descriptions of the GL_DATETIME and
GL_DATE environment variables.
DBUPSPACE
The DBUPSPACE environment variable lets you specify and constrain the
amount of system disk space that the UPDATE STATISTICS statement can use
when trying to simultaneously construct multiple column distributions.


setenv DBUPSPACE max : default


max is a positive integer, specifying the maximum disk space (in

kilobytes) to allocate for sorting in UPDATE STATISTICS
operations.
default is a positive integer, specifying the maximum amount of
memory (in kilobytes) to allocate.

For example, to set DBUPSPACE to 2,500 kilobytes of disk space and 1,000
kilobytes of memory, enter this command:
setenv DBUPSPACE 2500:1

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-41

 After you set this value, the database server can use no more than 2,500
kilobytes of disk space during the execution of an UPDATE STATISTICS
statement. If a table requires 5 megabytes of disk space for sorting, then
UPDATE STATISTICS accomplishes the task in two passes; the distributions
for one half of the columns are constructed with each pass.

If you do not set DBUPSPACE, the default is a megabyte (1,024 kilobytes) for
max, and the maximum amount of memory that is available without using
PDQ for default. If you attempt to set DBUPSPACE to any value less than
1,024 kilobytes, it is automatically set to 1,024 kilobytes, but no error message
is returned. If this value is not large enough to allow more than one
distribution to be constructed at a time, at least one distribution is done, even
if the amount of disk space required to do this is more than what
DBUPSPACE specifies.
DEFAULT_ATTACH
The DEFAULT_ATTACH environment variable supports the legacy behavior
of Version 7.x of Dynamic Server, which required that only nonfragmented
B-tree indexes on nonfragmented tables can be attached.


setenv DEFAULT_ATTACH 1


If DEFAULT_ATTACH is set to 1, then all other indexes that you create,

including R-trees and UDR functional indexes, must be detached, unless you
specify the IN TABLE keywords as the Storage clause of the CREATE INDEX
statement. (An attached index is one that has the same distribution scheme as
the table on which it is built. Any index that does not is a detached index.)

If DEFAULT_ATTACH is not set, then any CREATE INDEX statement that

does not specify IN TABLE as its Storage clause creates detached indexes by
default. This release of Dynamic Server can support attached indexes that
were created by Version 7.x of Dynamic Server.

Important: Future releases of Informix database servers might not continue to

support DEFAULT_ATTACH. Developing new applications that
depend on this deprecated feature is not recommended.
DELIMIDENT
The DELIMIDENT environment variable specifies that strings enclosed
between double quotation ( ″ ) marks are delimited database identifiers.


setenv DELIMIDENT


No value is required; DELIMIDENT takes effect if it exists, and it remains in

effect while it is on the list of environment variables.

3-42 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Delimited identifiers can include white space (such as the phrase ″Vitamin E″)
or can be identical to SQL keywords, (such as ″TABLE″ or ″USAGE″). You can
also use them to declare database identifiers that contain characters outside
the default character set for SQL identifiers (such as ″Column #6″). In the
default locale, this set consists of letters, digits, and the underscore ( _ )
symbol.

Database identifiers (also called SQL identifiers) are names for database objects,
such as tables and columns. Storage identifiers are names for storage objects,
such as dbspaces, blobspaces, and sbspaces (smart blob spaces). You cannot
use DELIMIDENT to declare storage identifiers that contain characters
outside the default SQL character set.

Delimited identifiers are case sensitive. To use delimited identifiers,

applications in ESQL/C must set DELIMIDENT at compile time and at
runtime.

Warning: If DELIMIDENT is not already set, you should be aware that

setting it can cause the failure of existing .sql scripts or client
applications that use double ( ″ ) quotation marks in contexts other
than delimiting SQL identifiers, such as delimiters of string literals.
You must use single ( ’ ) rather than double quotation marks for
delimited constructs that are not SQL identifiers if DELIMIDENT is
set.

On UNIX systems that use the C shell and on which DELIMIDENT has been
set, you can disable this feature (which causes anything between double
quotes to be interpreted as an SQL identifier) by the command:
unsetenv DELIMIDENT

ENVIGNORE (UNIX)
The ENVIGNORE environment variable can deactivate specified environment
variable settings in the common (shared) and private environment-
configuration files, informix.rc and .informix respectively.
:

setenv ENVIGNORE  variable


variable is the name of an environment variable to be deactivated.

Use colon ( : ) symbols between consecutive variable names. For example, to

ignore the DBPATH and DBMONEY entries in the environment-configuration
files, enter the following command:
setenv ENVIGNORE DBPATH:DBMONEY

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-43

 The common environment-configuration file is stored in
$INFORMIXDIR/etc/informix.rc.

The private environment-configuration file is stored in the user’s home

directory as .informix.

For information on creating or modifying an environment-configuration file,

see “Setting Environment Variables in a Configuration File” on page 3-6.

ENVIGNORE itself cannot be set in an environment-configuration file.

FET_BUF_SIZE
The FET_BUF_SIZE environment variable can override the default setting for
the size of the fetch buffer for all data types except BYTE and TEXT values.


setenv FET_BUF_SIZE size


size is a positive integer that is larger than the default buffer size,
but no greater than 32,767, specifying the size (in bytes) of the
fetch buffer that holds data retrieved by a query.

For example, to set a buffer size to 5,000 bytes on a UNIX system that uses
the C shell, set FET_BUF_SIZE by entering the following command:
setenv FET_BUF_SIZE 5000

When FET_BUF_SIZE is set to a valid value, the new value overrides the
default value (or any previously set value of FET_BUF_SIZE). The default
setting for the fetch buffer is dependent on row size.

The processing of BYTE and TEXT values is not affected by FET_BUF_SIZE.

No error is raised if FET_BUF_SIZE is set to a value that is less than the

default size or that is out of the range of SMALLINT values. In these cases,
however, the invalid fetch buffer size is ignored, and the default size is in
effect.

A valid FET_BUF_SIZE setting is in effect for the local database server as well
as for any remote database server from which you retrieve rows through a
distributed query in which the local server is the coordinator and the remote
database is subordinate. The greater the size of the buffer, the more rows can
be returned, and the less frequently the client application must wait while the
database server returns rows. A large buffer can improve performance by
reducing the overhead of filling the client-side buffer.

3-44 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM (XPS)
All indexes in IBM Informix Extended Parallel Server are detached. An XPS
index is locally detached when every index fragment resides on the same
coserver as its associated data fragment and and XPS index is globally detached
if it is fragmented, with index items and their associated data rows residing
on different coservers.

You should avoid using globally detached indexes because they are inherently
less efficient than locally detached indexes.

The GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM environment variable triggers an alarm if

a globally detached index is created. The alarm has a severity of 3 (Attention),
a Class ID of 10 (Performance Improvement Possible) and a Tag ID of 1
(Globally Detached Index Built).

To enable this alarm, set GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM to any value before

starting the server.


setenv GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM n


Alternatively, you can turn this variable on or off with the onutil SET
command, as in the following example:
% onutil
1> SET GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM 1;
Dynamic Configuration completed successfully

Because GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM is an environment variable and not a

configuration parameter, however, it cannot be made persistent with the
onutil command. Add the variable to an environment-configuration file to
avoid setting it each time the server is restarted.
IBM_XPS_PARAMS (XPS)
By default, the CURRENT and TODAY functions return values from the
system clock-calendar, based on the location of the server. Use the
IBM_XPS_PARAMS environment variable to specify a non-default time zone,
as an offset from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), for values returned by
CURRENT and TODAY.

To specify an offset from GMT for the built-in CURRENT and TODAY
functions, set IBM_XPS_PARAMS on the client system to the desired value
before you start the client application, using the following syntax.
+


setenv IBM_XPS_PARAMS ’CLIENT_TZ = hours : minutes ’

-

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-45

 hours is an integer in the range from 0 to 13 inclusive, specifying the
absolute number of hours in the offset from GMT.
minutes is a 2-digit integer in the range from 00 to 59 inclusive,
specifying any additional minutes in the offset from GMT.

A minus ( - ) sign before the hours specifies a time zone east of GMT, and a
positive ( * ) sign, which is the default, specifies a time zone west of GMT.

This example specifies that CURRENT and TODAY return GMT values:
% setenv IBM_XPS_PARAMS ’CLIENT_TZ = 00:00’

The next example specifies the Atlantic time zone of eastern Canada:
% setenv IBM_XPS_PARAMS ’CLIENT_TZ = +4:00’

The onstat -g ses command can display the current offset from GMT.

The SET ENVIRONMENT CLIENT_TZ statement of SQL can override the

IBM_XPS_PARAMS setting, but the default scope of this environment
variable is all sessions, rather than only the session in which the SET
ENVIRONMENT CLIENT_TZ statement is issued. Reset the GMT offset with
the SQL statement for the current session if your application requires a
different time zone.
IFMX_CART_ALRM (XPS)
The IFMX_CART_ALRM environment variable triggers an alarm if a query
executes a Cartesian join. The alarm has a severity of 3 (Attention), a Class ID
of 10 (Performance Improvement Possible) and a Tag ID of 2 (Cartesian Join
Processing). The alarm message indicates the ID of the session executing the
Cartesian join.

To enable this alarm, set IFMX_CART_ALRM to any value before starting the
database server.


setenv IFMX_CART_ALRM n


Alternatively, you can turn this variable on or off with the onutil SET
command:
% onutil
1> SET IFMX_CART_ALRM 1;
Dynamic Configuration completed successfully

Because IFMX_CART_ALRM is an environment variable and not a

configuration parameter, it cannot be made persistent by the onutil command.
Add the variable to an environment-configuration file to avoid setting it each
time the server is restarted.

3-46 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

IFMX_HISTORY_SIZE (XPS)
The IFMX_HISTORY_SIZE environment variable determines the number of
SQL commands that are logged in the DB-Access command history.


setenv IFMX_HISTORY_SIZE value


value the number of commands stored in the DB-Access history

The default value is 10. The maximum is 100. If a value greater or lower is
specified, the default value is used. For more information on using the
DB-Access history command, see the IBM Informix: DB–Access User's Guide.
IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS (XPS)
The IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS environment variable specifies a list of fact
tables that should be used in push-down hash joins whenever possible.
,

setenv IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS  fact_table


owner.
database:

database is name of the database.

fact_table is name of the fact table.
owner is name of the table owner.

If you do not specify a database name or owner, the fact table can be in any
database or belong to any owner.

The environment variable lists fact tables for which you want to encourage
the optimizer to choose push-down hash-join plans. If you do not specify the
database name or owner, the table can be in any database or belong to any
owner.

When this environment variable is set, push-down hash-join restrictions for

the specified fact tables are relaxed to allow the optimizer to choose a
push-down plan even when the fact table is not larger than the dimension
table or when the dimension-table join columns are not unique.

You can use IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS alone to increase the possibility of

push-down hash joins. You can also use it in conjunction with the
IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS environment variable to fine tune the use of
push-down hash joins.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-47

 IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS (XPS)
The IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS environment variable specifies a list of
dimension tables that cannot be used in push-down hash-join query plans. If
the optimizer detects a fact-dimension table query that joins one of these
dimension tables, it does not choose a push-down hash-join plan.
,

setenv IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS  dim_table


owner.
database:

database is name of a database.

dim_table is name of a dimension table.
owner is name of table owner.

If the database name or owner is not specified, the table can be in any
database or can belong to any owner.

When this environment variable is set, if a query joins one of the dimension
tables in this list with any fact table, the optimizer never selects a push-down
hash join for the query, even if the fact table is included in the
IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS list.

You can use the IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS environment variable alone to

decrease the possibility of push-down hash joins. You can also use it in
conjunction with the IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS environment variable to fine
tune the use of push-down hash joins.
IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE (IDS)
The IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE environment variable can specify the
default lock mode for database tables that are subsequently created without
explicitly specifying the LOCKMODE PAGE or LOCKMODE ROW keywords.
This feature is convenient if you need to create several tables of the same lock
mode. UNIX systems that use the C shell support the following syntax:


setenv IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE PAGE

ROW

PAGE The default lock mode is page-level granularity.

ROW The default lock mode is row-level granularity.

Similar functionality is available by setting the DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE

parameter of the ONCONFIG file to PAGE or ROW. When a table is created

3-48 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 or modified, any conflicting lock mode specifications are resolved according to
the following descending (highest to lowest) order of precedence:
1. Explicit LOCKMODE specification of CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE
2. IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE environment variable setting
3. DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE parameter setting in the ONCONFIG file
4. The system default lock mode (= page mode)

To make the DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE setting the default mode (or to restore

the system default if DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE is not set) use the command:
unsetenv IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE

If IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE is set in the environment of the database

server before starting oninit, then its scope is all sessions of the database
server (just as if DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE were set in the ONCONFIG file).
If IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE is set in the shell, or in the
$HOME/.informix or $INFORMIXDIR/etc/informix.rc files, then the scope is
restricted to the current session (if you set it in the shell) or to the individual
user.

Important: This has no effect on existing tables. If you specify ROW as the
lock mode, the database will use this to restore, recover, or copy
data. For tables that were created in PAGE mode, this might cause
lock-table overflow or performance degradation.
IFX_DIRECTIVES
The IFX_DIRECTIVES environment variable setting determines whether the
optimizer allows query optimization directives from within a query. The
IFX_DIRECTIVES environment variable is set on the client.

You can specify either ON and OFF or 1 and 0 to set the environment variable.


setenv IFX_DIRECTIVES 1

0

1 Optimizer directives accepted

0 Optimizer directives not accepted

The setting of the IFX_DIRECTIVES environment variable overrides the

value of the DIRECTIVES configuration parameter that is set for the database
server. If the IFX_DIRECTIVES environment variable is not set, however,
then all client sessions will inherit the database server configuration for
directives that the ONCONFIG parameter DIRECTIVES determines. The
default setting for the IFX_DIRECTIVES environment variable is ON.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-49

 For more information about the DIRECTIVES parameter, see the IBM Informix:
Administrator's Reference. For more information on the performance impact of
directives, see your IBM Informix: Performance Guide.
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES
The IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES environment variable specifies whether the query
optimizer allows external query optimization directives from the sysdirectives
system catalog table to be applied to queries in existing applications. The
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES environment variable is set on the client.

You can specify either ON and OFF or 1 and 0 to set the environment variable.


setenv IFX_DIRECTIVES 1

0

1 External optimizer directives accepted

0 External optimizer directives not accepted

Queries within a given client application can use external directives if both
the EXT_DIRECTIVES parameter in the configuration file of the database
server and the IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES environment variable setting on the
client system are both set to 1 or ON. If IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES is not set,
external directives are supported only if the ONCONFIG parameter
EXT_DIRECTIVES is set to 2. The following table summarizes the effect of
valid IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES and EXT_DIRECTIVES settings on support for
external optimizer directives.
Table 3-3. Effect of IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES and EXT_DIRECTIVES settings on external
directives
EXT_DIRECTIVES EXT_DIRECTIVES EXT_DIRECTIVES
=0 =1 =2
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES OFF OFF ON
No setting
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES OFF OFF OFF
0 = OFF
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES OFF ON ON
1 = ON

The database server interprets any EXT_DIRECTIVES setting besides 1 or 2

(or no setting) as equivalent to OFF, disabling support for external directives.
Any value of IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES other than 1 has the same effect for the
client.

For information on how to define external optimizer directives, see the

description of the SAVE EXTERNAL DIRECTIVES statement of SQL in the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax. For more information about the

3-50 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 EXT_DIRECTIVES configuration parameter, see the IBM Informix:
Administrator's Reference. For more information on the performance impact of
directives, see your IBM Informix: Performance Guide.
IFX_LONGID
The IFX_LONGID environment variable setting and the version number of
the client application determine whether a given client application is capable
of handling long identifiers. (Older versions of Informix databases restricted
SQL identifiers to 18 or fewer bytes; long identifiers can have up to 128 bytes
when IFX_LONGID is set.) Valid IFX_LONGID values are 1 and 0.


setenv IFX_LONGID 1

0

1 Client supports long identifiers.

0 Client cannot support long identifiers.

When IFX_LONGID is set to zero, applications display only the first 18 bytes
of long identifiers, without indicating (by + ) that truncation has occurred.

If IFX_LONGID is unset or is set to a value other than 1 or 0, the

determination is based on the internal version of the client application. If the
(server-based) version is not less than 9.0304, or is in the (CSDK-based) range
2.90 ≤ version < 4.0, the client is considered capable of handling long
identifiers. Otherwise, the client application is considered incapable.

The IFX_LONGID setting overrides the internal version of the client

application. If the client cannot handle long identifiers despite a newer
version number, set IFX_LONGID to 0. If the client version can handle long
identifiers despite an older version number, set IFX_LONGID to 1.

If you set IFX_LONGID on the client, the setting affects only that client. If
you bring up the database server with IFX_LONGID set, all client
applications use that setting by default. If IFX_LONGID is set to different
values on the client and on the database server, however, the client setting
takes precedence.

Important: ESQL executables that have been built with the -static option
using the libos.a library version that does not support long
identifiers cannot use the IFX_LONGID environment variable.
You must recompile such applications with the new libos.a library
that includes support for long identifiers. Executables that use
shared libraries (no -static option) can use IFX_LONGID without
recompilation provided that they use the new libifos.so that
provides support for long identifiers. For details, see your ESQL
product manual.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-51

 IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE (UNIX)
The IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE environment variable specifies the
maximum size of the free (unused) private network buffer pool for each
database server session.


setenv IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE count


count is an integer specifying the number of units (buffers) in the

pool.

The default size is 1 buffer. If IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE is set to 0, then

each session obtains buffers from the free global network buffer pool. You
must specify the value in decimal form.
IFX_NETBUF_SIZE
The IFX_NETBUF_SIZE environment variable lets you configure the network
buffers to the optimum size. It specifies the size of all network buffers in the
free (unused) global pool and the private network buffer pool for each
database server session.


setenv IFX_NETBUF_SIZE size


size is the integer size (in bytes) for one network buffer.

The default size is 4 kilobytes (4,096 bytes). The maximum size is 64 kilobytes
(65,536 bytes) and the minimum size is 512 bytes. You can specify the value in
hexadecimal or decimal form.

Tip: You cannot set a different size for each session.

IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING
Trial or evaluation versions of IBM Informix software products, which cease to
function when some time limit has elapsed since the software was installed,
by default issue warning messages that tell users when the license will expire.
If you set the IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING environment variable,
however, the time-limited software does not issue these warning messages.


setenv IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING


For users who dislike viewing warning messages, this feature is an alternative
to redirecting the error output. Setting IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING has
no effect, however, on when a time-limited license expires; the software ceases
to function at the same point in time when it would if this environment
variable had not been set. If you do set IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING,
users will not see potentially annoying warnings about the impending license

3-52 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 expiration, but some users might be annoyed at you when the database server
(or whatever software has a time-limited license) ceases to function without
any warning.
IFX_PAD_VARCHAR (IDS)
The IFX_PAD_VARCHAR environment variable setting controls how the
database server sends and receives VARCHAR and NVARCHAR data values.
Valid IFX_PAD_VARCHAR values are 1 and 0.


setenv IFX_PAD_VARCHAR 1

0

1 Transmit the entire structure, up to the declared max size.

0 Transmit only the portion of the structure containing data.

For example, to send the string ″ABC″ from a column declared as

NVARCHAR(255) when IFX_PAD_VARCHAR is set to 0 would send 3 bytes.

If the setting were 1 in the previous example, however, the number of bytes
sent would be 255 bytes.

The effect IFX_PAD_VARCHAR is context-sensitive. In a low-bandwidth

network, a setting of 0 might improve performance by reducing the total
volume of transmitted data. But in a high-bandwidth network, a setting of 1
might improve performance, if the CPU time required to process
variable-length packets were greater than the time required to send the entire
character stream.
IFX_UPDDESC (IDS)
You must set the IFX_UPDDESC environment variable at execution time
before you can do a DESCRIBE of an UPDATE statement.


setenv IFX_UPDDESC value


value is any non-NULL value.

A NULL value (here meaning that IFX_UPDDESC is not set) disables the
describe-for-update feature. Any non-NULL value enables the feature.
IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND
In earlier releases of IBM Informix database servers, an internal rollback of a
global transaction freed the transaction. In releases later than XPS 8.40 and
IDS 9.40, however, the default behavior after an internal rollback is not to free
the global transaction until an explicit rollback, as required by the X/Open

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-53

 XA standard. By setting the DISABLE_B162428_XA_FIX configuration
parameter to 1, you can restore the legacy behavior as the default for all
sessions.

The IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND environment variable can override

the configuration parameter for the current session, using the following
syntax. Valid IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND values are 1 and 0.


setenv IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND 1

0

0 Frees global transactions only after an explicit rollback

1 Frees global transactions after any rollback

This environment variable can be particularly useful when the server instance
is disabled for new behaviour by the DISABLE_B162428_XA_FIX
configuration parameter, but one client requires the new behaviour. Setting
this environment varable to zero supports the new behaviour in the current
session.
IMCADMIN
The IMCADMIN environment variable supports the imcadmin administrative
tool by specifying the name of a database server through which imcadmin
can connect to MaxConnect. For imcadmin to operate correctly, you must set
IMCADMIN before you use an IBM Informix product.


setenv IMCADMIN dbservername


dbservername is the name of a database server.

Here dbservername must be listed in the sqlhosts file on the computer where
the MaxConnect runs. MaxConnect uses this setting to obtain the following
connectivity information from the sqlhosts file:
v Where the administrative listener port must be established
v The network protocol that the specified database server uses
v The host name of the system where the specified database server resides

You cannot use the imcadmin tool unless IMCADMIN is set to a valid
database server name.

For more information about using IMCADMIN, refer to IBM Informix:

MaxConnect User’s Guide.

3-54 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

IMCCONFIG
The IMCCONFIG environment variable specifies a nondefault filename, and
optionally a pathname, for the MaxConnect configuration file. On UNIX
systems that support the C shell, this variable can be set by the following
command.


setenv IMCCONFIG pathname


pathname is a full pathname or a simple filename.

When the setting is a filename that is not qualified by a full pathname,

MaxConnect searches for the specified file in the $INFORMIXDIR/etc/
directory. Thus, if you set IMCCONFIG to IMCconfig.imc2, MaxConnect
searches for $INFORMIXDIR/etc/IMCconfig.imc2 as its configuration file.

If the IMCCONFIG environment variable is not set, MaxConnect searches by

default for $INFORMIXDIR/etc/IMCconfig as its configuration file.
IMCSERVER
The IMCSERVER environment variable specifies the name of a database
server entry in the sqlhosts file that contains information on connectivity.

The database server can be either local or remote. On UNIX systems that
support the C shell, the IMCSERVER environment variable can be set by the
command.


setenv IMCSERVER dbservername


dbservername is the valid name of a database server.

Here dbservername must be the name of a database server in the sqlhosts file.
For more information about sqlhosts settings with MaxConnect, see your
IBM Informix: Administrator's Guide. You cannot use MaxConnect unless
IMCSERVER is set to a valid database server name.
INFORMIXC (UNIX)
The INFORMIXC environment variable specifies the filename or pathname of
the C compiler to be used to compile files that IBM Informix ESQL/C
generates. The setting takes effect only during the C compilation stage.

If INFORMIXC is not set, the default compiler on most systems is cc.

Tip: On Windows, you pass either -mcc or -bcc options to the esql
preprocessor to use either the Microsoft or Borland C compilers.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-55



setenv INFORMIXC compiler

pathname

compiler is the filename of the C compiler.

pathname is the full pathname of the C compiler.

For example, to specify the GNU C compiler, enter the following command:
setenv INFORMIXC gcc

Important: If you use gcc, be aware that the database server assumes that
strings are writable, so you need to compile using the
-fwritable-strings option. Failure to do so can produce
unpredictable results, possibly including core dumps.
INFORMIXCONCSMCFG (IDS)
The INFORMIXCONCSMCFG environment variable specifies the location of
the concsm.cfg file that describes communications support modules.


setenv INFORMIXCONCSMCFG pathname


pathname specifies the full pathname of the concsm.cfg file.

The following command specifies that the concsm.cfg file is in /usr/myfiles:

setenv INFORMIXCONCSMCFG /usr/myfiles

You can also specify a different name for the file. The following example
specifies a filename of csmconfig in the same directory:
setenv INFORMIXCONCSMCFG /usr/myfiles/csmconfig

The default location of the concsm.cfg file is in $INFORMIXDIR/etc. For

more information about communications support modules and the contents of
the concsm.cfg file, refer to the IBM Informix: Administrator's Reference.
INFORMIXCONRETRY
The INFORMIXCONRETRY environment variable sets the maximum number
of additional connection attempts that should be made to each database server
by the client during the time limit that INFORMIXCONTIME specifies.


setenv INFORMIXCONRETRY count


count is the number of additional attempts to connect to each

database server.

For example, the following command sets INFORMIXCONRETRY to specify

three additional connection attempts (after the initial attempt):

3-56 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 setenv INFORMIXCONRETRY 3

The default value for INFORMIXCONRETRY is one retry after the initial
connection attempt. The INFORMIXCONTIME setting, described in the
following section, takes precedence over the INFORMIXCONRETRY setting.
INFORMIXCONTIME
The INFORMIXCONTIME environment variable specifies for how many
seconds the CONNECT statement continues each attempt to establish a
connection to a database server before returning an error. If you set no value,
the default of 60 seconds can typically support a few hundred concurrent
client connections, but some systems might encounter very few connection
errors with a value as low as 15. The total distance between nodes, hardware
speed, the volume of traffic, and the concurrency level of the network can all
affect what value you should set to optimize INFORMIXCONTIME.

The INFORMIXCONTIME and INFORMIXCONRETRY environment

variables let you configure your client-side connection capability to retry the
connection instead of returning a -908 error.


setenv INFORMIXCONTIME seconds


seconds represents the minimum number of seconds spent in attempts

to establish a connection to a database server.

For example, enter this command to set INFORMIXCONTIME to 60 seconds:

setenv INFORMIXCONTIME 60

If INFORMIXCONTIME is set to 60 and INFORMIXCONRETRY is set to 3,

attempts to connect to the database server (after the initial attempt at 0
seconds) are made at 20, 40, and 60 seconds, if necessary, before aborting.
This 20-second interval is the result of INFORMIXCONTIME divided by
INFORMIXCONRETRY. If you attempt to set INFORMIXCONTIME to zero,
the database server automatically resets it to the default value of 60 seconds.

If execution of the CONNECT statement involves searching DBPATH, the

following rules apply:
v All appropriate servers in the DBPATH setting are accessed at least once,
even though the INFORMIXCONTIME value might be exceeded. Thus, the
CONNECT statement might take longer than the INFORMIXCONTIME
time limit to return an error that indicates connection failure or that the
database was not found.
v INFORMIXCONRETRY specifies how many additional connection
attempts should be made for each database server entry in DBPATH.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-57

 v The INFORMIXCONTIME value is divided among the number of database
server entries specified in DBPATH. Thus, if DBPATH contains numerous
servers, you should increase the INFORMIXCONTIME value accordingly.
For example, if DBPATH contains three entries, to spend at least 30 seconds
attempting each connection, set INFORMIXCONTIME to 90.

INFORMIXCONTIME takes precedence over the INFORMIXCONRETRY

setting. Retry efforts could end after the INFORMIXCONTIME value is
exceeded, but before the INFORMIXCONRETRY value is reached.

The INFORMIXCONTIME and INFORMIXCONRETRY environment variables

can be modified with the onutil SET command, as in the following example:
% onutil
1> SET INFORMIXCONTIME 120;
Dynamic Configuration completed successfully
2> SET INFORMIXCONRETRY 10;
Dynamic Configuration completed successfully

INFORMIXCPPMAP (IDS)
Set the INFORMIXCPPMAP environment variable to specify the fully
qualified pathname of the map file for C++ programs. Information in the map
file includes the database server type, the name of the shared library that
supports the database object or value object type, the library entry point for
the object, and the C++ library for which an object was built.


setenv INFORMIXCPPMAP pathname


pathname is the directory path where the C++ map file is stored.

The map file is a text file that can have any filename. You can specify several
map files, separated by colons ( : ) on UNIX or semicolons ( ; ) on Windows.

On UNIX, the default map file is $INFORMIXDIR/etc/c++map. On Windows,

the default map file is %INFORMIXDIR%\etc\c++map.
INFORMIXDIR
The INFORMIXDIR environment variable specifies the directory that contains
the subdirectories in which your product files are installed. You must always
set INFORMIXDIR. Verify that INFORMIXDIR is set to the full pathname of
the directory in which you installed your database server. If you have
multiple versions of a database server, set INFORMIXDIR to the appropriate
directory name for the version that you want to access. For information about
when to set INFORMIXDIR, see your IBM Informix: Installation Guide.


setenv INFORMIXDIR\ pathname


pathname is the directory path where the product files are installed.

3-58 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 To set INFORMIXDIR to usr/informix/, for example, as the installation
directory, enter the following command:
setenv INFORMIXDIR /usr/informix

INFORMIXKEYTAB (UNIX)
The INFORMIXKEYTAB environment variable specifies the location of the
keytab file. The keytab file contains authentication information that database
servers and clients access at connection time, if they use the DCE-GSS
communications support module (CSM). It contains key tables that store keys,
each of which contains a principal name (database server or user name), type,
version, and value.

The database server uses the keytab file to find the key to register the
database server and to acquire a credential for it. A client application uses the
key if the user did not execute dce_login with the current operating-system
user name (which is the same as the DCE principal name) or did not
explicitly provide a credential.


setenv INFORMIXKEYTAB pathname


pathname specifies the full path of the keytab file.

For example, the following command specifies that the name and location of
the keytab file is /usr/myfiles/mykeytab:
setenv INFORMIXKEYTAB /usr/myfiles/mykeytab

For more information about the DCE-GSS communications support module,

see the IBM Informix: Administrator's Guide.
INFORMIXOPCACHE (IDS)
The INFORMIXOPCACHE environment variable can specify the size of the
memory cache for the staging-area blobspace of the client application.


setenv INFORMIXOPCACHE kilobytes


kilobytes specifies the value you set for the optical memory cache.

Set the INFORMIXOPCACHE environment variable by specifying the size of

the memory cache in kilobytes. The specified size must be equal to or smaller
than the size of the system-wide configuration parameter, OPCACHEMAX.

If you do not set INFORMIXOPCACHE, the default cache size is 128

kilobytes or the size specified in the configuration parameter OPCACHEMAX.
The default for OPCACHEMAX is 128 kilobytes. If you set
INFORMIXOPCACHE to a value of 0, Optical Subsystem does not use the
cache.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-59

 INFORMIXSERVER
The INFORMIXSERVER environment variable specifies the default database
server to which an explicit or implicit connection is made by an SQL API
client, the DB–Access utility, or other IBM Informix products. This must be set
before you can use IBM Informix client products. It has the following syntax.


setenv INFORMIXSERVER dbservername


dbservername is the name of the default database server.

The value of INFORMIXSERVER can be a local or remote server, but must

correspond to a valid dbservername entry in the $INFORMIXDIR/etc/sqlhosts
file on the computer running the application. The dbservername must begin
with a lower-case letter and cannot exceed 128 bytes. It can include any
printable characters except uppercase characters, field delimiters (blank space
or tab), the newline character, and the hyphen (or minus) symbol.

For example, this command specifies the coral database server as the default:
setenv INFORMIXSERVER coral

INFORMIXSERVER specifies the database server to which an application

connects if the CONNECT DEFAULT statement is executed. It also defines the
database server to which an initial implicit connection is established if the first
statement in an application is not a CONNECT statement.

Important: You must set INFORMIXSERVER even if the application or

DB–Access does not use implicit or explicit default connections.

For Extended Parallel Server, the INFORMIXSERVER environment variable

specifies the name of a dbserver group. To specify a coserver name, use the
following format:
dbservername.coserver_number

Here dbservername is the value that you assigned to the DBSERVERNAME

configuration parameter in the ONCONFIG configuration file and
coserver_number is the value that you assigned to the COSERVER configuration
parameter for the connection coserver.

Strictly speaking, INFORMIXSERVER is not required for initialization. If

INFORMIXSERVER is not set, however, Extended Parallel Server does not
build the sysmaster tables.
INFORMIXSHMBASE (UNIX)
The INFORMIXSHMBASE environment variable affects only client
applications connected to Informix databases that use the interprocess
communications (IPC) shared-memory (ipcshm) protocol.

3-60 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Important: Resetting INFORMIXSHMBASE requires a thorough
understanding of how the application uses memory. Normally you
do not reset INFORMIXSHMBASE.

INFORMIXSHMBASE specifies where shared-memory communication

segments are attached to the client process so that client applications can
avoid collisions with other memory segments that it uses. If you do not set
INFORMIXSHMBASE, the memory address of the communication segments
defaults to an implementation-specific value such as 0x800000.


setenv INFORMIXSHMBASE value


value is an integer (in kilobytes) used to calculate the memory

address.

The database server calculates the memory address where segments are
attached by multiplying the value of INFORMIXSHMBASE by 1,024. For
example, on a system that uses the C shell, you can set the memory address
to the value 0x800000 by entering the following command:
setenv INFORMIXSHMBASE 8192

For more information, see your IBM Informix: Administrator's Guide and the
IBM Informix: Administrator's Reference.
INFORMIXSQLHOSTS
The INFORMIXSQLHOSTS environment variable specifies where the SQL
client or the database server can find connectivity information.


setenv INFORMIXSQLHOSTS pathname


pathname is the full pathname of the connectivity information file.

On UNIX systems, the default search path for the connectivity information file
is $INFORMIXDIR/etc/sqlhosts.

The following command overrides this default to specify the mysqlhosts file
in the /work/envt directory:
setenv INFORMIXSQLHOSTS /work/envt/mysqlhosts

On Windows, INFORMIXSQLHOSTS points to the computer whose registry

contains the SQLHOSTS subkey.

The next example specifies that the client or database server look for
connectivity information on a computer named arizona:
set INFORMIXSQLHOSTS = \\arizona

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-61

 For details of the information that sqlhosts (or a file with a non-default
filename) can provide about connectivity, see your IBM Informix:
Administrator's Guide.
INFORMIXSTACKSIZE
The INFORMIXSTACKSIZE environment variable specifies the stack size (in
kilobytes) that the database server uses for the primary thread of a client
session. You can use INFORMIXSTACKSIZE to override the value of the
ONCONFIG parameter STACKSIZE for a given application or user.


setenv INFORMIXSTACKSIZE size


size is an integer, setting the stack size (in kilobytes) for SQL client
threads.

For example, to decrease the INFORMIXSTACKSIZE to 20 kilobytes, enter

the following command:
setenv -STACKSIZE 20

If INFORMIXSTACKSIZE is not set, the stack size is taken from the database
server configuration parameter STACKSIZE or else defaults to a
platform-specific value. The default stack size value for the primary thread of
an SQL client is 32 kilobytes for nonrecursive database activity.

Warning: For instructions on setting this value, see the IBM Informix:
Administrator's Reference. If you incorrectly set the value of
INFORMIXSTACKSIZE, it can cause the database server to fail.
INFORMIXTERM (UNIX)
The INFORMIXTERM environment variable specifies whether DB–Access
should use the information in the termcap file or the terminfo directory.

On character-based systems, the termcap file and terminfo directory

determine terminal-dependent keyboard and screen capabilities, such as the
operation of function keys, color and intensity attributes in screen displays,
and the definition of window borders and graphic characters.


setenv INFORMIXTERM termcap

terminfo

If INFORMIXTERM is not set, the default setting is termcap. When

DB–Access is installed on your system, a termcap file is placed in the etc
subdirectory of $INFORMIXDIR. This file is a superset of an operating-system
termcap file.

3-62 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 You can use the termcap file that the database server supplies, the system
termcap file, or a termcap file that you create. You must set the TERMCAP
environment variable if you do not use the default termcap file. For
information on setting the TERMCAP environment variable, see page 3-78.

The terminfo directory contains a file for each terminal name that has been
defined. The terminfo setting for INFORMIXTERM is supported only on
computers that provide full support for the UNIX System V terminfo library.
For details, see the machine notes file for your product.
INF_ROLE_SEP (IDS)
The INF_ROLE_SEP environment variable configures the security feature of
role separation when the database server is installed or reinstalled on UNIX
systems. Role separation enforces separating administrative tasks by people
who run and audit the database server. After the installation is complete,
INF_ROLE_SEP has no effect. If INF_ROLE_SEP is not set, then user
informix (the default) can perform all administrative tasks.


setenv INF_ROLE_SEP n


n is any positive integer.

On Windows, the install process asks whether you want to enable role
separation regardless of the setting of INF_ROLE_SEP. To enable role
separation for database servers on Windows, choose the role-separation option
during installation.

If INF_ROLE_SEP is set when Dynamic Server is installed on a UNIX

platform, role separation is implemented and a separate group is specified to
serve each of the following responsibilities:
v The Database Server Administrator (DBSA)
v The Audit Analysis Officer (AAO)
v The standard user

On UNIX, you can establish role separation manually by changing the group
that owns the aaodir, dbsadir, or etc directories at any time after the
installation is complete. You can disable role separation by resetting the group
that owns these directories to informix. You can have role separation enabled,
for example, for the Audit Analysis Officer (AAO) without having role
separation enabled for the Database Server Administrator (DBSA).

For more information about the security feature of role separation, see the
IBM Informix: Trusted Facility Guide. To learn how to configure role separation
when you install your database server, see your IBM Informix: Installation
Guide.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-63

 INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF (Windows)
This environment variable lets you prevent interaction with the Windows
desktop when an SPL routine executes a SYSTEM command.


setenv INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF 1

0

If INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF is 1 and an SPL routine attempts to

interact with the desktop (for example, with the notepad.exe or cmd.exe
program), the routine fails unless the user is a member of the Administrators
group.

The valid settings (1 or 0) have the following effects:

1 Prevents the database server from acquiring desktop resources
for the user executing the stored procedure
0 SYSTEM commands in a stored procedure can interact with
the desktop. This is the default value.

Setting INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF to 1 allows an SPL routine that does

not interact with the desktop to execute more quickly. This setting also allows
the database server to simultaneously call a greater number of SYSTEM
commands because the command no longer depends on a limited operating-
system resource (Desktop and WindowStation handles).
ISM_COMPRESSION
Set this environment variable in the ON–Bar environment to specify whether
the IBM Informix Storage Manager (ISM) should use data compression.


setenv ISM_COMPRESSION TRUE

FALSE

If ISM_COMPRESSION is set to TRUE in the environment of the ON–Bar

process that makes a request, the ISM server uses a data-compression
algorithm to store or retrieve the requested data. If ISM_COMPRESSION is
set to FALSE or is not set, the ISM server does not use compression.
ISM_DEBUG_FILE
Set the ISM_DEBUG_FILE environment variable in the IBM Informix Storage
Manager server environment to specify where to write XBSA messages.


setenv ISM_DEBUG_FILE pathname


pathname specifies the location of the XBSA message log file.

3-64 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 If you do not set ISM_DEBUG_FILE, the XBSA message log is located in the
$INFORMIXDIR/ism/applogs/xbsa.messages directory on UNIX, or in the
c:\nsr\applogs\xbsa.messages directory on Windows systems.
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL
Set the ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL environment variable in the ON–Bar
environment to control the level of reporting detail recorded in the XBSA
messages log. The XBSA shared library writes to this log.


setenv ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL value


value specifies the level of reporting detail, where 1 ≤ value ≤ 9.

If ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL is not set, has a null value, or has a value outside

this range, the default detail level is 1. A detail level of 0 suppresses all XBSA
debugging records. A detail level of 1 reports only XBSA failures.
ISM_ENCRYPTION
Set the ISM_ENCRYPTION environment variable in the ON–Bar environment
to specify whether IBM Informix Storage Manager (ISM) uses data
encryption.


setenv ISM_ENCRYPTION XOR

NONE
TRUE

Three settings of ISM_ENCRYPTION are supported:

XOR uses encryption.
NONE does not use encryption.
TRUE uses encryption.

If ISM_ENCRYPTION is set to NONE or is not set, the ISM server does not
use encryption.

If the ISM_ENCRYPTION is set to TRUE or XOR in the environment of the

ON–Bar process that makes a request, the ISM server uses encryption to store
or retrieve the data specified in that request.
ISM_MAXLOGSIZE
Set the ISM_MAXLOGSIZE environment variable in the IBM Informix
Storage Manager (ISM) server environment to specify the size threshold of the
ISM activity log.


setenv ISM_MAXLOGSIZE size


Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-65

 size specifies the size threshold (in megabytes) of the activity log.

If ISM_MAXLOGSIZE is not set, then the default size limit is 1 megabyte. If

ISM_MAXLOGSIZE is set to a null value, then the threshold is 0 bytes.
ISM_MAXLOGVERS
Set the ISM_MAXLOGVERS environment variable in the IBM Informix
Storage Manager (ISM) server environment to specify the maximum number
of activity-log files to be preserved by the ISM server.


setenv ISM_MAXLOGVERS value


value specifies the number of files to be preserved.

If ISM_MAXLOGVERS is not set, then the default number of files is four. If

the setting is a null value, then the ISM server preserves no activity log files.
JAR_TEMP_PATH (IDS)
Set the JAR_TEMP_PATH variable to specify a non-default local file system
location where jar management procedures such as install_jar( ) and
replace_jar( ) can store temporary .jar files of the Java virtual machine.


setenv JAR_TEMP_PATH pathname


pathname specifies a local directory for temporary .jar files.

This directory must have read and write permissions for the user who brings
up the database server. If the JAR_TEMP_PATH environment variable is not
set, temporary copies of .jar files are stored in the /tmp directory of the local
file system for the database server.
JAVA_COMPILER (IDS)
You can set the JAVA_COMPILER environment variable in the Java virtual
machine environment to disable JIT compilation.


setenv JAVA_COMPILER none

NONE

The NONE and none settings are equivalent. On UNIX systems that support the
C shell and on which JAVA_COMPILER has been set to NONE or none, you can
enable the JIT compiler for the JVM environment by the following command:
unset JAVA_COMPILER

JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE (IDS)
The JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE environment variable can set a non-default
upper limit on the size of the heap for the Java virtual machine.

3-66 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference



setenv JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE size


size is a positive integer that specifies the maximum size (in

megabytes).

For example, the following command sets the maximum heap size at 12 MB:
set JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE 12

If you do not set JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE, 16 MB is the default maximum

size.
LD_LIBRARY_PATH (UNIX)
The LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable tells the shell on Solaris
systems which directories to search for client or shared Informix general
libraries. You must specify the directory that contains your client libraries
before you can use the product.
:

setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH $PATH:  pathname


pathname specifies the search path for the library.

For INTERSOLV DataDirect ODBC Driver on AIX, set LIBPATH. For

INTERSOLV DataDirect ODBC Driver on HP-UX, set SHLIB_PATH.

The following example sets the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable to

the desired directory:
setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH
${INFORMIXDIR}/lib:${INFORMIXDIR}/lib/esql:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

LIBERAL_MATCH (XPS)
The LIBERAL_MATCH environment variable allows the database server to
ignore trailing blanks when the LIKE and MATCHES operators occur in SQL
statements that compare two column values.


setenv LIBERAL_MATCH


When this environment variable is set, the database server ignores trailing
blanks in a LIKE or MATCHES condition. For example, if LIBERAL_MATCH
is set, and you specify “M LIKE P” when P contains trailing blank spaces that
do not occur in M, the result is TRUE. When this environment variable is not
set, the database server returns FALSE for string comparisons like this that
differ only in trailing blank characters.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-67

 This environment variable supports behavior consistent with that of the LIKE
and MATCHES operators in Dynamic Server, Versions 7.x, 9.x, and 10.x. This
behavior (like the MATCHES operator) is an extension to the ANSI/ISO
standard for SQL.

For more information about the LIKE and MATCHES operators, refer to the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.
LIBPATH (UNIX)
The LIBPATH environment variable tells the shell on AIX systems which
directories to search for dynamic-link libraries for the INTERSOLV DataDirect
ODBC Driver. You must specify the full pathname for the directory where you
installed the product.
:

setenv LIBPATH  pathname


pathname specifies the search path for the libraries.

On Solaris, set LD_LIBRARY_PATH. On HP-UX, set SHLIB_PATH.

NODEFDAC
When the NODEFDAC environment variable is set to yes, it prevents default
table privileges (Select, Insert, Update, and Delete) from being granted to
PUBLIC when a new table is created during the current session in a database
that is not ANSI compliant.


setenv NODEFDAC yes


yes prevents default table privileges from being granted to

PUBLIC on new tables in a database that is not ANSI
compliant. This setting also prevents the Execute privilege for
a new user-defined routine from being granted to PUBLIC by
default when the routine is created in Owner mode.

The yes setting is case sensitive, and is also sensitive to leading and trailing
blank spaces. Including uppercase letters or blank spaces in the setting is
equivalent to leaving NODEFDAC unset. When NODEFDAC is not set, or if
it is set to any value besides yes, default privileges on tables and
Owner-mode UDRs are granted to PUBLIC by default when the table or UDR
is created in a database that is not ANSI-compliant.
ONCONFIG
The ONCONFIG environment variable specifies the name of the active file
that holds configuration parameters for the database server. This file is read as

3-68 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 input during the initialization procedure. After you prepare the ONCONFIG
configuration file, set ONCONFIG to the name of this file.


setenv ONCONFIG filename


filename is the name of a file in $INFORMIXDIR/etc that contains the

configuration parameters for your database.

To prepare the ONCONFIG file, make a copy of the onconfig.std file and
modify the copy. It is recommended that you name the ONCONFIG file so
that it can easily be related to a specific database server. If you have multiple
instances of a database server, each instance must have its own uniquely
named ONCONFIG file.

To prepare the ONCONFIG file for Extended Parallel Server, make a copy of
the onconfig.std file if you are using a single coserver configuration or make
a copy of the onconfig.xps file if you are using a multiple coserver
configuration. You can use the onconfig.std file for a multiple coserver
configuration, but you would have to add additional keywords and
configuration parameters such as END, NODE, and COSERVER, which are
already provided for you in the onconfig.xps file.

If the ONCONFIG environment variable is not set, the database server uses
configuration values from either the $ONCONFIG file or the
$INFORMIXDIR/etc/onconfig file.

For more information on configuration parameters and the ONCONFIG file,

see the IBM Informix: Administrator's Reference.
OPTCOMPIND
You can set the OPTCOMPIND environment variable so that the optimizer
can select the appropriate join method.
2


setenv OPTCOMPIND 1

0

0 A nested-loop join is preferred, where possible, over a

sort-merge join or a hash join.
1 When the isolation level is not Repeatable Read, the optimizer
behaves as in setting 2; otherwise, the optimizer behaves as in
setting 0.
2 Nested-loop joins are not necessarily preferred. The optimizer
bases its decision purely on costs, regardless of transaction
isolation mode.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-69

 When OPTCOMPIND is not set, the database server uses the OPTCOMPIND
value from the ONCONFIG configuration file. When neither the environment
variable nor the configuration parameter is set, the default value is 2.

On Dynamic Server, the SET ENVIRONMENT OPTCOMPIND statement can

set or reset OPTCOMPIND dynamically at runtime. This overrides the
current OPTCOMPIND value (or the the ONCONFIG configuration
parameter OPTCOMPIND) for the current user session only. For more
information on the SET ENVIRONMENT OPCOMPIND statement of SQL see
the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.

For more information on the ONCONFIG configuration parameter

OPTCOMPIND, see the IBM Informix: Administrator's Reference. For more
information on the different join methods that the optimizer uses, see your
IBM Informix: Performance Guide.
OPTMSG
Set the OPTMSG environment variable at runtime before you start an
IBM Informix ESQL/C application to enable (or disable) optimized message
transfers (message chaining) for all SQL statements in an application.
0


setenv OPTMSG 1


0 disables optimized message transfers.

1 enables optimized message transfers and implements the
feature for any subsequent connection.

The default value is 0 (zero), which explicitly disables message chaining. You
might wish, for example, to disable optimized message transfers for
statements that require immediate replies, for debugging, or to ensure that the
database server processes all messages before the application terminates.

When you set OPTMSG within an application, you can activate or deactivate
optimized message transfers for each connection or within each thread. To
enable optimized message transfers, you must set OPTMSG before you
establish a connection.

For more information about setting OPTMSG and defining related global
variables, see the IBM Informix: ESQL/C Programmer's Manual.
OPTOFC
Set the OPTOFC environment variable to enable optimize-OPEN-FETCH-
CLOSE functionality in an IBM Informix ESQL/C application or other APIs
(such as JDBC, ODBC, OLE DB, LIBDMI, and Lib C++) that use DECLARE
and OPEN statements to execute a cursor.

3-70 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 0


setenv OPTOFC 1


0 disables OPTOFC for all threads of the application.

1 enables OPTOFC for every cursor in every thread of the
application.

The default value is 0 (zero).

The OPTOFC environment variable reduces the number of message requests

between the application and the database server.

If you set OPTOFC from the shell, you must set it before you start the
ESQL/C application. For more information about enabling OPTOFC and
related features, see the IBM Informix: ESQL/C Programmer's Manual.
OPT_GOAL (IDS, UNIX)
Set the OPT_GOAL environment variable in the user environment, before you
start an application, to specify the query performance goal for the optimizer.
-1


setenv OPT_GOAL 0


0 specifies user-response-time optimization.

-1 specifies total-query-time optimization.

The default behavior is for the optimizer to choose query plans that optimize
the total query time.

You can also specify the optimization goal for individual queries with
optimizer directives or for a session with the SET OPTIMIZATION statement.

Both methods take precedence over the OPT_GOAL environment variable

setting. You can also set the OPT_GOAL configuration parameter for the
Dynamic Server system; this method has the lowest level of precedence.

For more information about optimizing queries for your database server, see
your IBM Informix: Performance Guide. For information on the SET
OPTIMIZATION statement, see the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax.
PATH
The UNIX PATH environment variable tells the shell which directories to
search for executable programs. You must add the directory containing your
IBM Informix product to your PATH setting before you can use the product.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-71

 :

setenv PATH $PATH:  pathname


pathname specifies the search path for the executables.

Include a colon ( : ) separator between the pathnames on UNIX systems. (Use

the semicolon ( ; ) separator between pathnames on Windows systems.)

You can specify the search path in various ways. The PATH environment
variable tells the operating system where to search for executable programs.
You must include the directory that contains your IBM Informix product in
your path setting before you can use the product. This directory should
appear before $INFORMIXDIR/bin, which you must also include.

For additional information about how to modify your path, see “Modifying an
Environment-Variable Setting” on page 3-8.
PDQPRIORITY
For Dynamic Server, the PDQPRIORITY environment variable determines the
degree of parallelism that the database server uses and affects how the
database server allocates resources, including memory, processors, and disk
reads.

For Extended Parallel Server, the PDQPRIORITY environment variable

determines only the allocation of memory resources.


setenv PDQPRIORITY HIGH

LOW
OFF
resources
(1)
, high_value

Notes:
1 Extended Parallel Server only
resources Is an integer in the range 0 to 100. Value 1 is the same as
LOW.
Value 0 is the same as OFF (for Dynamic Server only).
high_value Optional integer value that requests the maximum percentage
of memory (for Extended Parallel Server only). When you
specify this value after the resources value, you request a range
of memory, expressed as a percentage.

Here the HIGH, LOW, and OFF keywords have the following effects:

3-72 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

HIGH When the database server allocates resources among all users,
it gives as many resources as possible to the query.
LOW Data values are fetched from fragmented tables in parallel.
OFF PDQ processing is turned off (for Dynamic Server only).

Usually, the more resources a database server uses, the better its performance
for a given query. If the server uses too many resources, however, contention
for the resources can take resources away from other queries, resulting in
degraded performance. For more information on performance considerations
for PDQPRIORITY, refer to your IBM Informix: Performance Guide.

An application can override the setting of this environment variable when it

issues the SQL statement SET PDQPRIORITY, as the IBM Informix: Guide to
SQL Syntax describes.

Using PDQPRIORITY with Dynamic Server

The resources value specifies the query priority level and the amount of
resources that the database server uses to process the query. When you specify
LOW, Dynamic Server uses no forms of parallelism.

When PDQPRIORITY is not set, the default value is OFF.

When PDQPRIORITY is set to HIGH, Dynamic Server determines an

appropriate value to use for PDQPRIORITY based on several criteria. These
include the number of available processors, the fragmentation of tables
queried, the complexity of the query, and additional factors.

Using PDQPRIORITY with Extended Parallel Server

The resources value establishes the minimum percentage of memory when you
also specify high_value to request a range of memory allocation. Other parallel
operations can occur when the PDQPRIORITY setting is LOW.

When the PDQPRIORITY environment variable is not set, the default value is
the value of the PDQPRIORITY configuration parameter.

When PDQPRIORITY is set to 0, Extended Parallel Server can execute a

query in parallel, depending on the number of available processors, the
fragmentation of tables queried, the complexity of the query, and other
factors. PDQPRIORITY does not affect the degree of parallelism in Extended
Parallel Server.

An application can prevent changes to the PDQPRIORITY setting with the

SET PDQPRIORITY IMMUTABLE or SET ALL_MUTABLES statements of
SQL. You can also override the setting of this environment variable by issuing

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-73

 the SQL statement SET ENVIRONMENT to change the IMPLICIT_PDQ or
BOUNT_IMPL_PDQ options, as the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax
describes.
PLCONFIG (IDS)
The PLCONFIG environment variable specifies the name of the configuration
file that the High-Performance Loader (HPL) uses. This file must reside in the
$INFORMIXDIR/etc directory. If the PLCONFIG environment variable is not
set, then $INFORMIXDIR/etc/plconfig is the default configuration file.


setenv PLCONFIG filename


filename specifies the simple filename of the configuration file that the
High-Performance Loader uses.

For example, to specify the $INFORMIXDIR/etc/custom.cfg file as the

configuration file for the High-Performance Loader, enter the following
command:
setenv PLCONFIG custom.cfg

For more information, see the IBM Informix: High-Performance Loader User's
Guide.
PLOAD_LO_PATH (IDS)
The PLOAD_LO_PATH environment variable lets you specify the pathname
for smart-large-object handles (which identify the location of smart large
objects such as BLOB and CLOB data types).


setenv PLOAD_LO_PATH pathname


pathname specifies the directory for the smart-large-object handles.

If PLOAD_LO_PATH is not set, the default directory is /tmp.

For more information, see the IBM Informix: High-Performance Loader User's
Guide.
PLOAD_SHMBASE (IDS)
The PLOAD_SHMBASE environment variable lets you specify the
shared-memory address at which the High-Performance Loader (HPL)
onpload processes will attach. If PLOAD_SHMBASE is not set, the HPL
determines which shared-memory address to use.


setenv PLOAD_SHMBASE value


value is used to calculate the shared-memory address.

3-74 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 If the onpload utility cannot attach, an error appears and you must specify a
new value.

The onpload utility tries to determine at which address to attach, as follows

in the following (descending) order:
1. Attach at the same address (SHMBASE) as the database server.
2. Attach beyond the database server segments.
3. Attach at the address specified in PLOAD_SHMBASE.

Tip: It is recommended that you let the HPL decide where to attach and that
you set PLOAD_SHMBASE only if necessary to avoid shared-memory
collisions between onpload and the database server.

For more information, see the IBM Informix: High-Performance Loader User's
Guide.
PSORT_DBTEMP
The PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable specifies where the database
server writes the temporary files it uses when it performs a sort.
:

setenv PSORT_DBTEMP  pathname


pathname is the name of the UNIX directory used for intermediate

writes during a sort.

To set the PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable to specify the directory (for

example, /usr/leif/tempsort), enter the following command:
setenv PSORT_DBTEMP /usr/leif/tempsort

For maximum performance, specify directories that reside in file systems on

different disks.

You might also want to consider setting the environment variable

DBSPACETEMP to place temporary files used in sorting in dbspaces rather
than operating-system files. See the discussion of the DBSPACETEMP
environment variable in “DBSPACETEMP” on page 3-36.

The database server uses the directory that PSORT_DBTEMP specifies, even
if the environment variable PSORT_NPROCS is not set. For additional
information about the PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable, see your
IBM Informix: Administrator's Guide and your IBM Informix: Performance Guide.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-75

 PSORT_NPROCS
The PSORT_NPROCS environment variable enables the database server to
improve the performance of the parallel-process sorting package by allocating
more threads for sorting.

PSORT_NPROCS does not necessarily improve sorting speed for Extended

Parallel Server, because the database server sorts in parallel whether this
environment variable is set or not.

Before the sorting package performs a parallel sort, make sure that the
database server has enough memory for the sort.


setenv PSORT_NPROCS threads


threads is an integer, specifying the maximum number of threads to

be used to sort a query. This value cannot be greater than 10.

The following command sets PSORT_NPROCS to 4:

setenv PSORT_NPROCS 4

To disable parallel sorting, enter the following command:

unsetenv PSORT_NPROCS

It is recommended that you initially set PSORT_NPROCS to 2 when your

computer has multiple CPUs. If subsequent CPU activity is lower than I/O
activity, you can increase the value of PSORT_NPROCS.

Tip: If the PDQPRIORITY environment variable is not set, the database

server allocates the minimum amount of memory to sorting. This
minimum memory is insufficient to start even two sort threads. If you
have not set PDQPRIORITY, check the available memory before you
perform a large-scale sort (such as an index build) to make sure that you
have enough memory.

Default Values for Detached Indexes

If the PSORT_NPROCS environment variable is set, the database server uses
the specified number of sort threads as an upper limit for ordinary sorts. If
PSORT_NPROCS is not set, parallel sorting does not take place. The database
server uses one thread for the sort. If PSORT_NPROCS is set to 0, the
database server uses three threads for the sort.

Default Values for Attached Indexes

The default number of threads is different for attached indexes.

3-76 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 If the PSORT_NPROCS environment variable is set, you get the specified
number of sort threads for each fragment of the index that is being built.

If PSORT_NPROCS is not set, or if it is set to 0, you get two sort threads for
each fragment of the index unless you have a single-CPU virtual processor. If
you have a single-CPU virtual processor, you get one sort thread for each
fragment of the index.

For additional information about the PSORT_NPROCS environment variable,

see your IBM Informix: Administrator's Guide and your IBM Informix:
Performance Guide.
RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE (IDS)
The RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE environment variable specifies a
coefficient that support functions of user-defined data types can use to
estimate the cost of an R-tree index for queries on UDT columns.


setenv RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE value


value is a floating-point number, where 1 ≤ value ≤ 1000, specifying a

multiplier for estimating the cost of using an index on a UDT
column.

For spatial queries, the I/O overhead tends to exceed by far the CPU cost, so
by multiplying the uncorrected estimated cost by an appropriate value from
this setting, the database server can make better cost-based decisions on how
to implement queries on UDT columns for which an R-tree index exists.
SHLIB_PATH (UNIX)
The SHLIB_PATH environment variable tells the shell on HP-UX systems
which directories to search for dynamic-link libraries. This is used, for
example, with the INTERSOLV DataDirect ODBC Driver. You must specify the
full pathname for the directory where you installed the product.
:

setenv SHLIB_PATH $PATH:  pathname


pathname specifies the search path for the libraries.

On Solaris systems, set LD_LIBRARY_PATH. On AIX systems, set LIBPATH.

STMT_CACHE (IDS)
Use the STMT_CACHE environment variable to control the use of the
shared-statement cache on a session. This feature can reduce memory
consumption and can speed query processing among different user sessions.
Valid STMT_CACHE values are 1 and 0.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-77



setenv STMT_CACHE 1

0

1 enables the SQL statement cache.

0 disables the SQL statement cache.

Set the STMT_CACHE environment variable for applications that do not use
the SET STMT_CACHE statement to control the use of the SQL statement
cache. By default, a statement cache of 512 kilobytes is enabled, but this
feature can be disabled or set to a non-default size through the
STMT_CACHE parameter of the onconfig.std file or by the SET
STMT_CACHE statement.

This environment variable has no effect if the SQL statement cache is disabled
through the configuration file setting. Values set by the SET STMT_CACHE
statement in the application override the STMT_CACHE setting.
TERM (UNIX)
The TERM environment variable is used for terminal handling. It lets
DB–Access (and other character-based applications) recognize and
communicate with the terminal that you are using.


setenv TERM type


type specifies the terminal type.

The terminal type specified in the TERM setting must correspond to an entry
in the termcap file or terminfo directory.

Before you can set the TERM environment variable, you must obtain the code
for your terminal from the database administrator.

For example, to specify the vt100 terminal, set the TERM environment
variable by entering the following command:
setenv TERM vt100

TERMCAP (UNIX)
The TERMCAP environment variable is used for terminal handling. It tells
DB–Access (and other character-based applications) to communicate with the
termcap file instead of the terminfo directory.


setenv TERMCAP pathname


pathname specifies the location of the termcap file.

3-78 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 The termcap file contains a list of various types of terminals and their
characteristics. For example, to provide DB–Access terminal-handling
information, which is specified in the /usr/informix/etc/termcap file, enter the
following command:
setenv TERMCAP /usr/informix/etc/termcap

You can use set TERMCAP in any of the following ways. If several termcap
files exist, they have the following (descending) order of precedence:
1. The termcap file that you create
2. The termcap file that the database server supplies (that is,
$INFORMIXDIR/etc/termcap)
3. The operating-system termcap file (that is, /etc/termcap)

If you set the TERMCAP environment variable, be sure that the

INFORMIXTERM environment variable is set to the default, termcap.

If you do not set the TERMCAP environment variable, the system file (that is,
/etc/termcap) is used by default.
TERMINFO (UNIX)
The TERMINFO environment variable is used for terminal handling.

The environment variable is supported only on platforms that provide full

support for the terminfo libraries that System V and Solaris UNIX systems
provide.


setenv TERMINFO /usr/lib/terminfo


TERMINFO tells DB–Access to communicate with the terminfo directory

instead of the termcap file. The terminfo directory has subdirectories that
contain files that pertain to terminals and their characteristics.

To set TERMINFO, enter the following command:

setenv TERMINFO /usr/lib/terminfo

If you set the TERMINFO environment variable, you must also set the
INFORMIXTERM environment variable to terminfo.
THREADLIB (UNIX)
Use the THREADLIB environment variable to compile multithreaded
ESQL/C applications. A multithreaded ESQL/C application lets you establish
as many connections to one or more databases as there are threads. These
connections can remain active while the application program executes.

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-79

 The THREADLIB environment variable indicates which thread package to
use when you compile an application. Currently only the Distributed
Computing Environment (DCE) is supported.


setenv THREADLIB DCE


The THREADLIB environment variable is checked when the -thread option is

passed to the ESQL/C script when you compile a multithreaded ESQL/C
application. When you use the -thread option while compiling, the ESQL/C
script generates an error if THREADLIB is not set, or if THREADLIB is set to
an unsupported thread package.
TOBIGINT (XPS)
You can use the TOBIGINT environment variable to change the default INT8
label that the dbschema utility displays in its output for columns of the INT8
data type to the string BIGINT.


setenv TOBIGINT 1


Set TOBIGINT to 1 to enable, and unset TOBIGINT to disable this

dbschema functionality. The name BIGINT is the identifier of a built-in 8-byte
integer data type of DB2 database servers of IBM. See the Migration Guide for
additional information about the TOBIGINT environment variable.
USETABLEAME (IDS)
The USETABLENAME environment variable can prevent users from using a
synonym to specify the table in ALTER TABLE or DROP TABLE statements.
Unlike most environment variables, USETABLENAME does not need to be
set to a value. It takes effect if you set it to any value, or to no value.


setenv USETABLENAME


By default, ALTER TABLE or DROP TABLE statements accept a valid

synonym for the name of the table to be altered or dropped. (In contrast,
RENAME TABLE issues an error if you specify a synonym, as do the ALTER
SEQUENCE, DROP SEQUENCE, and RENAME SEQUENCE statements, if
you attempt to substitute a synonym for the sequence name in those
statements.)

If you set USETABLENAME, an error results if a synonym appears in ALTER

TABLE or DROP TABLE statements. Setting USETABLENAME has no effect
on the DROP VIEW statement, which accepts a valid synonym for the view.

3-80 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 XFER_CONFIG (XPS)
The XFER_CONFIG environment variable specifies the location of the
xfer_config configuration file.


setenv XFER_CONFIG pathname


pathname specifies the location of the xfer_config file.

The xfer_config file works with the onxfer utility to help users migrate from
Version 7.x to Version 8.x. It contains various configuration parameter
settings that users can modify and a list of tables that users can select to be
transferred.

The default xfer_config file is located in the $INFORMIXDIR/etc directory on

UNIX systems or in the %INFORMIXDIR%\etc directory in Windows.

Index of Environment Variables

Table 3-4 on page 3-81 provides an overview of the uses for the various
Informix and UNIX environment variables that Version 8.5 and Version 10.0
support. This serves as an index to general topics and lists the related
environment variables and the pages where the environment variables are
introduced. Where the Topic column is empty, the entry refers to the
previously listed topic.

The term GLS Guide in the Page column in Table 3-4 indicates environment
variables that are described in the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.

The term ER Guide in the Page column in Table 3-4 indicates environment
variables that are described in the IBM Informix: Dynamic Server Enterprise
Replication Guide.
Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables
Topic Environment Variable Page
Abbreviated year values DBCENTURY 3-22
Alarms for SQL operations
Globally detached indexes GLOBAL_DETACH_INFRM 3-45
Cartesian joins IFMX_CART_ALARM 3-46
ANSI/ISO SQL compliance
Lettercase of owner names ANSIOWNER 3-18
Informix syntax extensions DBANSIWARN 3-21
default table privileges NODEFDAC 3-68

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-81

Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables (continued)
Topic Environment Variable Page
archecker utility AC_CONFIG 3-18
Buffer: fetch size FET_BUF_SIZE 3-44
network size IFX_NETBUF_SIZE 3-53
network pool size IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE 3-52
BYTE or TEXT data buffer DBBLOBBUF 3-22
Cache: enabling STMT_CACHE 3-77
size for Optical Subsystem INFORMIXOPCACHE 3-59
Client/server:
default server INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
shared memory segments INFORMIXSHMBASE 3-60
stacksize for client session INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 3-62
locale of client, server CLIENT_LOCALE, DBLOCALE GLS Guide
locale for file I/O SERVER_LOCALE GLS Guide
Code-set conversion
code set of client, server CLIENT_LOCALE, DB_LOCALE GLS Guide
character-string conversion DBNLS 3-32
Communication Support Module: INFORMIXKEYTAB 3-59
DCE-GSS
concsm.cfg file INFORMIXCONCSMCFG 3-56
Compiler: INFORMIXC 3-55
multibyte characters CC8BITLEVEL GLS Guide
C++ INFORMIXCPPMAP 3-58
ESQL/C THREADLIB 3-80
Configuration file:
database server ONCONFIG 3-68
ignore environment variables ENVIGNORE 3-43
Configuration parameter: INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
COSERVER
DBSERVERNAME INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
DBSPACETEMP DBSPACETEMP 3-36
DIRECTIVES IFX_DIRECTIVES 3-49
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES 3-50
OPCACHEMAX INFORMIXOPCACHE 3-59

3-82 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables (continued)
Topic Environment Variable Page
OPTCOMPIND OPTCOMPIND 3-69
OPT_GOAL OPT_GOAL 3-71
PDQPRIORITY PDQPRIORITY 3-72
STACKSIZE INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 3-62
Connecting INFORMIXCONRETRY 3-56
INFORMIXCONTIME 3-56
INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
INFORMIXSQLHOSTS 3-61
Data distributions DBUPSPACE 3-41
Database locale DB_LOCALE GLS Guide
Database server INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
locale for file I/O SERVER_LOCALE GLS Guide
configuration file ONCONFIG 3-68
parallel sorting PSORT_DBTEMP 3-75
PSORT_NPROCS 3-76
parallelism PDQPRIORITY 3-72
role separation INF_ROLE_SEP 3-63
shared memory INFORMIXSHMBASE 3-60
stacksize INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 3-62
temporary tables DBSPACETEMP 3-36
DBTEMP 3-38
PSORT_DBTEMP 3-75
variable-length packets IFX_PAD_VARCHAR 3-53
Date and time values, formats DBCENTURY 3-22
DBDATE 3-25:
GL_DATE GLS Guide
DBTIME 3-39:
GL_DATETIME GLS Guide
IBM_XPS_PARAMS 3-45

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-83

Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables (continued)
Topic Environment Variable Page
DB-Access utility DBANSIWARN 3-21
DBDELIMITER 3-28
DBEDIT 3-28
DBFLTMASK 3-29
DBNLS 3-32
DBPATH 3-33
FET_BUF_SIZE 3-44
INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
INFORMIXTERM 3-62
TERM 3-78
TERMCAP 3-78
TERMINFO 3-79
dbexport utility DBDELIMITER 3-28
dbschema utility TOBIGINT 3-80
Delimited identifiers DELIMIDENT 3-42
Disk space DBUPSPACE 3-41
Editor DBEDIT 3-28
Enterprise Replication CDR_LOGDELTA ER Guide
CDR_PERFLOG
CDR_ROUTER
CDR_RMSCALEFACT
CDRSITES_731
CDRSITES_92X
ESQL/C: ANSI compliance DBANSIWARN 3-21
C compiler INFORMIXC 3-55
DATETIME formatting DBTIME 3-39;
GLS Guide
delimited identifiers DELIMIDENT 3-42
multibyte characters CLIENT_LOCALE, ESQLMF GLS Guide
multithreaded applications THREADLIB 3-80
C preprocessor CPFIRST 3-20
Executable programs PATH 3-71
Fetch buffer size FET_BUF_SIZE 3-44
Filenames: multibyte GLS8BITSYS GLS Guide
Files: field delimiter DBDELIMITER 3-28
Files: installation INFORMIXDIR 3-58

3-84 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables (continued)
Topic Environment Variable Page
Files: locale CLIENT_LOCALE GLS Guide
DB_LOCALE
SERVER_LOCALE
Files: map for C++ INFORMIXCPPMAP 3-58
Files: message DBLANG 3-29
Files: temporary DBSPACETEMP 3-36
Files: temporary, for Gateways DBTEMP 3-38
Files: temporary sorting PSORT_DBTEMP 3-75
Files: termcap, terminfo INFORMIXTERM 3-62
TERM 3-78
TERMCAP 3-78
TERMINFO 3-79
Formats: date and time DBDATE 3-25;
GL_DATE GLS Guide
DBTIME 3-39;
GL_DATETIME GLS Guide
Format: money DBMONEY 3-30,
GLS Guide
Gateways DBTEMP 3-38
High-Performance Loader DBONPLOAD 3-33
PLCONFIG 3-74
PLOAD_LO_PATH 3-74
PLOAD_SHMBASE 3-74
Identifiers: delimited DELIMIDENT 3-42
Identifiers: longer than 18 bytes IFX_LONGID 3-51
Identifiers: multibyte characters CLIENT_LOCALE,ESQLMF GLS Guide
IBM Informix Storage Manager ISM_COMPRESSION 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_FILE 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL 3-65
ISM_ENCRYPTION 3-65
IBM Informix Storage Manager ISM_MAXLOGSIZE 3-65
ISM_MAXLOGVERS 3-66
Installation INFORMIXDIR 3-58
PATH 3-71
Language environment DBLANG 3-29,;
See also “Nondefault Locale” GLS Guide

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-85

Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables (continued)
Topic Environment Variable Page
Libraries LD_LIBRARY_PATH 3-67
LIBPATH 3-68
SHLIB_PATH 3-77
Locale CLIENT_LOCALE GLS Guide
DB_LOCALE
SERVER_LOCALE
Lock Mode IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE 3-48
Long Identifiers IFX_LONGID 3-51
Map file for C++ INFORMIXCPPMAP 3-58
Message chaining OPTMSG 3-70
Message files DBLANG 3-29,;
GLS Guide
Money format DBMONEY 3-30,;
GLS Guide
Multibyte characters CLIENT_LOCALE GLS Guide
DB_LOCALE
SERVER_LOCALE
Multibyte filter ESQLMF GLS Guide
Multithreaded applications THREADLIB 3-80
Network DBPATH 3-33
Nondefault locale DBNLS 3-32,;
CLIENT_LOCALE GLS Guide
DB_LOCALE
SERVER_LOCALE
ON–Bar utility ISM_COMPRESSION 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL 3-65
ISM_ENCRYPTION 3-65
ONCONFIG parameters See “Configuration parameter” 3-82
Optical Subsystem INFORMIXOPCACHE 3-59
Optimization: directives IFX_DIRECTIVES 3-49
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES 3-50
Optimization: message transfers OPTMSG 3-70
Optimization: join method OPTCOMPIND 3-69
Optimization: performance goal OPT_GOAL 3-71
OPTOFC feature OPTOFC 3-70
Parameters See “Configuration parameter” 3-82 to 3-83
Pathname: archecker config file AC_CONFIG 3-18

3-86 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables (continued)
Topic Environment Variable Page
Pathname: C compiler INFORMIXC 3-55
Pathname: database files DBPATH 3-33
Pathname: executable programs PATH 3-71
Pathname: HPL sblob handles PLOAD_LO_PATH 3-74
Pathname: installation INFORMIXDIR 3-58
Pathname: libraries LD_LIBRARY_PATH 3-67
LIBPATH 3-68
SHLIB_PATH 3-77
Pathname: message files DBLANG 3-29,;
GLS Guide
Pathname: parallel sorting PSORT_DBTEMP 3-75
Pathname: remote shell DBREMOTECMD 3-36
Pathname: xfer_config file XFER_CONFIG 3-81
Preserve owner name lettercase ANSIOWNER 3-18
Printing DBPRINT 3-35
Privileges NODEFDAC 3-63
Query: optimization IFX_DIRECTIVES 3-49
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES 3-50
IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS 3-47
IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS 3-48
OPTCOMPIND 3-69
OPT_GOAL 3-71
RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE 3-77
Query: prioritization PDQPRIORITY 3-72
Remote shell DBREMOTECMD 3-36
Role separation INF_ROLE_SEP 3-63
Rolled-back transactions DBACCNOIGN, IFX_ 3-20
XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND 3-53
Routine: DATETIME formatting DBTIME 3-39,;
GLS Guide
Server See ″Database Server” 3-83
Server locale SERVER_LOCALE GLS Guide
Shared memory INFORMIXSHMBASE 3-60
PLOAD_SHMBASE 3-74
Shell: remote DBREMOTECMD 3-36
Shell: search path PATH 3-71

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-87

Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables (continued)
Topic Environment Variable Page
Sorting PSORT_DBTEMP 3-75
PSORT_NPROCS 3-76
SQL statements:caching STMT_CACHE 3-77
CONNECT INFORMIXCONTIME 3-56
INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
CREATE TEMP TABLE DBSPACETEMP 3-36
DESCRIBE FOR UPDATE IFX_UPDDESC 3-53
LOAD, UNLOAD DBDELIMITER 3-28
LOAD, UNLOAD DBBLOBBUF 3-22
SELECT INTO TEMP DBSPACETEMP 3-36
SET PDQPRIORITY PDQPRIORITY 3-72
SET STMT_CACHE STMT_CACHE 3-77
UPDATE STATISTICS DBUPSPACE 3-41
Stacksize INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 3-62
String search: trailing blanks LIBERAL_MATCH 3-67
Temporary tables DBSPACETEMP 3-36
DBTEMP 3-38
PSORT_DBTEMP 3-75
Terminal handling INFORMIXTERM 3-62
TERM 3-78
TERMCAP 3-78
TERMINFO 3-79
Time-limited software license IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING 3-52
Time zone, specifying IBM_XPS_PARAMS 3-45
Utilities: DB-Access DBANSIWARN 3-21
DBDELIMITER 3-28
DBEDIT 3-28
DBFLTMASK 3-29
DBNLS 3-32
DBPATH 3-33
FET_BUF_SIZE 3-44
IFMX_HISTORY_SIZER 3-47
INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
INFORMIXTERM 3-62
TERM 3-78
TERMCAP 3-78
TERMINFO 3-79
Utilities: dbexport DBDELIMITER 3-28

3-88 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table 3-4. Uses for Environment Variables (continued)
Topic Environment Variable Page
Utilities: ON–Bar ISM_COMPRESSION 3-64
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL 3-65
ISM_ENCRYPTION 3-65
Variables: overriding ENVIGNORE 3-43
Year values (abbreviated) DBCENTURY 3-22

Chapter 3. Environment Variables 3-89

3-90 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference
Appendix A. The stores_demo Database
The stores_demo database contains a set of tables that describe an imaginary
business. The examples in the IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Syntax, the
IBM Informix: Guide to SQL Tutorial, and other IBM Informix manuals are
based on this demonstration database. The stores_demo database uses the
default (U.S. English) locale and is not ANSI compliant.

This appendix contains the following sections:

v The first section describes the structure of the tables in the stores_demo
database. It identifies the primary key of each table, lists the name and data
type of each column, and indicates whether the column has a default value
or check constraint. Indexes on columns are also identified and classified as
unique, allowing duplicate values.
v The second section (“The stores_demo Database Map” on page A-6) shows
a map of the tables in the stores_demo database and indicates the
relationships among columns.
v The third section (“Primary-Foreign Key Relationships” on page A-8)
describes the primary-foreign key relationships among columns in tables.
v The final section (“Data in the stores_demo Database” on page A-13) lists
the data contained in each table of the stores_demo database.

For information on how to create and populate the stores_demo database, see
the IBM Informix: DB–Access User's Guide. For information on how to design
and implement a relational database, see the IBM Informix: Database Design
and Implementation Guide.

Structure of the Tables

The stores_demo database contains information about a fictitious
sporting-goods distributor that services stores in the western United States.
This database includes the following tables:
v customer (page A-2)
v orders (page A-2)
v items (page A-3)
v stock (page A-3)
v catalog (page A-4)
v cust_calls (page A-4)
v call_type (page A-5)
v manufact (page A-5)

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 A-1

 v state (page A-5)

Sections that follow describe each table. The unique identifying value for each
table (primary key) is shaded.
The customer Table
The customer table contains information about the retail stores that place
orders from the distributor. Table A-1 shows the columns of the customer
table.

The zipcode column in Table A-1 is indexed and allows duplicate values.
Table A-1. The customer Table
Column Name Data Type Description
customer_num SERIAL(101) System-generated customer number
fname CHAR(15) First name of store representative
lname CHAR(15) Last name of store representative
company CHAR(20) Name of store
address1 CHAR(20) First line of store address
address2 CHAR(20) Second line of store address
city CHAR(15) City
state CHAR(2) State (foreign key to state table)
zipcode CHAR(5) Zipcode
phone CHAR(18) Telephone number

The orders Table

The orders table contains information about orders placed by the customers of
the distributor. Table A-2 on page A-3 shows the columns of the orders table.

A-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table A-2. The orders Table
Column Name Data Type Description
order_num SERIAL(1001) System-generated order number
order_date DATE Date order entered
customer_num INTEGER Customer number (foreign key to customer table)
ship_instruct CHAR(40) Special shipping instructions
backlog CHAR(1) Indicates order cannot be filled because the item is
backlogged:
y = yes
n = no
po_num CHAR(10) Customer purchase order number
ship_date DATE Shipping date
ship_weight DECIMAL(8,2) Shipping weight
ship_charge MONEY(6) Shipping charge
paid_date DATE Date order paid

The items Table

An order can include one or more items. One row exists in the items table for
each item in an order. Table A-3 shows the columns of the items table.
Table A-3. The items Table
Column Name Data Type Description
item_num SMALLINT Sequentially assigned item number for an order
order_num INTEGER Order number (foreign key to orders table)
stock_num SMALLINT Stock number for item (foreign key to stock table)
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code for item ordered (foreign key to manufact
table)
quantity SMALLINT Quantity ordered (value must be > 1)
total_price MONEY(8) Quantity ordered * unit price = total price of item

The stock Table

The distributor carries 41 types of sporting goods from various manufacturers.
More than one manufacturer can supply an item. For example, the distributor
offers racing goggles from two manufacturers and running shoes from six
manufacturers.

The stock table is a catalog of the items sold by the distributor. Table A-4 on
page A-4 shows the columns of the stock table.

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-3

Table A-4. The stock Table
Column Name Data Type Description
stock_num SMALLINT Stock number that identifies type of item
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code (foreign key to manufact table)
description CHAR(15) Description of item
unit_price MONEY(6,2) Unit price
unit CHAR(4) Unit by which item is ordered:
v Each
v Pair
v Case
v Box
unit_descr CHAR(15) Description of unit

The catalog Table

The catalog table describes each item in stock. Retail stores use this table
when placing orders with the distributor. Table A-5 shows the columns of the
catalog table.
Table A-5. The catalog Table
Column Name Data Type Description
catalog_num SERIAL(10001) System-generated catalog number
stock_num SMALLINT Distributor stock number (foreign key to stock table)
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code (foreign key to manufact table)
cat_descr TEXT Description of item
cat_picture BYTE Picture of item (binary data)
cat_advert VARCHAR(255, 65) Tag line underneath picture

The cust_calls Table

All customer calls for information on orders, shipments, or complaints are
logged. The cust_calls table contains information about these types of
customer calls. Table A-6 on page A-5 shows the columns of the cust_calls
table.

A-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table A-6. The cust_calls Table
Column Name Data Type Description
customer_num INTEGER Customer number (foreign key to
customer table)
call_dtime DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE Date and time when call was received
user_id CHAR(18) Name of person logging call (default is
user login name)
call_code CHAR(1) Type of call (foreign key to call_type
table)
call_descr CHAR(240) Description of call
res_dtime DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE Date and time when call was resolved
res_descr CHAR(240) Description of how call was resolved

The call_type Table

The call codes associated with customer calls are stored in the call_type table.
Table A-7 shows the columns of the call_type table.
Table A-7. The call_type Table
Column Name Data Type Description
call_code CHAR(1) Call code
code_descr CHAR (30) Description of call type

The manufact Table

Information about the nine manufacturers whose sporting goods are handled
by the distributor is stored in the manufact table. Table A-8 shows the
columns of the manufact table.
Table A-8. The manufact Table
Column Name Data Type Description
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code
manu_name CHAR(15) Name of manufacturer
lead_time INTERVAL DAY(3) TO DAY Lead time for shipment of orders

The state Table

The state table contains the names and postal abbreviations for the 50 states of
the United States. Table A-9 on page A-6 shows the columns of the state table.

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-5

Table A-9. The state Table
Column Name Data Type Description
code CHAR(2) State code
sname CHAR(15) State name

The stores_demo Database Map

Figure A-1 on page A-7 displays the joins in the stores_demo database. The
gray shading that connects a column in one table to a column with the same
name in another table indicates the relationships, or joins, between tables.

A-6 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 items

orders item_num catalog

order_num order_num stock catalog_num

cust_calls customer order_date stock_num stock_num stock_num manufact

customer_num customer_num customer_num manu_code manu_code manu_code manu_code

call_dtime fname ship_instruct quantity description cat_descr manu_name

call_type user_id lname backlog total_price unit_price cat_picture lead_time

call_code call_code company po_num unit cat_advert

code_descr call_descr address1 ship_date unit_descr

Figure A-1. Joins in the stores_demo Database

res_dtime address2 ship_weight

res_descr city ship_charge

state state paid_date

code zipcode

sname phone

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database

A-7
Primary-Foreign Key Relationships
The tables of the stores_demo database are linked by the primary-foreign key
relationships that Figure A-1 on page A-7 shows and are identified in this
section. This type of relationship is called a referential constraint because a
foreign key in one table references the primary key in another table. Figure A-2
through Figure A-9 on page A-13 show the relationships among tables and
how information stored in one table supplements information stored in others.
The customer and orders Tables
The customer table contains a customer_num column that holds a number
that identifies a customer and columns for the customer name, company,
address, and telephone number. For example, the row with information about
Anthony Higgins contains the number 104 in the customer_num column. The
orders table also contains a customer_num column that stores the number of
the customer who placed a particular order. In the orders table, the
customer_num column is a foreign key that references the customer_num
column in the customer table. Figure A-2 shows this relationship.

customer Table (detail)

customer_num fname lname
101 Ludwig Pauli
102 Carole Sadler
103 Philip Currie
104 Anthony Higgins

orders Table (detail)

order_num order_date customer_num
1001 05/20/1998 104
1002 05/21/1998 101
1003 05/22/1998 104
1004 05/22/1998 106

Figure A-2. Tables That the customer_num Column Joins

According to Figure A-2, customer 104 (Anthony Higgins) has placed two
orders, as his customer number appears in two rows of the orders table.
Because the customer number is a foreign key in the orders table, you can
retrieve Anthony Higgins’s name, address, and information about his orders
at the same time.
The orders and items Tables
The orders and items tables are linked by an order_num column that contains
an identification number for each order. If an order includes several items, the
same order number appears in several rows of the items table. In the items

A-8 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 table, the order_num column is a foreign key that references the order_num
column in the orders table. Figure A-3 shows this relationship.

orders Table (detail)

order_num order_date customer_num
1001 05/20/1998 104
1002 05/21/1998 101
1003 05/22/1998 104

items Table (detail)

item_num order_num stock_num manu_code

1 1001 1 HRO
4 1002 4 HSK
3 1002 3 HSK
9 1003 9 ANZ
8 1003 8 ANZ
5 1003 5 ANZ

Figure A-3. Tables That the order_num Column Joins

The items and stock Tables

The items table and the stock table are joined by two columns: the stock_num
column, which stores a stock number for an item, and the manu_code
column, which stores a code that identifies the manufacturer. You need both
the stock number and the manufacturer code to uniquely identify an item. For
example, the item with the stock number 1 and the manufacturer code HRO is
a Hero baseball glove; the item with the stock number 1 and the
manufacturer code HSK is a Husky baseball glove.

The same stock number and manufacturer code can appear in more than one
row of the items table, if the same item belongs to separate orders. In the
items table, the stock_num and manu_code columns are foreign keys that
reference the stock_num and manu_code columns in the stock table.
Figure A-4 on page A-10 shows this relationship.

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-9

 items Table (detail)

item_num order_num stock_num manu_code

1 1001 1 HRO
1 1002 4 HSK
2 1002 3 HSK
1 1003 9 ANZ
2 1003 8 ANZ
3 1003 5 ANZ
1 1004 1 HRO

stock Table (detail)

stock_num manu_code Description
1 HRO baseball gloves
1 HSK baseball gloves
1 SMT baseball gloves

Figure A-4. Tables That the stock_num and manu_code Columns Join

The stock and catalog Tables

The stock table and catalog table are joined by two columns: the stock_num
column, which stores a stock number for an item, and the manu_code
column, which stores a code that identifies the manufacturer. You need both
columns to uniquely identify an item. In the catalog table, the stock_num and
manu_code columns are foreign keys that reference the stock_num and
manu_code columns in the stock table. Figure A-5 shows this relationship.

stock Table (detail)

stock_num manu_code Description
1 HRO baseball gloves
1 HSK baseball gloves
1 SMT baseball gloves

catalog Table (detail)

catalog_num stock_num manu_code

10001 1 HRO
10002 1 HSK
10003 1 SMT
10004 2 HRO

Figure A-5. Tables That the stock_num and manu_code Columns Join

A-10 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

The stock and manufact Tables
The stock table and the manufact table are joined by the manu_code column.
The same manufacturer code can appear in more than one row of the stock
table if the manufacturer produces more than one piece of equipment. In the
stock table, the manu_code column is a foreign key that references the
manu_code column in the manufact table. Figure A-6 shows this relationship.

stock Table (detail)

stock_num manu_code Description
1 HRO baseball gloves
1 HSK baseball gloves
1 SMT baseball gloves

manufact Table (detail)

manu_code manu_name
NRG Norge
HSK Husky
HRO Hero

Figure A-6. Tables That the manu_code Column Joins

The cust_calls and customer Tables

The cust_calls table and the customer table are joined by the customer_num
column. The same customer number can appear in more than one row of the
cust_calls table if the customer calls the distributor more than once with a
problem or question. In the cust_calls table, the customer_num column is a
foreign key that references the customer_num column in the customer table.
Figure A-7 on page A-12 shows this relationship.

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-11

 customer Table (detail)
customer_num fname lname
101 Ludwig Pauli
102 Carole Sadler
103 Philip Currie
104 Anthony Higgins
105 Raymond Vector
106 George Watson

cust_calls Table (detail)

customer_num call_dtime user_id
106 1998-06-12 08:20 maryj
127 1998-07-31 14:30 maryj
116 1997-11-28 13:34 mannyh
116 1997-12-21 11:24 mannyh

Figure A-7. Tables That the customer_num Column Joins

The call_type and cust_calls Tables

The call_type and cust_calls tables are joined by the call_code column. The
same call code can appear in more than one row of the cust_calls table
because many customers can have the same type of problem. In the cust_calls
table, the call_code column is a foreign key that references the call_code
column in the call_type table. Figure A-8 shows this relationship.

call_type Table (detail)

call_code code_descr
B Billing error
D Damaged goods
I Incorrect merchandise sent
L Late shipment
O Other

cust_calls Table (detail)

customer_num call_dtime call_code
106 1998-06-12 08:20 D
127 1998-07-31 14:30 I
116 1997-11-28 13:34 I
116 1997-12-21 11:24 I

Figure A-8. Tables That the call_code Column Joins

A-12 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 The state and customer Tables
The state table and the customer table are joined by a column that contains
the state code. This column is called code in the state table and state in the
customer table. If several customers live in the same state, the same state code
appears in several rows of the table. In the customer table, the state column is
a foreign key that references the code column in the state table. Figure A-9
shows this relationship.

customer Table (detail)

customer_num fname lname --- state

101 Ludwig Pauli --- CA
102 Carole Sadler --- CA
103 Philip Currie --- CA

state Table (detail)

code sname
AK Alaska
AL Alabama
AR Arkansas
AZ Arizona
CA California

Figure A-9. Relationship Between the state Column and the code Column

Data in the stores_demo Database

The following tables display the data in the stores_demo database.
customer Table
customer_num

company

address1

address2

zipcode
fname

phone
lname

state
city

101 Ludwig Pauli All Sports 213 Erstwild Sunnyvale CA 94086 408-
Supplies Court 789-
8075
102 Carole Sadler Sports Spot 785 Geary San CA 94117 415-
Street Francisco 822-
1289
103 Philip Currie Phil’s 654 Poplar P. O. Box Palo Alto CA 94303 650-
Sports 3498 328-
4543

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-13

customer_num

company

address1

address2

zipcode
fname

phone
lname

state
city
104 Anthony Higgins Play Ball! East 422 Bay Redwood CA 94026 650-
Shopping Road City 368-
Center 1100
105 Raymond Vector Los Altos 1899 La Los Altos CA 94022 650-
Sports Loma Drive 776-
3249
106 George Watson Watson & 1143 Carver Mountain CA 94063 650-
Son Place View 389-
8789
107 Charles Ream Athletic 41 Jordan Palo Alto CA 94304 650-
Supplies Avenue 356-
9876
108 Donald Quinn Quinn’s 587 Alvarado Redwood CA 94063 650-
Sports City 544-
8729
109 Jane Miller Sport Stuff Mayfair Mart 7345 Ross Sunnyvale CA 94086 408-
Blvd. 723-
8789
110 Roy Jaeger AA 520 Topaz Redwood CA 94062 650-
Athletics Way City 743-
3611
111 Frances Keyes Sports 3199 Sterling Sunnyvale CA 94085 408-
Center Court 277-
7245
112 Margaret Lawson Runners & 234 Los Altos CA 94022 650-
Others Wyandotte 887-
Way 7235
113 Lana Beatty Sportstown 654 Oak Menlo Park CA 94025 650-
Grove 356-
9982
114 Frank Albertson Sporting 947 Waverly Redwood CA 94062 650-
Place Place City 886-
6677
115 Alfred Grant Gold Medal 776 Gary Menlo Park CA 94025 650-
Sports Avenue 356-
1123

A-14 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

customer_num

company

address1

address2

zipcode
fname

phone
lname

state
city
116 Jean Parmelee Olympic 1104 Spinosa Mountain CA 94040 650-
City Drive View 534-
8822
117 Arnold Sipes Kids 850 Lytton Redwood CA 94063 650-
Korner Court City 245-
4578
118 Dick Baxter Blue 5427 College Oakland CA 94609 650-
Ribbon 655-
Sports 0011
119 Bob Shorter The 2405 Kings Cherry Hill NJ 08002 609-
Triathletes Highway 663-
Club 6079
120 Fred Jewell Century 6627 N. 17th Phoenix AZ 85016 602-
Pro Shop Way 265-
8754
121 Jason Wallack City Sports Lake 350 W. Wilmington DE 19898 302-
Biltmore Mall 23rd 366-
Street 7511
122 Cathy O’Brian The 543 Nassau Princeton NJ 08540 609-
Sporting Street 342-
Life 0054
123 Marvin Hanlon Bay Sports 10100 Bay Suite 1020 Jacksonville FL 32256 904-
Meadows 823-
Road 4239
124 Chris Putnum Putnum’s 4715 S.E. Suite Bartlesville OK 74006 918-
Putters Adams Blvd 909C 355-
2074
125 James Henry Total 1450 Brighton MA 02135 617-
Fitness Common- 232-
Sports wealth 4159
Avenue
126 Eileen Neelie Neelie’s 2539 South Denver CO 80219 303-
Discount Utica Street 936-
Sports 7731
127 Kim Satifer Big Blue Blue Island 12222 Blue Island NY 60406 312-
Bike Shop Square Gregory 944-
Street 5691

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-15

customer_num

company

address1

address2

zipcode
fname

phone
lname

state
city
128 Frank Lessor Phoenix Athletic 1817 N. Phoenix AZ 85008 602-
University Department Thomas 533-
Road 1817

items Table
item_num order_num stock_num manu_code quantity total_price
1 1001 1 HRO 1 250.00
1 1002 4 HSK 1 960.00
2 1002 3 HSK 1 240.00
1 1003 9 ANZ 1 20.00
2 1003 8 ANZ 1 840.00
3 1003 5 ANZ 5 99.00
1 1004 1 HRO 1 250.00
2 1004 2 HRO 1 126.00
3 1004 3 HSK 1 240.00
4 1004 1 HSK 1 800.00
1 1005 5 NRG 10 280.00
2 1005 5 ANZ 10 198.00
3 1005 6 SMT 1 36.00
4 1005 6 ANZ 1 48.00
1 1006 5 SMT 5 125.00
2 1006 5 NRG 5 140.00
3 1006 5 ANZ 5 99.00
4 1006 6 SMT 1 36.00
5 1006 6 ANZ 1 48.00
1 1007 1 HRO 1 250.00
2 1007 2 HRO 1 126.00
3 1007 3 HSK 1 240.00
4 1007 4 HRO 1 480.00
5 1007 7 HRO 1 600.00

A-16 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

item_num order_num stock_num manu_code quantity total_price
1 1008 8 ANZ 1 840.00
2 1008 9 ANZ 5 100.00
1 1009 1 SMT 1 450.00
1 1010 6 SMT 1 36.00
2 1010 6 ANZ 1 48.00
1 1011 5 ANZ 5 99.00
1 1012 8 ANZ 1 840.00
2 1012 9 ANZ 10 200.00
1 1013 5 ANZ 1 19.80
2 1013 6 SMT 1 36.00
3 1013 6 ANZ 1 48.00
4 1013 9 ANZ 2 40.00
1 1014 4 HSK 1 960.00
2 1014 4 HRO 1 480.00
1 1015 1 SMT 1 450.00
1 1016 101 SHM 2 136.00
2 1016 109 PRC 3 90.00
3 1016 110 HSK 1 308.00
4 1016 114 PRC 1 120.00
1 1017 201 NKL 4 150.00
2 1017 202 KAR 1 230.00
3 1017 301 SHM 2 204.00
1 1018 307 PRC 2 500.00
2 1018 302 KAR 3 15.00
3 1018 110 PRC 1 236.00
4 1018 5 SMT 4 100.00
5 1018 304 HRO 1 280.00
1 1019 111 SHM 3 1499.97
1 1020 204 KAR 2 90.00
2 1020 301 KAR 4 348.00
1 1021 201 NKL 2 75.00
2 1021 201 ANZ 3 225.00
3 1021 202 KAR 3 690.00

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-17

 item_num order_num stock_num manu_code quantity total_price
4 1021 205 ANZ 2 624.00
1 1022 309 HRO 1 40.00
2 1022 303 PRC 2 96.00
3 1022 6 ANZ 2 96.00
1 1023 103 PRC 2 40.00
2 1023 104 PRC 2 116.00
3 1023 105 SHM 1 80.00
4 1023 110 SHM 1 228.00
5 1023 304 ANZ 1 170.00
6 1023 306 SHM 1 190.00

call_type Table
call_code code_descr
B billing error
D damaged goods
I incorrect merchandise sent
L late shipment
O other

orders Table
customer_num

ship_instruct

ship_weight

ship_charge
order_num

order_date

paid_date
ship_date
po_num
backlog

1001 05/20/1998 104 express n B77836 06/01/1998 20.40 10.00 07/22/1998

1002 05/21/1998 101 PO on box; n 9270 05/26/1998 50.60 15.30 06/03/1998
deliver back
door only
1003 05/22/1998 104 express n B77890 05/23/1998 35.60 10.80 06/14/1998
1004 05/22/1998 106 ring bell twice y 8006 05/30/1998 95.80 19.20
1005 05/24/1998 116 call before n 2865 06/09/1998 80.80 16.20 06/21/1998
delivery
1006 05/30/1998 112 after 10AM y Q13557 70.80 14.20

A-18 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 customer_num

ship_instruct

ship_weight

ship_charge
order_num

order_date

paid_date
ship_date
po_num
backlog

1007 05/31/1998 117 n 278693 06/05/1998 125.90 25.20

1008 06/07/1998 110 closed Monday y LZ230 07/06/1998 45.60 13.80 07/21/1998
1009 06/14/1998 111 door next to n 4745 06/21/1998 20.40 10.00 08/21/1998
grocery
1010 06/17/1998 115 deliver 776 n 429Q 06/29/1998 40.60 12.30 08/22/1998
King St. if no
answer
1011 06/18/1998 104 express n B77897 07/03/1998 10.40 5.00 08/29/1998
1012 06/18/1998 117 n 278701 06/29/1998 70.80 14.20
1013 06/22/1998 104 express n B77930 07/10/1998 60.80 12.20 07/31/1998
1014 06/25/1998 106 ring bell, kick n 8052 07/03/1998 40.60 12.30 07/10/1998
door loudly
1015 06/27/1998 110 closed n MA003 07/16/1998 20.60 6.30 08/31/1998
Mondays
1016 06/29/1998 119 delivery n PC6782 07/12/1998 35.00 11.80
entrance off
Camp St.
1017 07/09/1998 120 North side of n DM3543 07/13/1998 60.00 18.00
clubhouse 31
1018 07/10/1998 121 SW corner of n S22942 07/13/1998 70.50 20.00 08/06/1998
Biltmore Mall
1019 07/11/1998 122 closed til noon n Z55709 07/16/1998 90.00 23.00 08/06/1998
Mondays
1020 07/11/1998 123 express n W2286 07/16/1998 14.00 8.50 09/20/1998
1021 07/23/1998 124 ask for Elaine n C3288 07/25/1998 40.00 12.00 08/22/1998
1022 07/24/1998 126 express n W9925 07/30/1998 15.00 13.00 09/02/1998
1023 07/24/1998 127 no deliveries n KF2961 07/30/1998 60.00 18.00 08/22/1998
after 3 p.m.

stock Table
stock_num manu_code description unit_rice unit unit_descr
1 HRO baseball gloves 250.00 case 10 gloves/case
1 HSK baseball gloves 800.00 case 10 gloves/case

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-19

stock_num manu_code description unit_rice unit unit_descr
1 SMT baseball gloves 450.00 case 10 gloves/case
2 HRO baseball 126.00 case 24/case
3 HSK baseball bat 240.00 case 12/case
3 SHM baseball bat 280.00 case 12/case
4 HSK football 960.00 case 24/case
4 HRO football 480.00 case 24/case
5 NRG tennis racquet 28.00 each each
5 SMT tennis racquet 25.00 each each
5 ANZ tennis racquet 19.80 each each
6 SMT tennis ball 36.00 case 24 cans/case
6 ANZ tennis ball 48.00 case 24 cans/case
7 HRO basketball 600.00 case 24/case
8 ANZ volleyball 840.00 case 24/case
9 ANZ volleyball net 20.00 each each
101 PRC bicycle tires 88.00 box 4/box
101 SHM bicycle tires 68.00 box 4/box
102 SHM bicycle brakes 220.00 case 4 sets/case
102 PRC bicycle brakes 480.00 case 4 sets/case
103 PRC front derailleur 20.00 each each
104 PRC rear derailleur 58.00 each each
105 PRC bicycle wheels 53.00 pair pair
105 SHM bicycle wheels 80.00 pair pair
106 PRC bicycle stem 23.00 each each
107 PRC bicycle saddle 70.00 pair pair
108 SHM crankset 45.00 each each
109 PRC pedal binding 30.00 case 6 pairs/case
109 SHM pedal binding 200.00 case 4 pairs/case
110 PRC helmet 236.00 case 4/case
110 ANZ helmet 244.00 case 4/case
110 SHM helmet 228.00 case 4/case
110 HRO helmet 260.00 case 4/case
110 HSK helmet 308.00 case 4/case
111 SHM 10-spd, assmbld 499.99 each each

A-20 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

stock_num manu_code description unit_rice unit unit_descr
112 SHM 12-spd, assmbld 549.00 each each
113 SHM 18-spd, assmbld 685.90 each each
114 PRC bicycle gloves 120.00 case 10 pairs/case
201 NKL golf shoes 37.50 each each
201 ANZ golf shoes 75.00 each each
201 KAR golf shoes 90.00 each each
202 NKL metal woods 174.00 case 2 sets/case
202 KAR std woods 230.00 case 2 sets/case
203 NKL irons/wedges 670.00 case 2 sets/case
204 KAR putter 45.00 each each
205 NKL 3 golf balls 312.00 case 24/case
205 ANZ 3 golf balls 312.00 case 24/case
205 HRO 3 golf balls 312.00 case 24/case
301 NKL running shoes 97.00 each each
301 HRO running shoes 42.50 each each
301 SHM running shoes 102.00 each each
301 PRC running shoes 75.00 each each
301 KAR running shoes 87.00 each each
301 ANZ running shoes 95.00 each each
302 HRO ice pack 4.50 each each
302 KAR ice pack 5.00 each each
303 PRC socks 48.00 box 24 pairs/box
303 KAR socks 36.00 box 24 pair/box
304 ANZ watch 170.00 box 10/box
304 HRO watch 280.00 box 10/box
305 HRO first-aid kit 48.00 case 4/case
306 PRC tandem adapter 160.00 each each
306 SHM tandem adapter 190.00 each each
307 PRC infant jogger 250.00 each each
308 PRC twin jogger 280.00 each each
309 HRO ear drops 40.00 case 20/case
309 SHM ear drops 40.00 case 20/case
310 SHM kick board 80.00 case 10/case

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-21

stock_num manu_code description unit_rice unit unit_descr
310 ANZ kick board 89.00 case 12/case
311 SHM water gloves 48.00 box 4 pairs/box
312 SHM racer goggles 96.00 box 12/box
312 HRO racer goggles 72.00 box 12/box
313 SHM swim cap 72.00 box 12/box
313 ANZ swim cap 60.00 box 12/box

catalog Table
catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10001 1 HRO Brown leather. Specify first <BYTE Your First Season’s
baseman’s or infield/outfield value> Baseball Glove
style. Specify right- or
left-handed.
10002 1 HSK Babe Ruth signature glove. <BYTE All-Leather,
Black leather. Infield/outfield value> Hand-Stitched,
style. Specify right- or Deep-Pockets, Sturdy
left-handed. Webbing that Won’t Let
Go
10003 1 SMT Catcher’s mitt. Brown leather. <BYTE A Sturdy Catcher’s Mitt
Specify right- or left-handed. value> With the Perfect Pocket
10004 2 HRO Jackie Robinson signature <BYTE Highest Quality Ball
glove. Highest Professional value> Available, from the
quality, used by National Hand-Stitching to the
League. Robinson Signature
10005 3 HSK Pro-style wood. Available in <BYTE High-Technology Design
sizes: 31, 32, 33, 34, 35. value> Expands the Sweet Spot
10006 3 SHM Aluminum. Blue with black <BYTE Durable Aluminum for
tape. 31″, 20 oz or 22 oz; 32″, value> High School and
21 oz or 23 oz; 33″, 22 oz or 24 Collegiate Athletes
oz.
10007 4 HSK Norm Van Brocklin signature <BYTE Quality Pigskin with
style. value> Norm Van Brocklin
Signature
10008 4 HRO NFL-Style pigskin. <BYTE Highest Quality Football
value> for High School and
Collegiate Competitions

A-22 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10009 5 NRG Graphite frame. Synthetic <BYTE Wide Body Amplifies
strings. value> Your Natural Abilities by
Providing More Power
Through Aerodynamic
Design
10010 5 SMT Aluminum frame. Synthetic <BYTE Mid-Sized Racquet for the
strings. value> Improving Player
10011 5 ANZ Wood frame, cat-gut strings. <BYTE Antique Replica of Classic
value> Wooden Racquet Built
with Cat-Gut Strings
10012 6 SMT Soft yellow color for easy <BYTE High-Visibility Tennis,
visibility in sunlight or value> Day or Night
artificial light.
10013 6 ANZ Pro-core. Available in neon <BYTE Durable Construction
yellow, green, and pink. value> Coupled with the
Brightest Colors Available
10014 7 HRO Indoor. Classic NBA style. <BYTE Long-Life Basketballs for
Brown leather. value> Indoor Gymnasiums
10015 8 ANZ Indoor. Finest leather. <BYTE Professional Volleyballs
Professional quality. value> for Indoor Competitions
10016 9 ANZ Steel eyelets. Nylon cording. <BYTE Sanctioned Volleyball
Double-stitched. Sanctioned by value> Netting for Indoor
the National Athletic Congress. Professional and
Collegiate Competition
10017 101 PRC Reinforced, hand-finished <BYTE Ultimate in Puncture
tubular. Polyurethane belted. value> Protection, Tires Designed
Effective against punctures. for In-City Riding
Mixed tread for super wear
and road grip.
10018 101 SHM Durable nylon casing with <BYTE The Perfect Tire for Club
butyl tube for superior air value> Rides or Training
retention. Center-ribbed tread
with herringbone side. Coated
sidewalls resist abrasion.
10019 102 SHM Thrust bearing and coated <BYTE Thrust-Bearing and
pivot washer/ spring sleeve value> Spring-Sleeve Brake Set
for smooth action. Slotted Guarantees Smooth
levers with soft gum hoods. Action
Two-tone paint treatment. Set
includes calipers, levers, and
cables.

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-23

catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10020 102 PRC Computer-aided design with <BYTE Computer Design
low-profile pads. Cold-forged value> Delivers Rigid Yet
alloy calipers and beefy caliper Vibration-Free Brakes
bushing. Aero levers. Set
includes calipers, levers, and
cables.
10021 103 PRC Compact leading-action design <BYTE Climb Any Mountain:
enhances shifting. Deep cage value> ProCycle’s Front
for super-small granny gears. Derailleur Adds Finesse
Extra strong construction to to Your ATB
resist off-road abuse.
10022 104 PRC Floating trapezoid geometry <BYTE Computer-Aided Design
with extra thick parallelogram value> Engineers 100-Tooth
arms. 100-tooth capacity. Capacity Into ProCycle’s
Optimum alignment with any Rear Derailleur
freewheel.
10023 105 PRC Front wheels laced with 15g <BYTE Durable Training Wheels
spokes in a 3-cross pattern. value> That Hold True Under
Rear wheels laced with 14g Toughest Conditions
spikes in a 3-cross pattern.
10024 105 SHM Polished alloy. Sealed-bearing, <BYTE Extra Lightweight Wheels
quick-release hubs. value> for Training or
Double-butted. Front wheels High-Performance
are laced 15g/2-cross. Rear Touring
wheels are laced 15g/3-cross.
10025 106 PRC Hard anodized alloy with <BYTE ProCycle Stem with Pearl
pearl finish. 6mm hex bolt value> Finish
hardware. Available in lengths
of 90-140mm in 10mm
increments.
10026 107 PRC Available in three styles: Men’s <BYTE The Ultimate In Riding
racing; Men’s touring; and value> Comfort, Lightweight
Women’s. Anatomical gel With Anatomical Support
construction with lycra cover.
Black or black/hot pink.
10027 108 SHM Double or triple crankset with <BYTE Customize Your Mountain
choice of chainrings. For value> Bike With Extra-Durable
double crankset, chainrings Crankset
from 38-54 teeth. For triple
crankset, chainrings from 24-48
teeth.

A-24 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10028 109 PRC Steel toe clips with nylon <BYTE Classic Toeclip Improved
strap. Extra wide at buckle to value> to Prevent Soreness at
reduce pressure. Clip Buckle
10029 109 SHM Ingenious new design <BYTE Ingenious Pedal/Clip
combines button on sole of value> Design Delivers
shoe with slot on a pedal plate Maximum Power and
to give riders new options in Fast Unlocking
riding efficiency. Choose full
or partial locking. Four plates
mean both top and bottom of
pedals are slotted—no fishing
around when you want to
engage full power. Fast
unlocking ensures safety when
maneuverability is paramount.
10030 110 PRC Super-lightweight. Meets both <BYTE Feather-Light,
ANSI and Snell standards for value> Quick-Release, Maximum
impact protection. 7.5 oz. Protection Helmet
Quick-release shadow buckle.
10031 110 ANZ No buckle so no plastic <BYTE Minimum Chin Contact,
touches your chin. Meets both value> Feather-Light, Maximum
ANSI and Snell standards for Protection Helmet
impact protection. 7.5 oz. Lycra
cover.
10032 110 SHM Dense outer layer combines <BYTE Mountain Bike Helmet:
with softer inner layer to value> Smooth Cover Eliminates
eliminate the mesh cover, no the Worry of Brush Snags
snagging on brush. Meets both But Delivers Maximum
ANSI and Snell standards for Protection
impact protection. 8.0 oz.
10033 110 HRO Newest ultralight helmet uses <BYTE Lightweight Plastic with
plastic shell. Largest value> Vents Assures Cool
ventilation channels of any Comfort Without
helmet on the market. 8.5 oz. Sacrificing Protection
10034 110 HSK Aerodynamic (teardrop) <BYTE Teardrop Design Used by
helmet covered with anti-drag value> Yellow Jerseys, You Can
fabric. Credited with shaving 2 Time the Difference
seconds/mile from winner’s
time in Tour de France
time-trial. 7.5 oz.

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-25

catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10035 111 SHM Light-action shifting 10 speed. <BYTE Fully Equipped Bicycle
Designed for the city value> Designed for the Serious
commuter with Commuter Who Mixes
shock-absorbing front fork and Business With Pleasure
drilled eyelets for carry-all
racks or bicycle trailers.
Internal wiring for generator
lights. 33 lbs.
10036 112 SHM Created for the beginner <BYTE We Selected the Ideal
enthusiast. Ideal for club rides value> Combination of Touring
and light touring. Bike Equipment, then
Sophisticated triple-butted Turned It Into This
frame construction. Precise Package Deal:
index shifting. 28 lbs. High-Performance on the
Roads, Maximum
Pleasure Everywhere
10037 113 SHM Ultra-lightweight. Racing <BYTE Designed for the Serious
frame geometry built for value> Competitor, The Complete
aerodynamic handlebars. Racing Machine
Cantilever brakes. Index
shifting. High-performance
gearing. Quick-release hubs.
Disk wheels. Bladed spokes.
10038 114 PRC Padded leather palm and <BYTE Riding Gloves for
stretch mesh merged with value> Comfort and Protection
terry back; Available in tan,
black, and cream. Sizes S, M,
L, XL.
10039 201 NKL Designed for comfort and <BYTE Full-Comfort,
stability. Available in white & value> Long-Wearing Golf Shoes
blue or white & brown. for Men and Women
Specify size.
10040 201 ANZ Guaranteed waterproof. Full <BYTE Waterproof Protection
leather upper. Available in value> Ensures Maximum
white, bone, brown, green, and Comfort and Durability In
blue. Specify size. All Climates
10041 201 KAR Leather and leather mesh for <BYTE Karsten’s Top Quality
maximum ventilation. value> Shoe Combines Leather
Waterproof lining to keep feet and Leather Mesh
dry. Available in white and
gray or white and ivory.
Specify size.

A-26 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10042 202 NKL Complete starter set utilizes <BYTE Starter Set of Woods,
gold shafts. Balanced for value> Ideal for High School and
power. Collegiate Classes
10043 202 KAR Full set of woods designed for <BYTE High-Quality Woods
precision control and power value> Appropriate for High
performance. School Competitions or
Serious Amateurs
10044 203 NKL Set of eight irons includes 3 <BYTE Set of Irons Available
through 9 irons and pitching value> From Factory at
wedge. Originally priced at Tremendous Savings:
$489.00. Discontinued Line
10045 204 KAR Ideally balanced for optimum <BYTE High-Quality Beginning
control. Nylon-covered shaft. value> Set of Irons Appropriate
for High School
Competitions
10046 205 NKL Fluorescent yellow. <BYTE Long Drive Golf Balls:
value> Fluorescent Yellow
10047 205 ANZ White only. <BYTE Long Drive Golf Balls:
value> White
10048 205 HRO Combination fluorescent <BYTE HiFlier Golf Balls: Case
yellow and standard white. value> Includes Fluorescent
Yellow and Standard
White
10049 301 NKL Super shock-absorbing gel <BYTE Maximum Protection For
pads disperse vertical energy value> High-Mileage Runners
into a horizontal plane for
extraordinary cushioned
comfort. Great motion control.
Men’s only. Specify size.
10050 301 HRO Engineered for serious training <BYTE Pronators and Supinators
with exceptional stability. value> Take Heart: A Serious
Fabulous shock absorption. Training Shoe For
Great durability. Specify Runners Who Need
men’s/women’s, size. Motion Control

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-27

catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10051 301 SHM For runners who log heavy <BYTE The Training Shoe
miles and need a durable, value> Engineered for
supportive, stable platform. Marathoners and
Mesh/synthetic upper gives Ultra-Distance Runners
excellent moisture dissipation.
Stability system uses rear
antipronation platform and
forefoot control plate for
extended protection during
high-intensity training. Specify
men’s/women’s size.
10052 301 PRC Supportive, stable racing flat. <BYTE A Woman’s Racing Flat
Plenty of forefoot cushioning value> That Combines Extra
with added motion control. Forefoot Protection With a
Women’s only. D widths Slender Heel
available. Specify size.
10053 301 KAR Anatomical last holds your <BYTE Durable Training Flat
foot firmly in place. value> That Can Carry You
Feather-weight cushioning Through Marathon Miles
delivers the responsiveness of
a racing flat. Specify
men’s/women’s size.
10054 301 ANZ Cantilever sole provides shock <BYTE Motion Control,
absorption and energy value> Protection, and Extra
rebound. Positive traction shoe Toebox Room
with ample toe box. Ideal for
runners who need a wide
shoe. Available in men’s and
women’s. Specify size.
10055 302 KAR Reusable ice pack with velcro <BYTE Finally, an Ice Pack for
strap. For general use. Velcro value> Achilles Injuries and Shin
strap allows easy application Splints That You Can
to arms or legs. Take to the Office
10056 303 PRC Neon nylon. Perfect for <BYTE Knock Their Socks Off
running or aerobics. Indicate value> With YOUR Socks
color: Fluorescent pink, yellow,
green, and orange.
10057 303 KAR 100% nylon blend for optimal <BYTE 100% Nylon Blend Socks -
wicking and comfort. We’ve value> No Cotton
taken out the cotton to
eliminate the risk of blisters
and reduce the opportunity for
infection. Specify men’s or
women’s.

A-28 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10058 304 ANZ Provides time, date, dual <BYTE Athletic Watch w/4-Lap
display of lap/cumulative value> Memory
splits, 4-lap memory, 10 hr
count-down timer, event timer,
alarm, hour chime, waterproof
to 50m, velcro band.
10059 304 HRO Split timer, waterproof to 50m. <BYTE Waterproof Triathlete
Indicate color: Hot pink, mint value> Watch In Competition
green, space black. Colors
10060 305 HRO Contains ace bandage, <BYTE Comprehensive First-Aid
anti-bacterial cream, alcohol value> Kit Essential for Team
cleansing pads, adhesive Practices, Team Traveling
bandages of assorted sizes,
and instant-cold pack.
10061 306 PRC Converts a standard tandem <BYTE Enjoy Bicycling With Your
bike into an adult/child bike. value> Child on a Tandem; Make
User-tested assembly Your Family Outing Safer
instructions
10062 306 SHM Converts a standard tandem <BYTE Consider a Touring
bike into an adult/child bike. value> Vacation for the Entire
Lightweight model. Family: A Lightweight,
Touring Tandem for
Parent and Child
10063 307 PRC Allows mom or dad to take <BYTE Infant Jogger Keeps A
the baby out too. Fits children value> Running Family Together
up to 21 pounds. Navy blue
with black trim.
10064 308 PRC Allows mom or dad to take <BYTE As Your Family Grows,
both children! Rated for value> Infant Jogger Grows With
children up to 18 pounds. You
10065 309 HRO Prevents swimmer’s ear. <BYTE Swimmers Can Prevent
value> Ear Infection All Season
Long
10066 309 SHM Extra-gentle formula. Can be <BYTE Swimmer’s Ear Drops
used every day for prevention value> Specially Formulated for
or treatment of swimmer’s ear. Children
10067 310 SHM Blue heavy-duty foam board <BYTE Exceptionally Durable,
with Shimara or team logo. value> Compact Kickboard for
Team Practice
10068 310 ANZ White. Standard size. <BYTE High-Quality Kickboard
value>

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-29

catalog stock manu cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert
_num _num _code
10069 311 SHM Swim gloves. Webbing <BYTE Hot Training Tool -
between fingers promotes value> Webbed Swim Gloves
strengthening of arms. Cannot Build Arm Strength and
be used in competition. Endurance
10070 312 SHM Hydrodynamic egg-shaped <BYTE Anti-Fog Swimmer’s
lens. Ground-in anti-fog value> Goggles: Quantity
elements; Available in blue or Discount
smoke.
10071 312 HRO Durable competition-style <BYTE Swim Goggles: Traditional
goggles. Available in blue, value> Rounded Lens For
grey, or white. Greater Comfort
10072 313 SHM Silicone swim cap. One size. <BYTE Team Logo Silicone Swim
Available in white, silver, or value> Cap
navy. Team Logo Imprinting
Available.
10073 314 ANZ Silicone swim cap. Squared-off <BYTE Durable Squared-off
top. One size. White value> Silicone Swim Cap
10074 315 HRO Re-usable ice pack. Store in the <BYTE Water Compartment
freezer for instant first-aid. value> Combines With Ice to
Extra capacity to accommodate Provide Optimal
water and ice. Orthopedic Treatment

cust_calls Table
customer call_ user_id call_ call_descr res_dtime res_descr
_num dtime code
106 1998- maryj D Order was received, 1998-06-12 Authorized credit for two
06-12 but two of the cans 8:25 cans to customer, issued
8:20 of ANZ tennis balls apology. Called ANZ
within the case were buyer to report the QA
empty. problem.
110 1998- richc L Order placed one 1998-07-07 Checked with shipping
07-07 month ago (6/7) not 10:30 (Ed Smith). Order sent
10:24 received. yesterday- we were
waiting for goods from
ANZ. Next time will call
with delay if necessary.
119 1998- richc B Bill does not reflect 1998-07-02 Spoke with Jane Akant in
07-01 credit from previous 8:21 Finance. She found the
15:00 order. error and is sending new
bill to customer.

A-30 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

customer call_ user_id call_ call_descr res_dtime res_descr
_num dtime code
121 1998- maryj O Customer likes our 1998-07-10 Sent note to marketing
07-10 merchandise. 14:06 group of interest in infant
14:05 Requests that we joggers.
stock more types of
infant joggers. Will
call back to place
order.
127 1998- maryj I Received Hero Sent memo to shipping to
07-31 watches (item # 304) send ANZ item 304 to
14:30 instead of ANZ customer and pickup HRO
watches. watches. Should be done
tomorrow, 8/1.
116 1997- mannyn I Received plain white 1997-11-28 Shipping found correct
11-28 swim caps (313 16:47 case in warehouse and
13:34 ANZ) instead of express mailed it in time
navy with team logo for swim meet.
(313 SHM).
116 1997- mannyn I Second complaint 1997-12-27 Memo to shipping (Ava
12-21 from this customer! 08:19 Brown) to send case of
11:24 Received two cases left-handed gloves, pick
right-handed up wrong case; memo to
outfielder gloves (1 billing requesting 5%
HRO) instead of one discount to placate
case lefties. customer due to second
offense and lateness of
resolution because of
holiday.

manufact Table
manu_code manu_name lead_time
ANZ Anza 5
HSK Husky 5
HRO Hero 4
NRG Norge 7
SMT Smith 3
SHM Shimara 30
KAR Karsten 21
NKL Nikolus 8
PRC ProCycle 9

Appendix A. The stores_demo Database A-31

 state Table
code sname code sname
AK Alaska MT Montana
AL Alabama NE Nebraska
AR Arkansas NC North Carolina
AZ Arizona ND North Dakota
CA California NH New Hampshire
CT Connecticut NJ New Jersey
CO Colorado NM New Mexico
DC Washington, D.C. NV Nevada
DE Delaware NY New York
FL Florida OH Ohio
GA Georgia OK Oklahoma
HI Hawaii OR Oregon
IA Iowa PA Pennsylvania
ID Idaho PR Puerto Rico
IL Illinois RI Rhode Island
IN Indiana SC South Carolina
KY Kentucky TN Tennessee
LA Louisiana TX Texas
MA Massachusetts UT Utah
MD Maryland VA Virginia
ME Maine VT Vermont
MI Michigan WA Washington
MN Minnesota WI Wisconsin
MO Missouri WV West Virginia
MS Mississippi WY Wyoming

A-32 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo
Databases
In addition to the stores_demo database that is described in detail in
Appendix A, IBM Informix products include the following demonstration
databases:

Extended Parallel Server

v The sales_demo database illustrates a dimensional schema for data-warehousing

applications.
End of Extended Parallel Server

Dynamic Server

v The superstores_demo database illustrates an object-relational schema.

End of Dynamic Server

This appendix discusses the structures of these two demonstration databases.

For information on how to create and populate the demonstration databases, including
relevant SQL files, see the IBM Informix: DB–Access User's Guide. For conceptual information
about demonstration databases, see the IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation
Guide.

The sales_demo Database (XPS)

Your database server product contains SQL scripts for the sales_demo
dimensional database. The sales_demo database provides an example of a
simple data-warehousing environment and works in conjunction with the
stores_demo database. The scripts for the sales_demo database create new
tables and add extra rows to the items and orders tables of stores_demo.

To create the sales_demo database, you must first create the stores_demo
database with the logging option. Once you create the stores_demo database,
you can execute the scripts that create and load the sales_demo database from
DB–Access. The files are named createdw.sql and loaddw.sql.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 B-1

 Dimensional Model of the sales_demo Database
Figure B-1 gives an overview of the tables in the sales_demo database.

Product Time
Dimension Dimension
product code time code
product name
vendor order date
Fact Table: Sales month code
vendor name
product line product code month name
product line name quarter code
time code quarter name
District code year
customer code
revenue
cost
Geography units sold Customer
Dimension net profit Dimension
district code customer code
district customer name
state company name
state name
region

Figure B-1. The sales_demo Dimensional Data Model

For information on how to create and populate the sales_demo database, see
the IBM Informix: DB–Access User's Guide. For information on how to design
and implement dimensional databases, see the IBM Informix: Database Design
and Implementation Guide. For information on the stores_demo database, see
Appendix A

The next section describes the schema of these five tables, and identifies the
column in the fact table that logically associates each dimension table to the
fact table.
Structure of the sales_demo Tables
The sales_demo database includes the following tables:
v customer
v geography
v product
v sales
v time

B-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

The tables are listed alphabetically, not in the order in which they are created.
The customer, geography, product, and time tables are the dimensions for the
sales fact table.

The sales_demo database is not an ANSI-compliant database.

The following sections describe the column names, data types, and column
descriptions for each table. A SERIAL field serves as the primary key for the
district_code column of the geography table. The primary and foreign key
relationships that exist between the fact (sales) table and its dimension tables
are not defined, however, because data-loading performance improves
dramatically when the database server does not enforce constraint checking.

The customer Table

The customer table contains information about sales customers. Table B-1
shows the columns of the customer table.
Table B-1. The customer Table
Name Type Description
customer_code INTEGER Customer code
customer_name CHAR(31) Customer name
company_name CHAR(20) Company name

The geography Table

The geography table contains information about the sales district and region.
Table B-2 shows the columns of the geography table.
Table B-2. The geography Table
Name Type Description
district_code SERIAL District code
district_name CHAR(15) District name
state_code CHAR(2) State code
state_name CHAR(18) State name
region SMALLINT Region name

The product Table

The product table contains information about the products sold through the
data warehouse. Table B-3 on page B-4 shows the columns of the product
table.

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-3

 Table B-3. The product Table
Name Type Description
product_code INTEGER Product code
product_name CHAR(31) Product name
vendor_code CHAR(3) Vendor code
vendor_name CHAR(15) Vendor name
product_line_code SMALLINT Product line code
product_line_name CHAR(15) Name of product line

The sales Table

The sales fact table contains information about product sales and has a
pointer to each dimension table. For example, the customer_code column
references the customer table, the district_code column references the
geography table, and so on. The sales table also contains the measures for the
units sold, revenue, cost, and net profit. Table B-4 shows the columns of the
sales table.
Table B-4. The sales Table
Name Type Description
customer_code INTEGER Customer code (references customer)
district_code SMALLINT District code (references geography)
time_code INTEGER Time code (references time)
product_code INTEGER Product code (references product)
units_sold SMALLINT Number of units sold
revenue MONEY(8,2) Amount of sales revenue
cost MONEY(8,2) Cost of sale
net_profit MONEY(8,2) Net profit of sale

The time Table

The time table contains time information about the sale. Table B-5 on page B-5
shows the columns of the time table.

B-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 Table B-5. The time Table
Name Type Description
time_code INTEGER Time code
order_date DATE Order date
month_code SMALLINT Month code
month_name CHAR(10) Name of month
quarter_code SMALLINT Quarter code
quarter_name CHAR(10) Name of quarter
year INTEGER Year

The superstores_demo Database (IDS)

SQL files and user-defined routines (UDRs) that are provided with DB–Access
let you derive the superstores_demo object-relational database.

The superstores_demo database uses the default locale and is not ANSI
compliant.

This section provides the following superstores_demo information:

v The structure of all the tables in the superstores_demo database
v A list and definition of the extended data types that superstores_demo uses
v A map of table hierarchies
v The primary-foreign key relationships among the columns in the database
tables

For information on how to create and populate the superstores_demo

database, see the IBM Informix: DB–Access User's Guide. For information on
how to work with object-relational databases, see the IBM Informix: Database
Design and Implementation Guide. For information on the stores_demo database
on which superstores_demo is based, see Appendix A.
Structure of the superstores_demo Tables
The superstores_demo database includes the following tables. Although many
tables have the same name as stores_demo tables, they are different. The
tables are listed alphabetically, not in the order in which they are created.
v call_type
v catalog
v cust_calls
v customer
– retail_customer (new)

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-5

 – whlsale_customer (new)
v items
v location (new)
– location_non_us (new)
– location_us (new)
v manufact
v orders
v region (new)
v sales_rep (new)
v state
v stock
v stock_discount (new)
v units (new)

This section lists the names, data types, and descriptions of the columns for
each table in the superstores_demo database. The unique identifying value for
each table (primary key) is shaded. Columns that represent extended data
types are discussed in “User-Defined Routines and Extended Data Types” on
page B-16. Primary-foreign key relationships between the tables are outlined
in “Referential Relationships” on page B-19.

The call_type Table

The call codes associated with customer calls are stored in the call_type table.
Table B-6 shows the columns of the call_type table.
Table B-6. The call_type Table
Name Type Description
call_code CHAR(1) Call code
codel_descr CHAR (30) Description of call code

The catalog Table

The catalog table describes each item in stock. Retail stores use this table
when placing orders with the distributor. Table B-7 on page B-7 shows the
columns of the catalog table.

B-6 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table B-7. The catalog Table
Name Type Description
catalog_num SERIAL(1001) System-generated catalog number
stock_num SMALLINT Distributor stock number (foreign key to
stock table)
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code (foreign key to stock
table)
unit CHAR(4) Unit by which item is ordered (foreign key
to stock table)
advert ROW (picture BLOB, Picture of item and caption
caption LVARCHAR)
advert_descr CLOB Tag line underneath picture

The cust_calls Table

All customer calls for information on orders, shipments, or complaints are
logged. The cust_calls table contains information about these types of
customer calls. Table B-8 shows the columns of the cust_calls table.
Table B-8. The cust_calls Table
Name Type Description
customer_num INTEGER Customer number (foreign key to
customer table)
call_dtime DATETIME YEAR TO Date and time call received
MINUTE
user_id CHAR(18) Name of person logging call (default is
user login name)
call_code CHAR(1) Type of call (foreign key to call_type table)
call_descr CHAR(240) Description of call
res_dtime DATETIME YEAR TO Date and time call resolved
MINUTE
res_descr CHAR(240) Description of how call was resolved

The customer, retail_customer, and whlsale_customer Tables

In this hierarchy, retail_customer and whlsale_customer are subtables that are
created under the customer supertable, as Figure B-2 on page B-18 shows.

For information about table hierarchies, see the IBM Informix: Database Design
and Implementation Guide.

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-7

 The customer Table: The customer table contains information about the
retail stores that place orders from the distributor. Table B-9 shows the
columns of the customer table.
Table B-9. The customer Table
Name Type Description
customer_num SERIAL Unique customer identifier
customer_type CHAR(1) Code to indicate type of customer:
R = retail
W = wholesale
customer_name name_t Name of customer
customer_loc INTEGER Location of customer (foreign key to
location table)
contact_dates LIST(DATETIME YEAR Dates of contact with customer
TO DAY NOT NULL)
cust_discount percent Customer discount
credit_status CHAR(1) Customer credit status:
D = deadbeat
L = lost
N = new
P = preferred
R = regular

The retail_customer Table: The retail_customer table contains general

information about retail customers. Table B-10 on page B-9 shows the columns
of the retail_customer table.

B-8 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table B-10. The retail_customer Table
Name Type Description
customer_num SERIAL Unique customer identifier
customer_type CHAR(1) Code to indicate type of customer:
R = retail
W = wholesale
customer_name name_t Name of customer
customer_loc INTEGER Location of customer
contact_dates LIST(DATETIME YEAR Dates of contact with customer
TO DAY NOT NULL)
cust_discount percent Customer discount
credit_status CHAR(1) Customer credit status:
D = deadbeat
L = lost
N = new
P = preferred
R = regular
credit_num CHAR(19) Credit card number
expiration DATE Expiration data of credit card

The whlsale_customer Table: The whlsale_customer table contains general

information about wholesale customers. Table B-11 on page B-10 shows the
columns of the whlsale_customer table.

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-9

 Table B-11. The whlsale_customer Table
Name Type Description
customer_num SERIAL Unique customer identifier
customer_type CHAR(1) Code to indicate type of customer:
R = retail
W = wholesale
customer_name name_t Name of customer
customer_loc INTEGER Location of customer
contact_dates LIST(DATETIME YEAR Dates of contact with customer
TO DAY NOT NULL)
cust_discount percent Customer discount
credit_status CHAR(1) Customer credit status:
D = deadbeat
L = lost
N = new
P = preferred
R = regular
resale_license CHAR(15) Resale license number
terms_net SMALLINT Net term in days

The items Table

An order can include one or more items. One row exists in the items table for
each item in an order. Table B-12 shows the columns of the items table.
Table B-12. The items Table
Name Type Description
item_num SMALLINT Sequentially assigned item number for an
order
order_num INT8 Order number (foreign key to orders
table)
stock_num SMALLINT Stock number for item (foreign key to
stock table)
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code for item ordered
(foreign key to stock table)
unit CHAR(4) Unit by which item is ordered (foreign
key to stock table)
quantity SMALLINT Quantity ordered (value must be > 1)
item_subtotal MONEY(8,2) Quantity ordered * unit price = total price
of item

B-10 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

The location, location_non_us, and location_us Tables
In this hierarchy, location_non_us and location_us are subtables that are
created under the location supertable, as shown in the diagram in “Table
Hierarchies” on page B-18. For information about table hierarchies, see the
IBM Informix: Database Design and Implementation Guide.

The location Table

The location table contains general information about the locations (addresses)
that the database tracks. Table B-13 shows the columns of the location table.
Table B-13. The location Table
Name Type Description
location_id SERIAL Unique identifier for location
loc_type CHAR(2) Code to indicate type of location
company VARCHAR(20) Name of company
street_addr LIST(VARCHAR(25) Street address
NOT NULL)
city VARCHAR(25) City for address
country VARCHAR(25) Country for address

The location_non_us Table

The location_non_us table contains specific address information for locations
(addresses) that are outside the United States. Table B-14 shows the columns
of the location_non_us table.
Table B-14. The location_non_us Table
Name Type Description
location_id SERIAL Unique identifier for location
loc_type CHAR(2) Code to indicate type of location
company VARCHAR(20) Name of company
street_addr LIST(VARCHAR(25) NOT Street address
NULL)
city VARCHAR(25) City for address
country VARCHAR(25) Country for address
province_code CHAR(2) Province code
zipcode CHAR(9) Zip code
phone CHAR(15) Phone number

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-11

 The location_us Table
The location_us table contains specific address information for locations
(addresses) that are in the United States. Table B-15 shows the columns of the
location_us table.
Table B-15. The location_us Table
Name Type Description
location_id SERIAL Unique identifier for location
loc_type CHAR(2) Code to indicate type of location
company VARCHAR(20) Name of company
street_addr LIST(VARCHAR(25) NOT Street address
NULL)
city VARCHAR(25) City for address
country VARCHAR(25) Country for address
state_code CHAR(2) State code (foreign key to state table)
zip CHAR(9) Zip code
phone CHAR(15) Phone number

The manufact Table

Information about the manufacturers whose sporting goods are handled by
the distributor is stored in the manufact table. Table B-16 shows the columns
of the manufact table.
Table B-16. The manufact Table
Name Type Description
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code
manu_name VARCHAR(15) Name of manufacturer
lead_time INTERVAL DAY(3) TO Lead time for shipment of orders
DAY
manu_loc INTEGER Manufacturer location (foreign key to
location table)
manu_account CHAR(32) Distributor account number with
manufacturer
account_status CHAR(1) Status of account with manufacturer
terms_net SMALLINT Distributor terms with manufacturer
(in days)
discount percent Distributor volume discount with
manufacturer

B-12 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

The orders Table
The orders table contains information about orders placed by the customers of
the distributor. Table B-17 shows the columns of the orders table.
Table B-17. The orders Table
Name Type Description
order_num SERIAL8(1001) System-generated order number
order_date DATE Date order entered
customer_num INTEGER Customer number (foreign key to
customer table)
shipping ship_t Special shipping instructions
backlog BOOLEAN Indicates order cannot be filled because
the item is back ordered
po_num CHAR(10) Customer purchase order number
paid_date DATE Date order paid

The region Table

The region table contains information about the sales regions for the
distributor. Table B-18 shows the columns of the region table.
Table B-18. The region Table
Name Type Description
region_num SERIAL System-generated region number
region_name VARCHAR(20) Name of sales region
UNIQUE
region_loc INTEGER Location of region office (foreign key to
location table)

The sales_rep Table

The sales_rep table contains information about the sales representatives for
the distributor. Table B-19 on page B-14 shows the columns of the sales_rep
table.

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-13

 Table B-19. The sales_rep Table
Name Type Description
rep_num SERIAL(101) System-generated sales rep number
name name_t Name of sales rep
region_num INTEGER Region in which sales rep works
(foreign key to the region table)
home_office BOOLEAN Home office location of sales rep
sales SET(ROW (month Amount of monthly sales for rep
DATETIME YEAR TO
MONTH, amount
MONEY) NOT NULL)
commission percent Commission rate for sales rep

The state Table

The state table contains the names and postal abbreviations, as well as sales
tax information, for the 50 states of the United States. Table B-20 shows the
columns of the state table.
Table B-20. The state Table
Name Type Description
code CHAR(2) State code
sname CHAR(15) State name
sales_tax percent State sales tax

The stock Table

The stock table is a catalog of the items sold by the distributor. Table B-21 on
page B-15 shows the columns of the stock table.

B-14 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Table B-21. The stock Table
Name Type Description
stock_num SMALLINT Stock number that identifies type of
item
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code (foreign key to
manufact)
unit CHAR(4) Unit by which item is ordered
description VARCHAR(15) Description of item
unit_price MONEY(6,2) Unit price
min_reord_qty SMALLINT Minimum reorder quantity
min_inv_qty SMALLINT Quantity of stock below which item
should be reordered
manu_item_num CHAR(20) Manufacturer item number
unit_cost MONEY(6,2) Distributor cost per unit of item from
manufacturer
status CHAR(1) Status of item:
A = active
D = discontinued
N = no order
bin_num INTEGER Bin number
qty_on_hand SMALLINT Quantity in stock
bigger_unit CHAR(4) Stock unit for next larger unit (for
same stock_num and manu_code)
per_bigger_unit SMALLINT How many of this item in bigger_unit

The stock_discount Table

The stock_discount table contains information about stock discounts. (There is
no primary key). Table B-22 on page B-16 shows the columns of the
stock_discount table.

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-15

 Table B-22. The stock_discount Table
Name Type Description
discount_id SERIAL System-generated discount identifier
stock_num SMALLINT Distributor stock number (part of foreign key
to stock table)
manu_code CHAR(3) Manufacturer code (part of foreign key to
stock table)
unit CHAR(4) Unit by which item is ordered (each, pair,
case, and so on) (foreign key to units table;
part of foreign key to stock table)
unit_discount percent Unit discount during sale period
start_date DATE Discount start date
end_date DATE Discount end date

The units Table

The units table contains information about the units in which the inventory
items can be ordered. Each item in the stock table is available in one or more
types of container. Table B-23 shows the columns of the units table.
Table B-23. The units Table
Name Type Description
unit_name CHAR(4) Units by which an item is ordered (each,
pair, case, box)
unit_descr VARCHAR(15) Description of units

User-Defined Routines and Extended Data Types

The superstores_demo database uses user-defined routines (UDRs) and
extended data types.

A UDR is a routine that you define that can be invoked within an SQL
statement or another UDR. A UDR can either return values or not.

The data type system of Dynamic Server is an extensible and flexible system
that supports the creation of following kinds of data types:
v Extensions of existing data types, by redefining some of the behavior for
data types that the database server provides
v Definitions of customized data types by a user

B-16 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

This section lists the extended data types and UDRs created for the
superstores_demo database. For information about creating and using UDRs
and extended data types, see IBM Informix: User-Defined Routines and Data
Types Developer's Guide.

The superstores_demo database creates the distinct data type, percent, in a

UDR, as follows:
CREATE DISTINCT TYPE percent AS DECIMAL(5,5);
DROP CAST (DECIMAL(5,5) AS percent);
CREATE IMPLICIT CAST (DECIMAL(5,5) AS percent);
The superstores_demo database creates the following named row types:
v location hierarchy:
– location_t
– loc_us_t
– loc_non_us_t
v customer hierarchy:
– name_t
– customer_t
– retail_t
– whlsale_t
v orders table
– ship_t

location_t definition
location_id SERIAL
loc_type CHAR(2)
company VARCHAR(20)
street_addr LIST(VARCHAR(25) NOT NULL)
city VARCHAR(25)
country VARCHAR(25)

loc_us_t definition
state_code CHAR(2)
zip ROW(code INTEGER, suffix SMALLINT)
phone CHAR(18)

loc_non_us_t definition
province_code CHAR(2)
zipcode CHAR(9)
phone CHAR(15)

name_t definition
first VARCHAR(15)
last VARCHAR(15)

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-17

 customer_t definition
customer_num SERIAL
customer_type CHAR(1)
customer_name name_t
customer_loc INTEGER
contact_dates LIST(DATETIME YEAR TO DAY NOT NULL)
cust_discount percent
credit_status CHAR(1)

retail_t definition
credit_num CHAR(19)
expiration DATE

whlsale_t definition
resale_license CHAR(15)
terms_net SMALLINT

ship_t definition
date DATE
weight DECIMAL(8,2)
charge MONEY(6,2)
instruct VARCHAR(40)

Table Hierarchies
Figure B-2 shows how the hierarchical tables of the superstores_demo
database are related. See “The customer and location Tables” on page B-20 for
an explanation of the foreign key and primary relationships between those
two tables, which are indicated by shaded arrows that point from the
customer.custnum and customer.loc columns to the location.location_id
columns in the following diagram.

customer
customer_num location
customer_type location_id
customer_name loc_type
customer_loc company
contact_dates street_addr
cust_discount city
credit_status country

retail_customer whlsale_customer location_us location_non_us

credit_num resale_license state_code province_code
expiration terms_net zip zipcode
phone phone

Figure B-2. Hierarchies of superstores_demo Tables

B-18 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Referential Relationships
The tables of the superstores_demo database are linked by the
primary-foreign key relationships that are identified in this section. This type
of relationship is called a referential constraint because a foreign key in one
table references the primary key in another table.

The customer and orders Tables

The customer table contains a customer_num column that holds a number
that identifies a customer. The orders table also contains a customer_num
column that stores the number of the customer who placed a particular order.
In the orders table, the customer_num column is a foreign key that references
the customer_num column in the customer table.

The orders and items Tables

The orders and items tables are linked by an order_num column that contains
an identification number for each order. If an order includes several items, the
same order number appears in several rows of the items table. In the items
table, the order_num column is a foreign key that references the order_num
column in the orders table.

The items and stock Tables

The items table and the stock table are joined by three columns: the
stock_num column, which stores a stock number for an item, the manu_code
column, which stores a code that identifies the manufacturer, and the units
column, which identifies the types of unit in which the item can be ordered.
You need the stock number, the manufacturer code, and the units to uniquely
identify an item. The same stock number and manufacturer code can appear
in more than one row of the items table, if the same item belongs to separate
orders. In the items table, the stock_num, manu_code, and unit columns are
foreign keys that reference the stock_num, manu_code, and unit columns in
the stock table.

The stock and catalog Tables

The stock table and catalog table are joined by three columns: the stock_num
column, which stores a stock number for an item, the manu_code column,
which stores a code that identifies the manufacturer, and the unit column,
which identifies the type of units in which the item can be ordered. You need
all three columns to uniquely identify an item. In the catalog table, the
stock_num, manu_code, and unit columns are foreign keys that reference the
stock_num, manu_code, and unit columns in the stock table.

The stock and manufact Tables

The stock table and the manufact table are joined by the manu_code column.
The same manufacturer code can appear in more than one row of the stock
table if the manufacturer produces more than one piece of equipment. In the

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-19

 stock table, the manu_code column is a foreign key that references the
manu_code column in the manufact table.

The cust_calls and customer Tables

The cust_calls table and the customer table are joined by the customer_num
column. The same customer number can appear in more than one row of the
cust_calls table if the customer calls the distributor more than once with a
problem or question. In the cust_calls table, the customer_num column is a
foreign key that references the customer_num column in the customer table.

The call_type and cust_calls Tables

The call_type and cust_calls tables are joined by the call_code column. The
same call code can appear in more than one row of the cust_calls table,
because many customers can have the same type of problem. In the cust_calls
table, the call_code column is a foreign key that references the call_code
column in the call_type table.

The state and customer Tables

The state table and the customer table are joined by a column that contains
the state code. This column is called code in the state table and state in the
customer table. If several customers live in the same state, the same state code
appears in several rows of the table. In the customer table, the state column is
a foreign key that references the code column in the state table.

The customer and location Tables

In the customer table, the customer_loc column is a foreign key that
references the location_id of the location table. The customer_loc and
location_id columns each uniquely identify the customer location.

The manufact and location Tables

The manu_loc column in the manufact table is a foreign key that references
the location_id column, which is the primary key in the location table. Both
manu_loc and location_id uniquely identify the manufacturer location.

The state and location_us Tables

The state and location_us tables are joined by the column that contains the
state code. The state_code column in the location_us table is a foreign key
that references the code column in the state table.

The sales_rep and region Tables

The region_num column is the primary key in the region table. It is a
system-generated region number. The region_num column in the sales_rep
table is a foreign key that references and joins the region_num column in the
region table.

B-20 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

The region and location Tables
The region_loc column in the region table identifies the regional office
location. It is a foreign key that references the location_id column in the
location table, which is a unique identifier for location.

The stock and stock_discount Tables

The stock table and the stock_discount table are joined by three columns:
stock_num, manu_code, and unit. These columns form the primary key for
the stock table. The stock_discount table has no primary key and references
the stock table.

The stock and units Tables

The unit_name column of the units table is a primary key that identifies the
kinds of units that can be ordered, such as case, pair, box, and so on. The unit
column of the stock table joins the unit_name column of the units table.

Appendix B. The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B-21

B-22 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference
Appendix C. Accessibility
The syntax diagrams in the HTML version of this manual are available in
dotted decimal syntax format, which is an accessible format that is available
only if you are using a screen reader.

Dotted Decimal Syntax Diagrams

In dotted decimal format, each syntax element is written on a separate line. If
two or more syntax elements are always present together (or always absent
together), the elements can appear on the same line, because they can be
considered as a single compound syntax element.

Each line starts with a dotted decimal number; for example, 3 or 3.1 or 3.1.1.
To hear these numbers correctly, make sure that your screen reader is set to
read punctuation. All syntax elements that have the same dotted decimal
number (for example, all syntax elements that have the number 3.1) are
mutually exclusive alternatives. If you hear the lines 3.1 USERID and 3.1
SYSTEMID, your syntax can include either USERID or SYSTEMID, but not both.

The dotted decimal numbering level denotes the level of nesting. For example,
if a syntax element with dotted decimal number 3 is followed by a series of
syntax elements with dotted decimal number 3.1, all the syntax elements
numbered 3.1 are subordinate to the syntax element numbered 3.

Certain words and symbols are used next to the dotted decimal numbers to
add information about the syntax elements. Occasionally, these words and
symbols might occur at the beginning of the element itself. For ease of
identification, if the word or symbol is a part of the syntax element, the word
or symbol is preceded by the backslash (\) character. The * symbol can be
used next to a dotted decimal number to indicate that the syntax element
repeats. For example, syntax element *FILE with dotted decimal number 3 is
read as 3 \* FILE. Format 3* FILE indicates that syntax element FILE repeats.
Format 3* \* FILE indicates that syntax element * FILE repeats.

Characters such as commas, which are used to separate a string of syntax

elements, are shown in the syntax just before the items they separate. These
characters can appear on the same line as each item, or on a separate line
with the same dotted decimal number as the relevant items. The line can also
show another symbol that provides information about the syntax elements.
For example, the lines 5.1*, 5.1 LASTRUN, and 5.1 DELETE mean that if you
use more than one of the LASTRUN and DELETE syntax elements, the elements

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 C-1

 must be separated by a comma. If no separator is given, assume that you use
a blank to separate each syntax element.

If a syntax element is preceded by the % symbol, this identifies a reference that

is defined elsewhere. The string following the % symbol is the name of a
syntax fragment rather than a literal. For example, the line 2.1 %OP1 means
that you should refer to a separate syntax fragment OP1.

The following words and symbols are used next to the dotted decimal
numbers:
? Specifies an optional syntax element. A dotted decimal number
followed by the ? symbol indicates that all the syntax elements with a
corresponding dotted decimal number, and any subordinate syntax
elements, are optional. If there is only one syntax element with a
dotted decimal number, the ? symbol is displayed on the same line as
the syntax element (for example, 5? NOTIFY). If there is more than one
syntax element with a dotted decimal number, the ? symbol is
displayed on a line by itself, followed by the syntax elements that are
optional. For example, if you hear the lines 5 ?, 5 NOTIFY, and 5
UPDATE, you know that syntax elements NOTIFY and UPDATE are
optional; that is, you can choose one or none of them. The ? symbol is
equivalent to a bypass line in a railroad diagram.
! Specifies a default syntax element. A dotted decimal number followed
by the ! symbol and a syntax element indicates that the syntax
element is the default option for all syntax elements that share the
same dotted decimal number. Only one of the syntax elements that
share the same dotted decimal number can specify a ! symbol. For
example, if you hear the lines 2? FILE, 2.1! (KEEP), and 2.1
(DELETE), you know that (KEEP) is the default option for the FILE
keyword. In this example, if you include the FILE keyword but do not
specify an option, default option KEEP is applied. A default option also
applies to the next higher dotted decimal number. In this example, if
the FILE keyword is omitted, default FILE(KEEP) is used. However, if
you hear the lines 2? FILE, 2.1, 2.1.1! (KEEP), and 2.1.1 (DELETE),
the default option KEEP only applies to the next higher dotted
decimal number, 2.1 (which does not have an associated keyword),
and does not apply to 2? FILE. Nothing is used if the keyword FILE is
omitted.
* Specifies a syntax element that can be repeated zero or more times. A
dotted decimal number followed by the * symbol indicates that this
syntax element can be used zero or more times; that is, it is optional
and can be repeated. For example, if you hear the line 5.1*
data-area, you know that you can include more than one data area or

C-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

 you can include none. If you hear the lines 3*, 3 HOST, and 3 STATE,
you know that you can include HOST, STATE, both together, or nothing.
Notes:
1. If a dotted decimal number has an asterisk (*) next to it and there
is only one item with that dotted decimal number, you can repeat
that same item more than once.
2. If a dotted decimal number has an asterisk next to it and several
items have that dotted decimal number, you can use more than
one item from the list, but you cannot use the items more than
once each. In the previous example, you could write HOST STATE,
but you could not write HOST HOST.
3. The * symbol is equivalent to a loop-back line in a railroad syntax
diagram.
+ Specifies a syntax element that must be included one or more times. A
dotted decimal number followed by the + symbol indicates that this
syntax element must be included one or more times. For example, if
you hear the line 6.1+ data-area, you must include at least one data
area. If you hear the lines 2+, 2 HOST, and 2 STATE, you know that you
must include HOST, STATE, or both. As for the * symbol, you can only
repeat a particular item if it is the only item with that dotted decimal
number. The + symbol, like the * symbol, is equivalent to a loop-back
line in a railroad syntax diagram.

Appendix C. Accessibility C-3

C-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference
Glossary
Tip: For additional product-specific active set. The collection of rows that satisfies a
information, refer to the glossaries query associated with a cursor.
provided in the IBM Informix: Storage
aggregate function. An SQL function that
Manager Administrator's Guide, the
returns one value for a group of retrieved rows;
IBM Informix: SNMP Subagent Guide, for example, the frequency, sum, average,
and other manuals in the maximum, or minimum of an expression in a
IBM Informix documentation set. query or report. See also user-defined aggregate.
8-bit character. A single-byte character that aggregate support function. One of a group of
consists of eight bits, which means that the code user-defined functions that the database server uses
point is in the range 128 through 255. Examples to calculate a user-defined aggregate.
from the ISO8859-1 code set include the
non-English é, ñ, and ö characters. They can be alias. In an SQL query or in a form-specification
interpreted correctly only by software that is 8-bit file, an alias is a single-word temporary
clean. See also non-ASCII character. alternative name that is used in place of a
qualified table name (for example, t1 as an alias
8-bit clean. An attribute of software that can for owner.table_name). Aliases are often used in
process character data that contains 8-bit complex subqueries and are required for a
characters. The operating system or the database self-join.
server reads the eighth bit as part of the code
value. In other words, it does not ignore the ALS. Legacy acronym for Asian Language
eighth bit nor make its own interpretation of the Support (ALS), a feature for multibyte East Asian
eighth bit. locales. Supplanted by Global Language Support
(GLS).
16-bit code set. Any code set that represents
each character by two bytes, so that ANSI. Acronym for the American National
approximately 65,000 distinct characters can be Standards Institute. This group sets standards in
encoded. Also called double-byte code set. An many areas, including the information
example is JIS X0208. technology industry and the SQL language. Some
ANSI standards are also standards of the
access method. Any of a group of routines that International Standards Organization (ISO).
access or manipulate a table or an index. In the
output of a SET EXPLAIN statement, access ANSI compliant. For databases, conforming to
method refers to the mode of table access in a ANSI/ISO standards for the SQL language. An
query (for example, SEQUENTIAL SCAN as IBM Informix database can be created as either
opposed to INDEX PATH). See also primary ANSI compliant or not ANSI compliant. An
access method and secondary access method. ANSI-compliant database enforces certain ANSI
requirements, such as implicit transactions,
access privileges. The types of operations that a explicit owner naming, no public synonyms, and
user has permission to perform in a specific unbuffered logging, which are not enforced in
database or database object. The Informix databases that are not ANSI compliant.
database, table, table-fragment, index, and
column-access privileges are independent of API. See application programming interface
operating-system access permissions. (API).

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 D-1

application development tool. Software, such other nonprintable and printable characters used
as IBM Informix 4GL, which you can use to in computers and telecommunication. It contains
create and maintain a database. The software 128 characters, each of which can be represented
allows a user to send instructions and data to with 7 bits of information. The code set of every
(and receive information from) the database Informix locale includes the ASCII characters as a
server. subset. See also single-byte character.

application process. The process that manages ASF. Acronym for Associated Services Facility.
an ESQL or other program at runtime. It executes The ASF code in IBM Informix products controls
the program logic and initiates SQL requests. the connections between client applications and
Memory that is allocated for program variables, database servers. Software architects use this
program data, and the fetch buffer is part of this term; most users of IBM Informix products see
process. See also database server process. this term only in occasional error messages.

application-productivity tools. Software tools Asian Language Support (ALS). A legacy

that are used to write application programs. technology to support the multibyte code sets of
certain East Asian languages. The functionality of
application program. An executable file or a ALS is replaced by Global Language Support (GLS)
logically related set of files. in current IBM Informix products. For more
information about ALS and GLS, see the
application programming interface (API). A set IBM Informix: Migration Guide.
of related software components, such as those
provided by IBM, that a developer uses to create attached index. An index that has the same
applications that communicate with a third-party distribution scheme as its table. To create an
product. An API can include a library of functions, attached index, specify no distribution scheme
header files, graphic interfaces, and application (no FRAGMENT BY clause) and no storage
programs. See also SQL API and DataBlade API. option (no IN clause), or else specify IN TABLE
as the storage option in CREATE INDEX or
arbitrary rule. Expressions that define a ALTER FRAGMENT ON INDEX statements. For
fragmentation strategy. Unlike a range rule, an Dynamic Server, index pages for user indexes
arbitrary rule can specify any relational and reside in separate tblspaces, but in the same
logical operators of SQL to define expressions dbspaces as the data pages to which they refer.
(such as the OR operator to group data). Only system indexes reside in the same tblspace
as the corresponding data pages. For Extended
archiving. To copy all the data and indexes of a
Parallel Server, user index and system index
database to a different physical device from that
pages reside in separate tblspaces, but in the
which stores the database. Archived material can
same dbspaces as the corresponding data pages.
be used by the Database Administrator for
See also detached index, system index, user index.
recovery from a failure. See also backup.
audit event. Any database server activity or
argument. A value that is passed to a routine or
operation that can potentially access or alter
command. Compare with parameter.
data. Audit events can be recorded and
array. An ordered set of items of the same data monitored by the database secure auditing facility.
type. An individual member of the array is Examples of audit events include accessing
referred to as an element and usually is tables, altering indexes, dropping chunks,
identified by an integer index that gives the granting database access, updating the current
position of the element within the array. row, running database utilities, and so forth. (For
a complete list of audit events, see the
ASCII. Acronym for American Standards IBM Informix: Trusted Facility Guide.)
Committee for Information Interchange, a code
scet of letters, digits, punctuation, and certain

D-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

audit file. A file that contains records of audit big-endian. A hardware-determined storage
events and resides in the specified audit method in which the most-significant byte of a
directory. Audit files provide an audit trail of multibyte number has the lowest address. See
information that can be extracted by the database also little-endian.
secure auditing facility for analysis by the database
system security officer (DSSO). bitmap index. A type of index that stores a
bitmap for any highly duplicate key value. The
audit mask. A structure that specifies which bitmap indicates which rows have the duplicate
audit events should be logged (or excluded from key value. You create a bitmap index with the
logging) by the database secure auditing facility. USING BITMAP keywords in the CREATE
INDEX statement. See also B-tree index.
auxiliary statements. A residual category of
SQL statements, including statements like INFO, blob. A legacy term for a large object that is
OUTPUT, and GET DIAGNOSTICS that can now known as a simple large object and includes
display information about the database. TEXT or BYTE data types. These data objects
effectively have no maximum size (theoretically
B-tree. A model (with ″simple graph″ topology) as large as 231 bytes). See also simple large object.
for defining the logical structure of an index.
BLOB. Acronym for binary large object. A data
B-tree index. A type of index that uses a type for a smart large object that stores any type
balanced tree structure for efficient record of binary data, including images. These objects
retrieval. A B-tree index is balanced when the can be stored and retrieved in pieces and have
leaf nodes are all at the same level from the root database properties such as recovery and
node. B-tree indexes store a list of rowids for any transaction rollback. See also CLOB.
duplicate key value data in ascending or
descending order. See also bitmap index and blobpage. (Not for Extended Parallel Server)
R-tree index. The unit of disk allocation within a blobspace.
The database server administrator determines the
backup. A duplicate of a computer file on size of a blobpage. The size can vary, depending
another device or tape to preserve existing work, on the size of the TEXT or BYTE data that the
in case of a computer failure or other mishap. A user inserts.
backup refers to duplicating logical-log files,
while archiving refers to duplicating data. blobspace. (Not for Extended Parallel Server) A
logical collection of chunks that is used to store
base table. (1) A table referenced in the TEXT and BYTE data.
definition of a view, containing data that the
view displays. A multitable view has more than Boolean. A variable or an expression that can
one base table. (2) Within a table hierarchy of take on the logical values TRUE (1), FALSE (0),
Dynamic Server, a parent table from whose or UNKNOWN (if NULL values are involved).
schema another table (the child table) is derived.
See also table hierarchy. BOOLEAN. A built-in data type that supports
single-byte true/false values. TRUE is
base type. See opaque data type. represented internally as 0 and externally as
t. FALSE is represented internally as 1 and
before-image. The image of a row, page, or externally as f. A NULL value is represented as
other item before any changes are made to it. NULL.
bidirectional. Of a locale, supporting both Boolean function. A function that returns a
right-to-left and left-to-right text. Boolean value (true or false). A Boolean function
can act as a filter.

Glossary D-3
branch node. An index page that contains row that is deleted from the parent table. When
pointers to a leaf node or other branch nodes. any rows are deleted from the primary key
The database server creates a branch node when column of a table, cascading deletes, if enabled,
the root node and subsequent leaf nodes become delete identical information from any foreign-key
full. column in a related table.

buffer. A portion of computer memory where a case sensitivity. The condition of distinguishing
program temporarily stores data. Data typically between uppercase and lowercase letters.
is read into or written out from buffers to disk. Case-sensitive commands and command options
react differently to the same letters entered as
buffered disk I/O. Disk I/O that is controlled uppercase or lowercase characters. The locale
by the operating system instead of by an files specify which characters (if any) of a code
application. With buffered disk I/O, the set are uppercase or lowercase.
operating system stores data in the kernel
portion of memory before periodically writing cast. A database object that converts one data
the data to disk. See also unbuffered disk I/O and type to another. Most built-in data types have
disk I/O. built-in casts (that is, system-defined casts) to
compatible data types. See also user-defined cast,
buffered logging. A type of logging that holds explicit cast, and implicit cast.
transactions in a memory buffer until the buffer
is full, regardless of when the transaction is cast function. A user-defined function that
committed or rolled back. Informix database implements a cast. The function must be
servers provide this option to speed up registered with the CREATE CAST statement
operations by reducing the number of disk before it can be used.
writes.
character. A logical unit of storage for a code
built-in. Provided by the database server, point. A character is equal to one or more bytes
usually in the system catalog; not defined by the and can be numeric, alphabetic, or a
user. nonprintable character (such as a control
character). See also multibyte character and
built-in data type. A predefined data type that single-byte character.
the database server supports; for example,
INTEGER, CHAR, or SERIAL. character set. One or more natural-language
alphabets, together with additional symbols for
byte. An physical computer storage unit of 8 digits, punctuation, ligatures, diacritical marks,
bits. A character is not necessarily one byte. In a and whitespace. (A natural language is a written
multibyte code set, a character can require more language that human beings use to communicate
than one byte. with each other, such as English, Chinese, or
German.) See also code set.
BYTE. A data type for a simple large object that
stores any type of binary data and can be as character special device. See unbuffered disk
large as 231 bytes. See also TEXT. I/O.
Cartesian product. The set that results when check constraint. A logical condition that must
you pair each and every member of one set with be satisfied before data values can be entered
each and every member of another set. A into a column of a database table during an
Cartesian product results from a multiple-table INSERT or UPDATE statement.
query when you do not specify the joining
conditions among tables. See also join. checkpoint. A point during a database server
operation when the pages on disk are
cascading deletes. Deletion of rows from a child
table that were associated by foreign key to a

D-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

synchronized with the pages in the shared close a cursor. To drop the association between
memory buffer pool. It can be a full checkpoint or a cursor and the active set of rows that results
a fuzzy checkpoint. from a query.

child table. The referencing table in a referential close a database. To deactivate the connection
constraint. See also parent table. between a client application and a database.
Only one database can be active at a time.
chunk. The largest contiguous section of disk
space available for a database server. A specified close a file. To deactivate the association
set of chunks defines a dbspace or blobspace. A between a file and a program.
database server administrator allocates a chunk
to a dbspace or blobspace when that dbspace or cluster an index. To rearrange the physical data
blobspace approaches full capacity. A chunk of a table according to a specific index.
contains a certain number of pages. (Extended
Parallel Server does not support blobspace cluster key. The column in a table that logically
chunks.) relates a group of simple large objects or smart
large objects that are stored in an optical cluster.
client application. A program that requests
services from a server program, typically a file clustersize. The amount of space, specified in
server or a database server. For the GLS feature, kilobytes, that is allocated to an optical cluster on
the term client application includes database an optical volume.
server utilities.
code point. A bit pattern that represents one
client computer. The computer on which a character in a code set. For example, in the ASCII
client application runs. code set, the uppercase A character has a code
point of 0x41.
client locale. The locale that a client application
uses to perform read and write operations on the code set. The representation of a character set
client computer. The CLIENT_LOCALE that specifies how to map each element of a
environment variable can specify a nondefault character set to a unique code point. For
locale. See also server locale. example, ASCII, ISO8859-1, Microsoft 1252, and
EBCDIC are code sets to represent the English
client/server architecture. A hardware and language. A locale name specifies a code set.
software design that allows the user interface
and database server to reside on separate nodes code-set conversion. The process of converting
or platforms on a single computer or over a character data from one code set (the source code
network. See also ASF, client application, and set) to another (the target code set). Code-set
server-processing locale. conversion is useful when the client and server
computers use different code sets to represent the
client/server connection statements. The SQL same character data.
statements that can make connections with
databases. These statements include CONNECT, code-set order. The serialized order of
DISCONNECT, and SET CONNECTION. characters within a code set. For example, in the
ASCII code set, uppercase characters (A through
CLOB. Acronym for character large object. A Z) are ordered before lowercase characters (a
data type for a smart large object that stores through z). See also collation order and localized
large text items, such as PostScript or HTML order.
files. These objects can be stored and retrieved in
pieces and have database properties such as cogroup. A named group of coservers. At
recovery and transaction rollback. See also BLOB. initialization, the database server creates a
cogroup that is named cogroup_all from all
configured coservers.

Glossary D-5
collating sequence. See collation order, code-set collocated join. A join that occurs locally on the
order, and localized order. coserver where the data resides. The local
coserver sends the data to the other coservers
collation. The process of sorting character after the join is complete.
strings according to some order. The term is
sometimes used as a synonym for collation order column. A data element that contains a
or for localized order. specified type of information that occurs in every
row of the table. Also known as a display label or
collation order. The logical order in which the a field. See also row.
character-string values in a database are sorted
and indexed. This is based on either the order of column expression. An expression that includes
the code set or else some locale-specific order. a column name and optionally uses column
Collating order is also known as collating subscripts to define a column substring.
sequence.
column subscript. A subscript (an integer
collection. An instance of acollection data type; enclosed between brackets) in a column
a group of elements of the same data type stored expression, showing the ordinal position of a
in a SET, MULTISET, or LIST. byte within the column value. Two integers,
separated by a comma, as in col2[3,9], define a
collection cursor. A database cursor that has an column substring.
IBM Informix ESQL/C collection variable
associated with it and provides access to the column substring. A substring of a character
individual elements of a column whose data type column. For example, the column expression
is a collection data type. col2[3,9]specifies a 7-byte substring of col2 that
begins with the 3rd byte.
collection data type. A complex data type
whose instances are groups of elements of the command file. A system file that contains one
same data type, which can be any opaque data type, or more statements or commands, such as SQL
distinct data type, built-in data type, collection data statements.
type, or row type.
comment. Information in a program file that is
collection-derived table. A table that not processed by the computer but that
IBM Informix ESQL/C or SPL creates for a documents the program. Special characters such
collection column when it encounters the TABLE as the sharp sign ( # ), braces ( { } ), slash mark
keyword in an INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, or followed by asterisk ( / * ), or a double hyphen (
SELECT statement. ESQL/C and SPL store this -- ) can be used to identify comments, depending
table in a collection variable to access elements of on the programming context.
the collection as rows of the collection-derived
table. commit work. To complete a transaction by
accepting all changes to the database since the
collection subquery. A query that takes the beginning of the transaction. See also roll back.
result of a subquery and turns it into a
expression by using the MULTISET keyword to Committed Read. An Informix level of isolation
convert returned values into a MULTISET in which the user can view only rows that are
collection. currently committed at the moment when the
query is requested; the user cannot view rows
collection variable. An IBM Informix ESQL/C that were changed as a part of a currently
host variable or SPL variable that holds an entire uncommitted transaction. Committed Read is
collection and provides access, through a collection available through a database server and set with
cursor, to the individual elements of the collection. the SET ISOLATION statement. It is the default
level of isolation for databases that are not ANSI
compliant. See also Read Committed.

D-6 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

compatible data types. Two data types for configuration management (CM) coserver. A
which casts exist in the database. See also implicit coserver designated to run CM software and
cast. store CM data.

compile. To translate source code (in a configuration file. A file read during database
high-level language) into executable code. server disk or shared-memory initialization that
Compare with execute and link. See also source contains the parameters that specify values for
file. configurable behavior. Database server and its
archiving tool use configuration files.
compile-time error. An error that occurs when
you compile the program source code. This type connection. A logical association between two
of error indicates syntax errors in the source applications or between an application and a
code. Compare with runtime error. database environment, created by a CONNECT
or DATABASE statement. Database servers can
complex data type. A data type that is built from also have connections to one another. See also
a combination of other data types using an SQL explicit connection, implicit connection, and
type constructor and whose components can be multiplexed connection.
accessed through SQL statements. See also row
type and collection data type. connection coserver. The coserver to which a
client is directly connected. See also coserver and
component. In the High-Performance Loader participating coserver.
(HPL), the information required to load or
unload data is organized in several components. connection redirector. An Extended Parallel
The components are format, map, filter, query, Server feature, enabled by a setting in the
project, device array, load job, and unload job. sqlhosts file, whereby the database server
attempts to establish a client connection with
composite data type. See row type. each coserver in a dbserver group until a
connection succeeds.
composite index. An index constructed on two
or more columns of a table. The ordering constant. A value that cannot change during the
imposed by the composite index varies least execution of a program or command. In some
frequently on the first-named column and most programming languages, a constant has a name
frequently on the last-named column. that can be referenced. Compare with variable. See
also literal.
composite join. A join between two or more
tables based on the relationship among two or constraint. A restriction on what kinds of data
more columns in each table. See also simple join. can be inserted or updated in tables. See also
check constraint, primary-key constraint,
compressed bitmap. An indexing method that referential constraint, not-NULL constraint, and
identifies records through a fragment identifier unique constraint.
and a record identifier.
constructed data type. See complex data type.
concatenate. To append a second string to the
end of a first string. constructor. See type constructor.
concatenation operator. An operator whose control character. A character whose occurrence
notation is composed of two pipe symbols (||); in a particular context initiates, modifies, or stops
this is used in expressions to indicate the joining a control function (an operation to control a
of two strings. device, for example, in moving a visual cursor or
in reading data). In a program, you can define
concurrency. Access by two or more processes actions that use the CTRL key with another key
to the same database simultaneously. to execute some programming action (for

Glossary D-7
example, entering CTRL-W to obtain online Help cursor. In SQL, an identifier associated with a
in IBM Informix products). A control character is group of rows or with a collection data type.
sometimes referred to as a control key. Compare Conceptually, the pointer to the current row or
with printable character. collection element. You can use cursors for
SELECT statements or EXECUTE PROCEDURE
cooked files. See buffered disk I/O. statements (associating the cursor with the rows
returned by a query) or INSERT statements
coordinating server. In a query that spans (associating the cursor with a buffer to insert
multiple database servers, the server in which multiple rows as a group). A select cursor is
the query is initiated is called the coordinator or declared for sequential only (regular cursor) or
coordinating server. This server is also sometimes nonsequential (scroll cursor) retrieval of rows. In
called the local server because it is the local server addition, you can declare a select cursor for
to the client initiating the query. To respond to update (initiating locking control for updated
the query, the coordinating server starts sessions and deleted rows) or WITH HOLD (so that
on the other servers involved in the query. See completing the current transaction does not close
also distributed query, subordinate servers, and the cursor). In ESQL/C, a cursor can be dynamic,
remote servers. meaning that it can be referenced by an identifier
or by a character variable.
correlated subquery. A subquery (or inner
SELECT) that depends on a value produced by cursor function. A user-defined routine (UDR)
the outer SELECT statement that contains it. Also that returns one or more rows of data and
a nested subquery whose WHERE clause refers therefore requires a cursor to execute. An SPL
to an attribute of a relation that is declared in an routine is a cursor function when its RETURN
outer SELECT. Correlated subqueries reference statement contains the WITH RESUME
one or more columns from one or more tables of keywords. An external function is a cursor
a parent query and need to be evaluated once for function when it is defined as an iterator
each row in the parent query. See also function. Compare with noncursor function.
independent subquery and subquery.
cursor manipulation statements. The SQL
correlation name. The prefix used with a statements that control cursors; specifically, the
column name in a triggered action to refer to an CLOSE, DECLARE, FETCH, FLUSH, OPEN, and
old (before triggering statement) or a new (after PUT statements.
triggering statement) column value. The
associated column must be in the triggering Cursor Stability. An Informix level of isolation
table. See also trigger. available through the SET ISOLATION statement
in which the database server must secure a
corrupted database. A database whose tables or shared lock on a fetched row before the row can
indexes contain incomplete, inconsistent, or be viewed. The database server retains the lock
invalid data. until it receives a request to fetch a new row. See
also isolation.
corrupted index. An index that does not
correspond exactly to the data in its table. data access statements. The subset of SQL
statements that you can use to grant and revoke
coserver. The functional equivalent of a
permissions and to lock tables.
database server that operates on a single node.
See also connection coserver and participating data definition statements. The subset of SQL
coserver. statements (sometimes called data definition
language, or DDL) to create, alter, drop, and
current row. The most recently retrieved row of
rename data objects, including databases, tables,
the active set of a query.
views, synonyms, triggers, sequences, and
cross-server query. See distributed query. user-defined routines.

D-8 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

data dictionary. The set of tables that keeps database. A collection of information (contained
track of the structure of the database and the in tables) that is used for a specific purpose. See
inventory of database objects. This is also called also relational database.
the system catalog. Each database that a database
server supports has its own system catalog. Database Administrator. See DBA.

data distribution. A mapping of the data values database application. A program that applies
within a column into a set of categories that are database management techniques to implement
equivalent to a histogram or to a frequency specific data manipulation and reporting tasks.
distribution. You can use the UPDATE
STATISTICS statement (specifying the MEDIUM database environment. Used in the CONNECT
or HIGH keyword options) to create data statement, either the database server or the
distributions. database server-and-database to which a user
connects.
data integrity. The process of ensuring that data
corruption does not occur when multiple users database locale. The locale that defines the code
simultaneously try to alter the same data. set, collation, and date, time, number, and
Locking, constraints, and transaction logging are currency display conventions of a database
used to control data integrity. server. The DB_LOCALE environment variable
can specify this locale.
data integrity statements. SQL statements that
you use to control transactions and audits. Data database management system. See DBMS.
integrity statements also include statements for
database object. An SQL entity that is recorded
repairing and recovering tables.
in a system catalog table, such as a table,
data manipulation statements. The SQL column, constraint, access method, default value,
statements that can query tables, insert into cast, index, operator class, prepared statement,
tables, delete from tables, or update tables (select, privilege, role, sequence, synonym, trigger,
insert, delete, update). The load and unload user-defined aggregate, user-defined cast, user-defined
utilities also are sometimes called data data type, user-defined routine, or view.
manipulation statements.
database server. A software package that
data partitioning . See table fragmentation. manages access to one or more databases for one
or more client applications. See also relational
data replication. The ability to allow database database server.
objects to have more than one representation at
more than one distinct site. database server process. A virtual processor
that functions similarly to a CPU in a computer.
data restriction. Synonym for constraint. See also application process.

data type. A descriptor assigned to each column database server utility. A program that
in a table or program variable, which indicates performs a specific task. For example,
the type of data the column or program variable DB–Access, dbexport, and onmode are Informix
is intended to hold. Informix data types are database server utilities.
discussed in Chapter 2, “Data Types.” Informix
data types for Global Language Support are DataBlade API. An application programming
discussed in the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide. interface (API) that allows a C user-defined routine
See also built-in data type, complex data type, access to the client application.
distinct data type, opaque data type, and
DataBlade module. A group of database objects
user-defined data type.
and supporting code that extends an
object-relational database to manage new kinds

Glossary D-9
of data or add new features. A DataBlade The database server monitors and prevents
module can include new data types, routines, potential deadlock situations by sending an error
casts, aggregates, access methods, SQL code, client message to the application if a request for a lock
code, and installation programs. might result in a deadlock.

DBA. Acronym for Database Administrator. The debug file. A file that receives output used for
DBA is responsible for the contents and use of a debugging purposes.
database, whereas the database server
administrator (DBSA) is responsible for decision-support application. An application
managing one or more database servers. Also a that provides information that is used for
level of privilege, typically for operations that strategic planning, decision-making, and
most users are not authorized to perform. reporting. It typically executes in a batch
environment in a sequential scan fashion and
DBA-privileged. A class of SPL routines that returns a large fraction of the rows scanned.
only a user with DBA database privileges creates. Decision-support queries typically scan the entire
database. See also online transaction processing
DBMS. Acronym for database management application.
system. These are all the components necessary to
create and maintain a database, including the decision-support query. A query that a
application development tools and the database decision-support application generates. It often
server. requires multiple joins, temporary tables, and
extensive calculations, and can benefit
dbserver group. A collection of coservers significantly from PDQ. See also online
defined and named by entries in the sqlhosts transaction processing queries.
file. Dbserver groups make multiple coservers
into a single logical entity for establishing or declaration statement. A programming
changing client/server connections. language statement that describes or defines
objects; for example, defining a program variable.
dbslice. A named set of dbspaces that can span Compare with procedure. See also data definition
multiple coservers. A dbslice is managed as a statements.
single storage object. See also logslice, physslice,
and rootslice. default. Values or behavior that take effect
unless the user explicitly specifies another value
dbspace. A logical collection of one or more or action.
chunks. Because chunks represent specific
regions of disk space, the creators of databases default locale. The locale that a product uses
and tables can control where their data is unless you specify a different (nondefault) locale.
physically located by placing databases or tables For IBM Informix products, U.S. English is the
in specific dbspaces. A dbspace provides a link default locale.
between logical (such as tables) and physical
units (such as chunks) of storage. See also root default value. A value that is used when no
dbspace. explicit value is specified. For example, you can
assign default values to columns with the ALTER
DDL. Acronym for data definition language, a TABLE and CREATE TABLE statements and to
subset of the Structured Query Language (SQL) variables in SPL routines.
for declaring, modifying, and dropping database
objects (such as tables, constraints, or indexes). delete. To remove any row or combination of
See also data definition statements. rows with the DELETE statement.

deadlock. A situation in which two or more delimited identifier. If the DELIMIDENT

threads cannot proceed because each is waiting environment variable is set, this is an SQL
for data locked by the other (or another) thread. identifier enclosed between double ( ″ ) quotation

D-10 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

marks. This supports identifiers that are the lowest level of isolation (no isolation at all),
SQL-reserved keywords or that contain and is thus the most efficient. See also Read
whitespace or other characters outside the Uncommitted.
default SQL character set for identifiers.
disabled mode. The object mode in which a
delimiter. A character used as a boundary on a database object is disabled. When a constraint,
field or as the terminator for a column or row. index, or trigger is in the disabled mode, the
Some files and prepared objects require database server acts as if the object does not exist
semicolon ( ; ), comma ( , ), blank space ( ), or and does not take it into consideration during
tab delimiters between statements. SQL the execution of data manipulation statements.
statements can have semicolon or other
delimiters in some programming contexts. disk configuration. The organization of data on
a disk; also refers to the process of preparing a
deluxe mode. A method of loading or disk to store data.
unloading data that uses regular inserts.
disk I/O. The process of transferring data
descriptor. A quoted string or variable that between memory and disk. The I/O refers to
identifies an allocated system-descriptor area or input/output.
an sqlda structure. It is used for the Informix
SQL APIs. See also identifier. display label. A temporary name for a column
or expression in a query.
detached index. An index whose distribution
scheme (specified by the FRAGMENT BY clause) distinct data type. A data type that you declare
and storage option (specified by the IN clause) of with the CREATE DISTINCT TYPE statement. A
the CREATE INDEX or ALTER FRAGMENT ON distinct data type has the same internal storage
INDEX statement differ from the distribution representation as its source type (an existing
scheme of the underlying table. Index pages opaque data type, built-in data type, named row type,
reside in separate dbspaces from the or distinct data type) but a different name, and
corresponding data pages. Compare with attached can have different casts and routines. To compare
index. a distinct data type with its source type requires
an explicit cast. A distinct data type inherits all
device array. A list of I/O devices. See also routines that are defined on its source type.
component.
distributed query. A query that accesses data
diagnostic area. A data structure (sometimes from a database other than the current database.
called sqlda) that stores diagnostic information
about an executed SQL statement. distribution. See data distribution.

diagnostics table. A special table that holds distribution scheme. See table fragmentation.
information about the integrity violations caused
by each row in a violations table. You use the DLL. See dynamic link library (DLL).
START VIOLATIONS TABLE statement to create
DML. Acronym for data manipulation
violations tables and diagnostics tables and
language. See also data manipulation statements.
associate them with a base table.
dominant table. See outer join.
Dirty Read. An Informix isolation level set with
the SET ISOLATION statement that disregards DRDA. Acronym for Distributed Relational
locks and allows viewing of any existing rows, Database Architecture. DRDA is an IBM-defined
even rows that currently can be altered from set of protocols that software manufacturers can
inside an uncommitted transaction. Dirty Read is

Glossary D-11
follow to develop connectivity solutions between element type. The data type of the elements in a
heterogeneous relational database management collection.
environments.
embedded SQL. The SQL statements that are
DSS. Acronym for Decision Support System. See placed within some other host language. For
also decision-support application. example, Informix supports embedded SQL in C.

duplicate index. An index that allows duplicate enabled mode. The default object mode of
values in the indexed column. database objects. When a constraint, index, or
trigger is in this mode, the database server
dynamic link library (DLL). A shared-object file recognizes the existence of the object and takes
on a Windows system. See also shared library. the object into consideration while executing data
manipulation statements. See also object mode.
dynamic management statements. The SQL
statements that describe, execute, and prepare end-user format. The format in which data
other statements. appears within a client application as literal
strings or character variables. End-user formats
dynamic routine-name specification. The are useful for data types whose database format
execution of a user-defined routine whose name is is different from the format to which users are
determined at runtime through an SPL variable in accustomed.
the EXECUTE PROCEDURE, EXECUTE
ROUTINE, or EXECUTE FUNCTION statement. end-user routine. A user-defined routine (UDR)
that performs a task within an SQL statement
Dynamic Server instance. The set of processes, that the existing built-in routines do not perform.
storage spaces, and shared memory that together Examples of tasks include encapsulating multiple
comprise a complete database server. A single SQL statements, creating trigger actions, and
Dynamic Server instance can support more than restricting who can access database objects.
one database.
environment variable. A variable that the
dynamic SQL. The statements and structures operating system maintains for each user and
that allow a program to form an SQL statement makes available to all programs that the user
at runtime, so that portions of the statement can runs.
be determined by user input.
error log. A file that receives error information
dynamic statements. The SQL statements that whenever a program runs.
are specified at runtime (when the program is
executed), rather than when the program is error message. A message that is associated
compiled. You can use the PREPARE statement with a (usually negative) number. IBM Informix
to create dynamic SQL statements. applications display error messages on the screen
or write them to files.
EBCDIC. Acronym for Extended Binary Coded
Decimal Interchange Code, a 256-element 8-bit error trapping. See exception handling.
character set, originally designed for IBM
mainframe computers. escape character. A character that indicates that
the next character, normally interpreted by the
element. A member of a collection, such as a program as having special significance, is to be
LIST, MULTISET, or SET data type. An element processed as a literal character instead. The
can be a value of any built-in data type, opaque escape character precedes the special character
data type, distinct data type, named row type, (such as a wildcard or delimiter) to “escape”
unnamed row type, or collection data type. (that is, ignore) the special significance.

D-12 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

escape key. The physical key of a keyboard, columns from which the query returns values.
usually marked ESC, that is used to terminate (The projection list is sometimes called the select
one mode and start another mode in most UNIX list.)
and DOS systems.
explicit transaction. A transaction that is
ESQL/C Smart Large-Object API. An API of C initiated by the BEGIN WORK statement. This
routines that an IBM Informix ESQL/C client type of transaction is available only in non-ANSI
application can use to access smart large objects as compliant databases that support logging. See
operating-system files. The ESQL/C Smart also implicit transaction and singleton implicit
Large-Object API is part of the IBM Informix transaction.
ESQL/C SQL API. You can also access smart
large objects with a set of functions in the exponent. The power to which a value is to be
DataBlade API. raised.

exception. An error or warning that the express mode. An Extended Parallel Server
database server returns, or a state that a SPL method of loading or unloading data that uses
statement initiates. light appends.

exception handling. The code in a program that expression. A specification that the database
anticipates and reacts to runtime errors and server can evaluate. This can include literal
warnings. Also referred to as error handling or values, constants, column values, functions,
error trapping. quoted strings, operators, and parentheses (as
delimiters). A Boolean expression evaluates as
exclusive access. Sole access to a database or TRUE, FALSE, or UNKNOWN. An arithmetic
table by a user. Other users are prevented from expression can contain the arithmetic operators
using it. (+, -, ¥, /, and so on) and returns a number.

exclusive lock. A lock on an object (row, page, expression-based fragmentation. A distribution

table, or database) that is held by a single thread scheme that distributes rows to fragments
that prevents other processes from acquiring a according to a user-specified expression that is
lock of any kind on the same object. defined in the WHERE clause of an SQL
statement.
executable file. A file that contains code that
can be executed directly. A C-language object file extended data type. A term used to refer to
can be an executable file; it contains the data types that are not built in; namely complex
machine-level instructions that correspond to the data types, opaque data types, and distinct data
C-language source file. types.

execute. To run a statement, program, routine, or extent. A continuous segment of disk space that
a set of instructions. See also executable file. a database server allocated to a tblspace (a table).
The user can specify both the initial extent size
explicit cast. A user-defined cast that a user for a table and the size of all subsequent extents
explicitly invokes with the CAST AS keyword or that a database server allocates to the table.
cast operator ( :: ). See also implicit cast.
external function. An external routine that
explicit connection. A connection made to a returns a single value.
database environment that uses the CONNECT
statement. See also implicit connection. external procedure. An external routine that does
not return a value.
explicit projection list. In a SELECT statement,
a projection list that does not use the asterisk ( * external routine. A user-defined routine that is
) notation, but explicitly lists the names of the written in an external language that the database

Glossary D-13
supports. These external languages include the C file server. A network node that manages a set
and Java languages. The routine names, of disks and provides storage services to
parameters, and other information are registered computers on the network.
in the system catalog tables of a database.
However, the executable code of an external filename extension. The part of a filename
routine is stored outside the database. An following the period. For example, DB–Access
external routine can be an external function or an appends the extension .sql to command files.
external procedure.
filter. A set of conditions (sometimes called a
external space. Storage space that a predicate) for selecting rows or records. In an SQL
user-defined access method manages rather than query, the conditional expression in the WHERE
the database server. The IN clause of the clause is a filter that controls the active set of the
CREATE TABLE and CREATE INDEX statements query. The High-Performance Loader (HPL) uses
can specify the name of an external space instead a filter component to screen data before loading
of a dbspace. it into a database.

external table. A database table that is not in filtering mode. An object mode of a database
the current database. It might or might not be in object, causing bad rows to be written to the
a database that the same database server violations table during DML operations. During
manages. DML operations, the database server enforces
requirements of a constraint or of a unique index
extspace. (Not for Extended Parallel Server) A that is in this mode and identifies any rows that
logical name associated with an arbitrary string would violate the requirement.
that signifies the location of external data. Access
its contents with a user-defined access method. fixchar. A character data type in ESQL/C
programs, for fixed-length character strings that
family name. A quoted string constant that are padded (as needed) with trailing blanks, and
specifies a family name in the optical family. See not NULL-terminated.
also optical family.
fixed-point number. A number where the
fault tolerance. See high availability. decimal point is fixed at a specific place
regardless of the value of the number.
fetch. The action of moving a cursor to a new
row and retrieving the row values into memory. flag. A command-line option, usually indicated
by a minus ( - ) sign in UNIX systems. For
fetch buffer. A buffer in the application process example, in DB–Access the -e flag echoes input
that the database server uses to send fetched row to the screen.
data (except TEXT and BYTE data) to the
application. flexible temporary table. An explicit temporary
table that Extended Parallel Server automatically
field. A component of a named row type or fragments using a round-robin distribution
unnamed row type that contains a name and a data scheme.
type and can be accessed in an SQL statement by
using dot notation in the form row type name.field floating-point number. A number with fixed
name. See also column. precision (total number of digits) and undefined
scale (number of digits to the right of the
file. A collection of related information stored decimal point). The decimal point floats as
together on a system, such as the words in a appropriate to represent an assigned value.
letter or report, a computer program, or a listing
of data. foreign key. A column or set of columns that
references a unique or primary key in a table.
For every entry in a foreign-key column

D-14 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

containing only non-NULL values, there must generalized-key (GK) index. A type of index
exist a matching entry in the unique or primary for static tables with Extended Parallel Server
column. that can speed certain queries by storing the
result of an expression as a key in a B+ tree or
format. A description of the organization of a bitmap index. Three types of GK index are
data file. See also component. selective, virtual column, and join.
formatting character. For XPS, a percent sign (%) gigabyte. A unit of storage, equal to 1024
followed by a letter (c, n, o, or r). In a command megabytes or 10243 bytes.
line, Extended Parallel Server expands the
formatting character to designate multiple Global Language Support (GLS). A feature that
coserver numbers (%c), multiple nodes (%n), enables Informix APIs and database servers to
multiple ordinal numbers designating dbspaces support different languages, cultural conventions,
(%d), or a range of dbspaces (%r). and code sets. For information about the GLS
feature, see the IBM Informix: GLS User's Guide.
fragment. See index fragment and table
fragment. global variable. A variable or identifier whose
scope of reference is all modules of a program.
fragment elimination. The process of applying Compare with local variable.
a filter predicate to the fragmentation strategy of
a table or index and removing the fragments that globally detached index. For Extended Parallel
do not apply to the operation. Server, a type of index that has a fragmentation
strategy that is independent of the table
fragmentation. The process of defining groups fragmentation and where the database server
of rows within a table based on a rule and then cannot verify that each index row resides on the
storing these groups, or fragments, in separate same coserver as the referenced data row. You
dbspaces that you specify when you create a can use an expression, system-defined hash, or
table or index fragmentation strategy. hybrid distribution scheme to create globally
detached indexes for any table. See also locally
full checkpoint. A type of checkpoint where the detached index.
pages on disk are synchronized with the pages in
the shared-memory buffer pool. GLS. See Global Language Support (GLS).
function. A routine that returns one or more GLS API. A legacy acronym for IBM Informix
values. See also user-defined function. GLS. An API of C routines that a C-language
external routine can use to access IBM Informix
function cursor. A cursor that is associated with GLS locales. This API also includes functions that
an EXECUTE FUNCTION statement, which obtain culture-specific collation, and time, date,
executes routines that return values. See also number, and currency formats and functions that
cursor function. provide a uniform way of accessing character
data, regardless of whether the locale is
function overloading. See routine overloading.
left-to-right or bidirectional or supports
fuzzy checkpoint. A type of checkpoint where single-byte characters or multibyte characters.
only certain pages on disk are synchronized with
hash fragmentation. See system-defined hash
the pages in the shared-memory buffer pool, and
fragmentation.
the logical log is used to synchronize the rest of
the pages during fast recovery. hash rule. A user-defined algorithm that maps
each row in a table to a set of hash values and
gateway. A device that establishes data
that is used to determine the fragment in which
communications between networks.
a row is stored.

Glossary D-15
header file. A source file that contains the home page does not change. The home page
declarations for variables, constants, and macros that contains a forward pointer to the new location of
a particular group of modules or programs share. the data row. See also remainder page.

help message. Online text displayed host variable. An SQL API program variable
automatically or at the request of the user to that you use in an embedded statement to
assist the user in interactive programs. Such transfer information between the SQL API
messages are stored in help files. program and the database.

heterogeneous commit. A protocol governing a HPL. See High-Performance Loader.

group of database servers, of which at least one
is a gateway participant. It ensures the hybrid fragmentation. A distribution scheme
all-or-nothing basis of distributed transactions in that lets the user specify two fragmentation
a heterogeneous environment. See also two-phase methods. Usually one method is used globally
commit. and one method is used locally.

hierarchy. A tree-like data structure in which identifier. In the default locale, a sequence of
some groups of data are subordinate to others letters, digits, and underscores (_) that is the
such that only one group (called root) exists at unqualified name of a database, storage, or
the highest level, and each group except root is program object. (Additional characters are valid
related to only one parent group on a higher in other locales or if the DELIMIDENT variable
level. is set.)

high availability. The ability of a system to implicit transaction. A transaction that begins
resist failure and data loss. High availability implicitly after the COMMIT WORK or
includes features such as fast recovery and ROLLBACK WORK statement. This is the only
mirroring. It is sometimes referred to as fault type of transaction that ANSI-compliant
tolerance. databases support, but it is also available for
other databases that support logging. See also
High-Performance Loader. The explicit transaction and singleton implicit
High-Performance Loader (HPL) utility is part of transaction.
Dynamic Server. The HPL loads and unloads
data using parallel access to devices. See also implicit cast. A built-in or user-defined cast that
external table. the database server automatically invokes to
perform data-type conversion. See also explicit
highlight. A rectangular inverse-video area cast.
marking your place on the screen. A highlight
can indicate the current option on a menu or the implicit connection. A connection that is made
current character in an editing session. If a using the DATABASE, CREATE DATABASE,
terminal cannot display highlighting, the current START DATABASE, or DROP DATABASE
option can appear in angle ( < > ) brackets, with statement. See also explicit connection.
the current character underlined.
implicit projection list. In a SELECT statement,
hold cursor. A cursor that is created using the using the asterisk ( * ) wildcard symbol so that a
WITH HOLD keywords. A hold cursor remains query returns values from all columns of the
open past the end of a transaction. It allows table. The projection list is sometimes called the
uninterrupted access to a set of rows across “select list,” because it immediately follows the
multiple transactions. SELECT keyword.

home page. The page that contains the first byte

of the data row, specified by the rowid. Even if a
data row outgrows its original storage location,

D-16 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

incremental archiving. A system of archiving inheritance. The process that allows an object to
that allows the option to archive only those parts acquire the properties of another object.
of the data that have changed since the last Inheritance allows for incremental modification,
archive was created. so that an object can inherit a general set of
properties and add properties that are specific to
independent subquery. A subquery that has no itself. See also type inheritance and table
relationship to or dependency on any of its inheritance.
parent queries. It needs to be evaluated only
once and the results can be used thereafter. In initialize. To prepare for execution. To initialize
independent subqueries, both the parent and a variable, you assign it a starting value. To
subquery are parallelized. See also correlated initialize the database server, you start its
subquery and subquery. operation.

index. A structure of entries, each of which inmigration. The process by which Optical
contains a value or values and a pointer to the Subsystem migrates TEXT and BYTE data from
corresponding location in a table or smart large the optical storage subsystem into the Dynamic
object. An index might improve the performance Server environment.
of database queries by ordering a table according
to key column values or by providing access to inner join. A query that symmetrically
data inside of large objects. combines rows from two or more tables. See also
simple inner join.
index fragment. Consists of zero or more index
items grouped together, which can be stored in input. The information that is received from an
the same dbspace as the associated table external source (for example, from the keyboard,
fragment or in a separate dbspace. An index a file, or another program) and processed by a
fragment also might occupy an sbspace or an program.
extspace.
input parameter. In a prepared SQL statement,
Informix user ID. A login user ID (login user a value, represented by a “?” placeholder
name or authorization identifier) that must be valid symbol, that must be provided when the
on all computer systems (operating systems) prepared statement is executed.
involved in the client’s database access. Often
referred to as the client’s user ID. This need not insert cursor. A cursor for insert operations,
refer to a fully functional user account on the associated with an INSERT statement. Allows
computer system; only the user identity bulk insert data to be buffered in memory and
components of the user account information are written to disk.
significant to Informix database servers. A given
installation. The loading of software from some
user typically has the same Informix user ID on
medium (tape, cartridge, removable disk, or CD)
all networked computer systems involved in the
onto a computer, and preparing the software for
database access. The authorization identifier
use.
informix is required for some database objects
and operations. interactive. An aspect of a program that accepts
input from the user, processes the input, and
Informix user password. A user ID password
then produces output on the screen, in a file, or
that must be valid on all computer systems
on a printer.
(operating systems) involved in the client’s
database access. When the client specifies an internationalization. The process of making
explicit user ID, most computer systems require IBM Informix products easily adaptable to the
the Informix user password. conventions of various cultures and natural
languages. Among other features,
internationalized software can support

Glossary D-17
culturally-specific collation and date, time, and ISO8859-1. A code set that contains 256
money formats. See also IBM Informix Guide to single-byte characters. Characters 0 through 127
GLS Functionality. are the ASCII characters. Characters 128 through
255 are mostly non-English characters from
interquery parallelization. The ability to European languages; for example, é, ñ and ö.
process multiple queries simultaneously to avoid
a performance delay when multiple independent isolation. When multiple users attempt to
queries access the same table. See also intraquery access common data, the level of independence
parallelization. specifically relating to the locking strategy for
read-only SQL requests. The various levels of
interrupt. A signal from a user or another isolation are distinguished primarily by the
process that can stop the current process length of time that shared locks are (or can be)
temporarily or permanently. See also signal. acquired and held. You can set the isolation level
with the SET ISOLATION or SET
interrupt key. A key used to cancel or abort a TRANSACTION statement.
program or to leave a current menu and return
to the menu one level above. On many systems, iterator function. A cursor function that returns
the interrupt key is CONTROL-C; on some a data set by successive calls. It can be written in
others, the interrupt key is DEL or C or Java or can be an SPL routine that includes
CONTROL-Break. RETURN WITH RESUME.
intraquery parallelization. Breaking of a single jagged rows. A query result in which rows
query into subqueries by a database server using differ in the number and type of columns they
PDQ and then processing the subqueries in contain because the query applies to more than
parallel. Parallel processing of this type has one table in a table hierarchy.
important implications when each subquery
retrieves data from a fragment of a table. Because join. The process of combining information
each partial query operates on a smaller amount from two or more tables based on some common
of data, the retrieval time is significantly reduced domain of information. Rows from one table are
and performance is improved. See also interquery paired with rows from another table when
parallelization. information in the corresponding rows match on
the joining criterion. For example, if a
IPX/SPX. Acronym for Internetwork Packet customer_num column exists in the customer
Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange. It refers and the orders tables, you can construct a query
to the NetWare network protocol by Novell. that pairs each customer row with all the
associated orders rows based on the common
ISAM. Acronym for Indexed Sequential Access customer_num. See also Cartesian product and
Method. This allows you to find information in a outer join.
specific order or to find specific items of
information quickly through an index. See also join index. A type of generalized-key (GK)
access method. index that contains keys that are the result of a
query that joins multiple tables.
ISAM error. Operating system or file access
error. jukebox. A physical storage device that consists
of one or more optical-disc drives, slots for
ISO. Acronym for the International Standards platters, optical platters, and a robotic arm to
Organization. ISO sets worldwide standards for transfer platters between the slots and the drives.
the computer industry, including standards for A jukebox is also known as an autochanger.
character input and manipulation, code sets, and
SQL syntax. kernel. Operating system component that
controls processes and resource allocation.

D-18 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

key. The items of information that are used to link. A way of combining separately compiled
locate a row of data. A key defines the pieces of program modules, usually into an executable
information for which you want to search as well program. Compare with compile and execute.
as the order in which you want to process
information in a table. For example, you can LIST. A collection data type created with the LIST
index the last_name column in a customer table constructor in which elements are ordered and
to find specific customers or to process the duplicates are allowed.
customers in alphabetical order (or in reverse
alphabetical order) by their last names (when literal. The representation of a data type value
last_name serves as the key). in a format that the database server accepts in
data-entry operations. For example, 234 is a
keyword. A word that has a predefined literal integer and “abcd” is a literal character.
meaning in a programming language. For
example, the word SELECT is a keyword in SQL. little-endian. A hardware-determined storage
method in which the least-significant byte of a
kilobyte. A unit of storage that consists of 1024 multibyte number has the lowest address. See
bytes. also big-endian.

Language Supplement. An IBM Informix load job. The information required to load data
product that provides the locale files and error into a relational database using the HPL. This
messages to support one or more languages. The information includes the format, map, filter,
International Language Supplement supports device array, project, and special options.
several European languages. IBM Informix
provides separate Language Supplements for local copy. For Extended Parallel Server, a
several Asian languages. replica of a table on a local coserver that is
copied to multiple coservers. This allows faster
large object. A data object that is logically access to the data for OLTP transactions
stored in a column of a table, but physically connected to those coservers because you do not
stored independently of the column, due to its have to send the data across the communication
size. Large objects can be simple large objects links between coservers.
(TEXT, BYTE) or smart large objects (BLOB,
CLOB). local loopback. A connection between the client
application and database server that uses a
leaf node. Index page containing index items network connection even though the client
and horizontal pointers to other leaf nodes. A application and the database server are on the
database server creates leaf nodes when the root same computer.
node becomes full.
local variable. A variable or identifier whose
level of isolation . See isolation. scope of reference is only within the routine in
which it is defined. Compare with global variable.
library. A group of precompiled routines
designed to perform tasks that are common to a locale. A set of Informix files that specify the
given kind of application. An application linguistic conventions for a country, region,
programming interface (API) can include a culture, or language. IBM Informix products
library of routines that you can call from provide predefined locales that customers cannot
application programs. See also dynamic link modify. A locale provides the name of the code
library (DLL), shared library, and shared-object set that the application data uses, the collation
file. order to use for character data, and the end-user
format. See also client locale, database locale,
light append. An unbuffered, unlogged insert default locale, server locale, and
operation. server-processing locale.

Glossary D-19
localized order. A collation order other than system failures, and restore databases from
code-set order, if defined for a locale. Only archives. See also physical log.
NCHAR and NVARCHAR data values are
collated in a localized order. Database objects login. The process of identifying oneself to a
collate in their creation-time order, if this is not computer.
the runtime order.
login password. See Informix user password.
locally-detached index. For Extended Parallel
Server, a type of index that has a fragmentation login user ID. See Informix user ID.
strategy that is independent of the table
logslice. A dbslice whose contents are
fragmentation but where the database server
comprised solely of logical-log files. The
recognizes that each index row resides on the
logical-log files in the logslice can be owned by
same co-server as the referenced data row. You
multiple coservers, one log file per dbspace. See
can use an expression, system-defined hash, or
also dbslice, rootslice, and physslice.
hybrid distribution scheme to create locally
detached indexes for any table. See also LVARCHAR. A built-in data type that stores
globally-detached index. varying-length character data of up to 32
kilobytes.
lock coupling. A locking feature that holds a
lock on the child node until a lock is obtained on macro. A named set of instructions that the
the parent node during upward movement when computer substitutes when it encounters the
updating an R-tree index. Lock coupling is used name in source code.
if the bounding box of a leaf node has changed.
You must propagate the change to the parent mantissa. The significant digits in a
node by moving upwards in the tree until you floating-point number.
reach a parent node that needs no change.
map. A description of the relation between the
lock mode. An option to specify whether a user records of a data file and the columns of a
who requests a lock on an already locked object relational database. See also component.
waits until the object is released to receive the
lock, or immediately receives an error, or waits massively parallel processing system. A system
for some span of time before receiving an error. composed of multiple computers that are
connected to a single high-speed communication
locking. A concurrency feature temporarily subsystem. MPP computers can be partitioned
limiting access to an object (database, table, page, into nodes. Compare with symmetric
or row) to prevent conflicting interactions among multiprocessing system.
concurrent processes. An exclusive lock restricts
read and write access to only one user; a shared megabyte. A unit of storage that equals 1024
lock allows read-only access to other users. An kilobytes or 10242 bytes.
update lock begins as a shared lock, but is
upgraded to an exclusive lock after a row is Memory Grant Manager (MGM). (Not for
changed. Extended Parallel Server) A database server
component that coordinates the use of memory
locking granularity. The size of a locked object. and I/O bandwidth for decision-support queries.
The size can be a database, table, page, or row. MGM uses the DS_MAX_QUERIES,
DS_TOTAL_MEMORY, DS_MAX_SCANS, and
logical log. An allocation of disk space that the PDQPRIORITY configuration parameters to
database server manages that contains records of determine what resources can or cannot be
all changes that were performed on a database granted to a decision-support query.
during the period when the log was active. It is
used to roll back transactions, recover from

D-20 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

menu. A screen display that allows you to native character. See national character.
choose the commands that you want the
computer to perform. National Language Support (NLS). A feature
that supports single-byte code sets, using
MGM. Acronym for Memory Grant Manager. NCHAR and NVARCHAR columns to store
non-English character strings. This technology
mirroring. Storing the same data on two chunks has been superseded on IBM Informix databases
simultaneously. If one chunk fails, the data by Global Language Support (GLS).
values are still usable on the other chunk in the
mirrored pair. The database server administrator NLS. See National Language Support (NLS).
handles this data storage option.
node. (1) In the context of an index for a
MODE ANSI. The keywords specified on the database, a node is an ordered group of key
CREATE DATABASE or START DATABASE values having a fixed number of elements. (A
statement to make a database ANSI compliant. key is a value from a data record.) A B-tree for
example, is a set of nodes that contain keys and
monochrome. A term that describes a monitor pointers arranged in a hierarchy. See also branch
that can display only one color. node, leaf node, and root node. (2) In the context
of a MPP system, a node is an individual
MPP. Acronym for massively parallel processing computer. See also massively parallel processing
system. system. (3) In the context of a SMP system, a
node can either be the entire SMP computer or a
multibyte character. A character that might
fully functioning subsystem that uses a portion
require from two to four bytes of storage. If a
of the hardware resources of that SMP system.
language contains more than 256 characters, the
See also symmetric multiprocessing system. (4)
code set must contain multibyte characters. With
For Extended Parallel Server, a node is an
a multibyte code set, an application cannot
individual computer with one or more CPUs that
assume that one character requires only one byte
runs a single instance of an operating system
of storage. See also single-byte character.
within a parallel-processing platform. A node can
multiplexed connection. A single network be a uniprocessor, a cluster of stand-alone
connection between a database server and a computers, an SMP computer, or an independent
client application that handled multiple database subsystem configured within an SMP computer.
connections from the client.
non-ASCII character. A character that is not
MULTISET. A collection data type created with match any of the 128 code points in the ASCII
the MULTISET constructor in which elements are character set. Non-ASCII characters include 8-bit
not ordered and duplicates are allowed. characters and multibyte characters.

multithreading. Running of multiple threads noncursor function. A user-defined function that

within the same process. See thread. returns a single group of values (one row of
data) and therefore does not require a cursor
named row type. A row type created with the when it is executed. Compare with cursor
CREATE ROW TYPE statement that has a function.
declared name and inheritance properties and can
be used to construct a typed table. nonvariant function. A user-defined function
that always returns the same value when passed
national character. In National Language the same arguments. A nonvariant function must
Support (NLS), a character from the written form not contain SQL statements. Compare with variant
of a natural language that can be stored in an function.
NCHAR or NVARCHAR column. Sometimes
called a native character.

Glossary D-21
NOT NULL constraint. A constraint on a opaque-type support function. One of a group
column that specifies that the column cannot of user-defined functions that the database server
contain NULL values. uses to perform operations on opaque data types
(such as converting between the internal and
NULL. A keyword of SQL, indicating that a external representations of the type).
value is unknown, missing, or not applicable. (A
NULL value is not the same as a value of zero or open. The process of making a resource
blank.) available, such as preparing a file for access,
activating a column, or initiating a window.
object. See database object.
operational table. A logging permanent table
object mode. The state of a database object as that uses light appends for fast update
recorded in the sysobjstate system catalog table. operations. Operational tables do not perform
A constraint or unique index can be in enabled, record-by-record logging.
disabled, or filtering mode. A trigger or duplicate
index can be in enabled or disabled mode. You operator. In an SQL statement, a keyword (such
use SET statements to change the mode of an as UNITS or UNION) or a symbol (such as =, >,
object. <,+, -, or *) that invokes an operator function. The
operands to the operator are arguments to the
object-relational database. A database that adds operator function.
object-oriented features to a relational database,
including support for user-defined data types, operator binding. The implicit invocation of an
user-defined routines, user-defined casts, operator function when an operator is used in an
user-defined access methods, and inheritance. SQL statement.

OLTP. Acronym for Online Transaction operator class. An association of operator-class

Processing. See also online transaction processing functions with a secondary access method. The
application. database server uses an operator class to
optimize queries and build an index of that
online transaction processing application. secondary access method.
Characterized by quick, indexed access to a small
number of data items. The applications are operator-class function. One of the
typically multiuser, and response times are operator-class support functions or operator-class
measured in fractions of seconds. See also strategy functions that constitute an operator class.
decision-support application. For user-defined operator classes, the
operator-class functions are user-defined functions.
online transaction processing queries. The
transactions that OLTP applications handle are operator-class strategy function. An
usually simple and predefined. A typical OLTP operator-class function that can appear as a filter in
system is an order-entry system where only a a query. The query optimizer uses the strategy
limited number of rows are accessed by a single functions to determine if an index of a particular
transaction many times. See also decision-support secondary access method can be used to process the
query. filter. You register operator-class strategy
functions in the STRATEGIES clause of the
opaque data type. A data type whose inner CREATE OPCLASS statement.
structure is not visible to the database server.
Opaque types that are not built-in need operator-class support function. An
user-defined routines and user-defined operators that operator-class function that a secondary access
work on them. Synonym for base type and method uses to build or search an index. You
user-defined base type. register operator-class support functions in the
SUPPORT clause of the CREATE OPCLASS
statement.

D-22 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

operator function. A function that processes one pad. Usually, to fill empty places at the
or more arguments (its operands) and returns a beginning or end of a line, string, or field with
value. Many operator functions have spaces or blanks when the input is shorter than
corresponding operators, such as plus() and +. the field.
You can overload an operator function so that it
handles a user-defined data type. See also routine page. The physical unit of disk storage and
overloading. basic unit of memory storage that the database
server uses to read from and write to Informix
optical cluster. An amount of space on an databases. Page size is fixed for a particular
optical disc that is reserved for storing a group operating system and platform. A page is always
of logically related simple large objects or smart entirely contained within a chunk. See also home
large objects. page and remainder page.

optical family. A group of optical discs, parallel database query. The execution of SQL
theoretically unlimited in number. queries in parallel rather than sequential order.
The tasks a query requires are distributed across
optical platter. A removable optical disc that several processors. This type of distribution
stores data in an optical storage subsystem. enhances database performance.
optical statements. The SQL statements that parallel-processing platform. A
you use to control optical clustering. parallel-processing platform is a set of
independent computers that operate in parallel
optical volume. One side of a removable and communicate over a high-speed network,
Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) optical disc. bus, or interconnect. See also symmetric
multiprocessing system and massively parallel
outer join. An asymmetric joining of a
processing system.
dominant (outer) table and one or more
“subservient” tables in a query, where the values parallelism. Ability of an Informix database
for the outer table are preserved even if no server to process a task in parallel by breaking
matching rows exist in the subservient table. In the task into subtasks and processing the
the result set, any outer-table row that has no subtasks simultaneously, thus improving
matching row in the subservient table has NULL performance.
values in the columns selected from the
subservient table. parameter. A variable that is given a value for a
specified application. In the signature of a
outmigration. The process by which Optical user-defined routine, a parameter serves as a
Subsystem migrates TEXT or BYTE data from the placeholder for an argument. The parameter
Dynamic Server environment to an optical specifies the data type of the value that the
storage subsystem. user-defined routine expects when it receives the
associated argument at runtime. See also
output. The result that the computer produces
configuration file, input parameter, and routine
in response to a query or a request for a report.
signature.
overloading. See routine overloading.
parent-child relationship. See referential
owner-privileged. A class of SPL routines that constraint.
any user can create who has Resource database
parent table. The referenced table in a
privileges.
referential constraint. See also child table.
packed decimal. A storage format that
represents either two decimal digits or a sign
and one decimal digit in each byte.

Glossary D-23
participating coserver. A coserver that controls precision. The total number of significant digits
one or more fragments of a table that Extended in a real number, both to the right and left of the
Parallel Server accesses. See also coserver and decimal point. For example, the number
connection coserver. 1437.2305 has a precision of 8. See also scale.

partition. See table fragment. predefined opaque data type. An opaque data
type for which the database server provides the
pattern. An identifiable or repeatable series of data type definition. See also BLOB, BOOLEAN,
characters or symbols. CLOB, LVARCHAR, and pointer.
PDQ. Acronym for parallel database query. predicate. See filter.
PDQ priority. Determines the amount of predicate lock. A lock held on index keys that
resources that a database server allocates to qualifies for a predicate. In a predicate lock,
process a query in parallel. These resources exclusive predicates consist of a single key value,
include memory, threads (such as scan threads), and shared predicates consist of a query
and sort space. The level of parallelism is rectangle and a scan operation such as inclusion
established by using the PDQPRIORITY or overlap.
environment variable or various database server
configuration parameters (including prepared statement. An SQL statement that is
PDQPRIORITY and MAX_PDQPRIORITY) or generated by the PREPARE statement from a
dynamically through the SET PDQPRIORITY character string or from a variable that contains a
statement. character string. This feature allows you to form
your request while the program is executing
permission. On some operating systems, the without having to modify and recompile the
right to access files and directories. program.
phantom row. A row of a table that is initially preprocessor. A program that takes high-level
modified or inserted during a transaction but is programs and produces code that a standard
subsequently rolled back. Another user can see a language compiler such as C can compile.
phantom row if the isolation level is Informix
Dirty Read or ANSI compliant Read primary access method. An access method
Uncommitted. No other isolation level allows a whose routines access a table with such operations
user to see a changed but uncommitted row. as inserting, deleting, updating, and scanning.
See also secondary access method.
physical log. A set of contiguous disk pages in
shared memory where the database server stores primary key. The information from a column or
an unmodified copy (before-image) of pages set of columns that uniquely identifies each row
before the changed pages are recorded. The in a table. The primary key sometimes is called a
pages in the physical log can be any database unique key.
server page except a blobspace blobpage.
primary-key constraint. Specifies that each
physslice. A dbslice that contains the physical entry in a column or set of columns contains a
log. See also dbslice, logslice, and rootslice. unique non-NULL value.

pointer. A value that specifies the address in printable character. A character that can be
memory of the data or variable, rather than the displayed on a terminal, screen, or printer.
contents of the data or variable. Printable characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and
punctuation marks. Compare with control
polymorphism. See routine overloading and character.
type substitutability.

D-24 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

privilege. The right to use or change the R-tree index. (Not for Extended Parallel Server)
contents of a database, table, table fragment, or A type of index that uses a tree structure based
column. See also access privileges. on overlapping bounding rectangles to speed
access to spatial and multidimensional data
procedure. A routine that does not return types. See also bitmap index and B-tree index.
values. See also user-defined procedure.
range fragmentation. A distribution scheme
procedure overloading . See routine that distributes data in table fragments that
overloading. contain a specified key range. This technique can
eliminate scans of table fragments that do not
process. A discrete task, generally a program, contain the required rows, making queries faster.
that the operating system executes.
range rule. A user-defined algorithm for
project. A group of related components that the expression-based fragmentation. It defines the
High-Performance Loader (HPL) uses. See also boundaries of each fragment in a table using
component. SQL relational and logical operators. Expressions
in a range rule can use the following restricted
projection. Taking a subset of the columns in a
set of operators: >, <, >=, <=, and the logical
table. Projection is implemented through the
operator AND.
Projection clause of the SELECT statement and
returns some of the columns and all the raw device. See unbuffered disk I/O.
qualifying rows of a table. The set of columns in
the Projection clause is sometimes called the raw disk. See unbuffered disk I/O.
“select list.” See also selection and join.
raw table. A nonlogged permanent table that
promotable lock . A lock that can be changed uses light appends.
from a shared lock to an exclusive lock. See also
update lock. Read Committed. A level of isolation that the
SET TRANSACTION statement can specify, in
protocol. A set of conventions that governs which a user can view rows that are currently
communication among computers. These committed at the moment of the query request,
conventions govern format, timing, sequencing, but cannot view rows that were changed as part
and error control. of a currently uncommitted transaction. This is
the default isolation level for databases that are
query. A request to the database to retrieve data not ANSI compliant. See also Committed Read.
that meet certain criteria, usually made with the
SELECT statement. Read Uncommitted. An ANSI-compliant level
of isolation, set with the SET TRANSACTION
query optimization information statements. statement, that does not account for locks. This
The SQL statements that are used to optimize the allows a user to view any existing rows, even
performance of queries. These statements include rows that can be altered within currently
SET EXPLAIN, SET OPTIMIZATION, and uncommitted transactions. Read Uncommitted is
UPDATE STATISTICS. the lowest level of isolation (no isolation at all),
and is thus the most efficient. See also Dirty Read.
query unnesting. An execution strategy for
nested SQL subqueries whereby Extended real user ID. See Informix user ID.
Parallel Server rewrites such subqueries to use
modified joins rather than iteration mechanisms. record. See row.
The sqexplain.out file reflects the query plan that
has been selected after subquery unnesting has
occurred.

Glossary D-25
Record-ID. A four-byte RSAM entity, also remote server. See subordinate server.
known as RID, that describes the logical position
of the record within a fragment. Not the same as remote table. In a distributed query, a table in a
rowid. database of a server that is not the local database
server. See also coordinating server, subordinate
recover a database. To restore a database to a server.
former condition after a system failure or other
destructive event. The recovery restores the Repeatable Read. An Informix and ANSI level
database as it existed immediately before the of isolation available with the Informix SET
failure. ISOLATION statement or the ANSI compliant
SET TRANSACTION statement, which ensures
referential constraint. The relationship between that all data values read during a transaction are
columns within a table or between tables; also not modified during the entire transaction.
known as a parent-child relationship. Referencing Transactions under ANSI Repeatable Read are
columns are also known as foreign keys. also known as Serializable. Informix Repeatable
Read is the default level of isolation for ANSI
registering. In a database, the process of storing compliant databases. See also isolation and
information about a database object in the system Serializable.
catalog tables of a database. Most SQL data
definition statements perform some type of reserved pages. The first 12 pages of the initial
registration. For example, the CREATE chunk of the root dbspace. Each reserved page
FUNCTION and CREATE PROCEDURE stores specific control and tracking information
statements register a user-defined routine in a that the database server uses.
database.
reserved word. A word in a statement or
relation. See table. command that you cannot use in any other
context of the language or program without
relational database. A database that uses table receiving a warning or error message.
structures to store data. Data in a relational
database is divided across tables in such a way restore a database. See recover a database.
that additions and modifications to the data can
be made easily without loss of information. role. A classification or work task, such as
payroll, that the DBA assigns. Assignment of
relational database server. A database server roles makes management of privileges
that manages data values that are stored in rows convenient.
and columns.
role separation. (Not for Extended Parallel
remainder page. A page that accommodates Server) A database server installation option that
subsequent bytes of a long data row. If the allows different users to perform different
trailing portion of a data row is less than a full administrative tasks.
page, it is stored on a remainder page. After the
database server creates a remainder page for a roll back. The process that reverses an action or
long row, it can use the remaining space in the series of actions on a database. The database is
page to store other rows. Each full page that returned to the condition that existed before the
follows the home page is referred to as a actions were executed. See also transaction and
big-remainder page. commit work.

remote connection. A connection that requires a root dbspace. The initial dbspace that the
network. database server creates. It contains reserved
pages and internal tables that describe and track
remote routine. A routine in a databases of a all other dbspaces, blobspaces, sbspaces,
remote server. See subordinate server. tblspaces, chunks, and databases.

D-26 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

root node. A single index page that contains database table. In a table of customer
node pointers to branch nodes. The database information, for example, a row contains
server allocates the root node when you create information about a single customer. A row is
an index for an empty table. sometimes referred to as a record or tuple. In an
object-relational model, each row of a table
root supertype. The named row type at the top of stands for one instance of the subject of the table,
a type hierarchy. A root supertype has no supertype which is one particular example of that entity. In
above it. a screen form, a row can refer to a line of the
screen.
rootslice. A dbslice that contains the root
dbspaces for all coservers for Extended Parallel row type. A complex data type that contains one
Server. See also dbslice, logslice, and physslice. or more related data fields, of any data type, that
form a template for a record. The data in a row
round-robin fragmentation. A distribution type can be stored in a row or column. See also
scheme in which the database server distributes named row type and unnamed row type.
rows sequentially and evenly across specified
dbspaces. row variable. An IBM Informix ESQL/C host
variable or SPL variable that holds an entire row
routine. A group of program statements that type and provides access to the individual fields
perform a particular task. A routine can be a of the row.
function or a procedure. All routines can accept
arguments. See also built-in and user-defined rowid. In nonfragmented tables, rowid refers to
routine. an integer that defines the physical location of a
row. Rowids must be explicitly created to be
routine modifier. A keyword in the WITH used in fragmented tables, and they do not
clause of a CREATE FUNCTION, CREATE define a physical location for a row. Rowids in
PROCEDURE, ALTER FUNCTION, ALTER fragmented tables are accessed by an index that
PROCEDURE, or ALTER ROUTINE statement is created when the rowid is created; this access
that specifies a particular attribute or usage of a method is slow. It is recommended that users
user-defined routine. creating new applications move toward using
primary keys as a method of row identification
routine overloading. The ability to assign one
instead of using rowids.
name to multiple user-defined routines and specify
parameters of different data types on which each rule. How a database server or a user
routine can operate. An overloaded routine is determines into which fragment rows are placed.
uniquely defined by its routine signature. The database server determines the rule for
round-robin fragmentation and system-defined hash
routine resolution. The process that the
fragmentation. The user determines the rule for
database server uses to determine which
expression-based fragmentation and hybrid
user-defined routine to execute, based on the
fragmentation. See also arbitrary rule and range
routine signature. See also routine overloading.
rule.
routine signature. The information that the
runtime environment. The hardware and
database server uses to uniquely identify a
operating-system services available at the time a
user-defined routine. The signature includes the
program runs.
type of routine (function or procedure); the
routine name; and the number, order, and data runtime error. An error that occurs during
types of the parameters. See also routine program execution. Compare with compile-time
overloading and specific name. error.
row. A group of related items of information
about a single entity across all columns in a

Glossary D-27
sbspace. (Not for Extended Parallel Server) A audit event data for analysis. (For more details of
logical storage area that contains one or more secure auditing, see the IBM Informix: Trusted
chunks that store only BLOB and CLOB data. Facility Guide.)

scale. The number of digits to the right of the select. See query.
decimal place in DECIMAL notation. The
number 14.2350 has a scale of 4 (four digits to select cursor. A cursor that is associated with a
the right of the decimal point). See also precision. SELECT statement, which lets you scan multiple
rows of data, moving data row by row into a set
scale up. The ability to compensate for an of receiving variables.
increase in query size by adding a corresponding
amount of computer resources so that processing selection. A horizontal subset of the rows of a
time does not also increase. single table that satisfies a specified condition.
Selection is implemented through the WHERE
scan thread. A database server thread that is clause of a SELECT statement and returns some
assigned the task of reading rows from a table. of the rows and all of the columns in a table. See
When a query is executed in parallel, the also projection and join.
database server allocates multiple scan threads to
perform the query in parallel. selective index. A type of generalized-key index
that contains keys for only a subset of a table.
schema. The structure of a database or a table.
The schema for a table lists the names of the selectivity. The proportion of rows within the
columns, their data types, and (where applicable) table that a query filter can pass.
the lengths, indexing, and other information
about the structure of the table. self-join. A join between a table and itself. A
self-join occurs when a table is used two or more
scope of reference. The portion of a routine or times in a SELECT statement (with different
application program where an identifier can be aliases) and joined to itself.
accessed. Three possible scopes exist: local
(applies only in a single statement block), semaphore. An operating-system
modular (applies throughout a single module), communication device that signals a process to
and global (applies throughout the entire awaken.
program). See also local variable and global
sequence. A database object (sometimes called a
variable.
sequence generator) that can generate unique
scroll cursor. A cursor created with the SCROLL integer values in the INT8 range.
keyword that allows you to fetch rows of the
sequential cursor. A cursor that can fetch only
active set in any sequence.
the next row in sequence. A sequential cursor can
secondary access method. An access method read through a table only once each time the
whose routines access an index with such sequential cursor is opened.
operations as inserting, deleting, updating, and
Serializable. An ANSI-compliant level of
scanning. See also operator class and primary
isolation set with the SET TRANSACTION
access method.
statement, ensuring all data read during a
secure auditing. A facility of Informix database transaction is not modified during the entire
servers that lets a database system security transaction. See also isolation and Repeatable
officer (DSSO) monitor unusual or potentially Read.
harmful user activity. Use the onaudit utility to
server locale. The locale that a database server
enable auditing of events and to create audit
uses when it performs its own read and write
masks. Use the onshowaudit utility to extract

D-28 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

operations. The SERVER_LOCALE environment loaded into memory by the operating system as
variable can specify a nondefault locale. See also needed. Several applications can share access to
client locale and locale. the loaded shared-object file. See also dynamic
link library (DLL) and shared library.
server name. The unique name of a database
server, assigned by the database server shelf. The location of an optical platter that is
administrator, that an application uses to select a neither on an optical drive nor in a jukebox slot.
database server.
shuffling. Shuffling refers to the process that
server number. A unique number between 0 occurs when a database server moves rows or
and 255, inclusive, that a database server key values from one fragment to another.
administrator assigns when a database server is Shuffling occurs in a variety of circumstances
initialized. including when you attach, detach, or drop a
fragment.
server-processing locale. The locale that a
database server determines dynamically for a signal. A means of asynchronous
given connection between a client application communication between two processes. For
and a database. See also locale. example, signals are sent when a user or a
program attempts to interrupt or suspend the
session. The structure that is created for an execution of a process.
application using the database server.
signature. See routine signature.
SET. A collection data type created with the SET
type constructor, in which elements are not simple inner join. A join that combines
ordered and duplicate values can be inserted. information from two or more tables based on
the relationship between one column in each
shared library. A shared-object file on a UNIX table. Rows that do not satisfy the join criteria
system. See also dynamic link library (DLL). are discarded from the result. See also composite
join.
shared lock. A lock that more than one thread
can acquire on the same object. Shared locks simple large object. A large object that is stored
allow for greater concurrency with multiple in a blobspace or dbspace is not recoverable and
users; if two users have shared locks on a row, a does not obey transaction isolation modes.
third user cannot change the contents of that row Simple large objects include TEXT and BYTE
until both users (not just the first) release the data types. Extended Parallel Server does not
lock. Shared-locking strategies are used in all support simple large objects that are stored in a
levels of isolation except Informix Dirty Read blobspace.
and ANSI-compliant Read Uncommitted.
simple predicate. A search condition in the
shared memory. A portion of main memory that WHERE clause that has one of the following
is accessible to multiple processes. Shared forms: f(column, constant), f(constant, column),
memory allows multiple processes to or f(column), where f is a binary or unary
communicate and access a common data space in function that returns a Boolean value (TRUE,
memory. Common data does not have to be FALSE, or UNKNOWN).
reread from disk for each process, reducing disk
I/O and improving performance. Also used as single-byte character. A character that uses one
an Inter-Process Communication (IPC) byte of storage. Because a single byte can store
mechanism to communicate between two values in the range of 0 to 255, it can uniquely
processes running on the same computer. identify 256 characters. With these code sets, an
application can assume that one character is
shared-object file. A library that is not linked to always stored in one byte. See also 8-bit character
an application at compile time but instead is and multibyte character.

Glossary D-29
singleton implicit transaction. A name, parameters, executable format, and other
single-statement transaction that does not require information are stored in the system catalog
either a BEGIN WORK or a COMMIT WORK tables of a database. An SPL routine can be an
statement. This type of transaction can occur SPL procedure or an SPL function.
only in a database that is not ANSI compliant,
but that supports transaction logging. See also SPL variable. A variable that is declared with
explicit transaction and implicit transaction. the DEFINE statement in an SPL routine.

singleton select . A SELECT statement that SQL. Acronym for Structured Query Language.
returns a single row. SQL is a database query language that was
developed by IBM and standardized by ANSI.
smart large object. A large object that is stored Informix relational database management
in an sbspace, which has read, write, and seek products are based on an extended
properties similar to a UNIX file, is recoverable, implementation of ANSI-standard SQL.
obeys transaction isolation modes, and can be
retrieved in segments by an application. Smart SQL API. An application programming interface
large objects include BLOB and CLOB data types. that allows you to embed SQL statements
directly in an application. The
SMI. Acronym for system-monitoring interface. embedded-language product IBM Informix
ESQL/C is an example of an SQL API. See also
SMP. See symmetric multiprocessing system. host variable.
source file. A text file that contains instructions SQLCA. Acronym for SQL Communications Area.
in a high-level language, such as C. A C source The SQLCA is a data structure that stores
file is compiled into an executable file called an information about the most recently executed
object file. An SPL source file is compiled into its SQL statement. The result code returned by the
own executable format. See also compile. database server to the SQLCA is used for error
handling by Informix SQL APIs.
source type . The data type from which a
DISTINCT type is derived. sqlda. Acronym for SQL descriptor area. A
dynamic SQL management structure that can be
specific name. A name that you can assign to used with the DESCRIBE statement to store
an overloaded user-defined routine to uniquely information about database columns or host
identify a particular signature of the user-defined variables used in dynamic SQL statements. The
routine. See also routine overloading and routine sqlda structure is an Informix-specific structure
signature. for handling dynamic columns. It is available
only within an IBM Informix ESQL/C program.
speed up. The ability to add computing
See also descriptor and system-descriptor area.
hardware to achieve correspondingly faster
performance for a DSS query or OLTP operation sqlhosts. A file that identifies the types of
of a given volume. connections the database server supports.
SPL. See Stored Procedure Language (SPL). stack operator. Operators that allow programs
to manipulate values that are on the stack.
SPL function. An SPL routine that returns one
or more values. staging-area blobspace. (Not for Extended
Parallel Server) The blobspace where a database
SPL procedure. An SPL routine that does not
server temporarily stores TEXT or BYTE data
return a value.
that is being outmigrated to an optical storage
SPL routine. A user-defined routine that is subsystem.
written in Stored Procedure Language (SPL). Its

D-30 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

statement. A line or set of lines of program subordinate server. Any database server in a
code that describes a single action (for example, distributed query that did not initiate the query.
a SELECT statement or an UPDATE statement). Sometimes called remote server. See also
coordinating server.
statement block. A unit of SPL program code
that performs a particular task and is usually subordinate table. See outer join.
marked by the keywords begin and end. The
statement block of an SPL routine is the smallest subquery. A query that is embedded as part of
scope of reference for program variables. another SQL statement. For example, an INSERT
statement can contain a subquery in which a
statement identifier. An embedded variable SELECT statement supplies the inserted values in
name or SQL statement identifier that represents place of a VALUES clause; an UPDATE statement
a data structure defined in a PREPARE can contain a subquery in which a SELECT
statement. It is used for dynamic SQL statement statement supplies the updating values; or a
management by Informix SQL APIs. SELECT statement can contain a subquery in
which a second SELECT statement supplies the
static table. A nonlogging, read-only permanent qualifying conditions of a WHERE clause for the
table. first SELECT statement. (Parentheses always
delimit a subquery, unless you are referring to a
status variable. A program variable that CREATE VIEW statement or unions.) Subqueries
indicates the status of some aspect of program are always parallelized. See also correlated
execution. Status variables often store error subquery and independent subquery.
numbers or act as flags to indicate that an error
has occurred. subscript. A subscript is an integer-valued offset
into an array. Subscripts can be used to indicate
storage space. A dbspace, blobspace, or sbspace the start or end position in a character data-type
that is used to hold data. variable.
stored procedure. A legacy term for an SPL substring. A portion of a character string.
routine.
subtable. A typed table that inherits properties
Stored Procedure Language (SPL). An Informix (column definitions, constraints, triggers) from a
extension to SQL that provides flow-control supertable above it in the table hierarchy and can
features such as sequencing, branching, and add additional properties.
looping. See also SPL routine.
subtype. A named row type that inherits all
strategy function. See operator-class strategy representation (data fields) and behavior (routines)
function. from a supertype above it in the type hierarchy and
can add additional fields and routines. The
string. A sequence of characters (typically
number of fields in a subtype is always greater
alphanumeric) that is manipulated as a single
than or equal to the number of fields in its
unit. A string might consist of a word (such as
supertype.
‘Smith’), a set of digits representing a number
(such as ‘19543’), or any other collection of supertable. A typed table whose properties
characters. Strings generally are delimited by (constraints, storage options, triggers) are
single quotes. String is also a character data type, inherited by a subtable beneath it in the table
available in IBM Informix ESQL/C programs, in hierarchy. The scope of a query on a supertable is
which the character string is stripped of trailing the supertable and its subtables.
blanks and is NULL terminated.

Glossary D-31
supertype. A named row type whose integers and uses a system-defined algorithm to
representation (data fields) and behavior (routines) distribute data evenly by hashing a specified key.
is inherited by a subtype below it in the type
hierarchy. system-descriptor area. A dynamic SQL
management structure that is used with the
support function. See aggregate support ALLOCATE DESCRIPTOR, DEALLOCATE
function, opaque-type support function, and DESCRIPTOR, DESCRIBE, GET DESCRIPTOR,
operator-class support function. and SET DESCRIPTOR statements to store
information about database columns or host
support routine. See support function. variables used in dynamic SQL statements. The
structure contains an item descriptor for each
symmetric multiprocessing system. A system column; each item descriptor provides
composed of multiple computers that are information such as the name, data type, length,
connected to a single high-speed communication scale, and precision of the column. The
subsystem. An SMP has fewer computers than an system-descriptor area is the X/Open standard
MPP system and cannot be partitioned into for handling dynamic columns. See also
nodes. Compare with massively parallel descriptor and sqlda.
processing system.
system index. An index that the database server
synonym. A name that is assigned to a table, creates to implement a unique constraint or a
view, or sequence and that can be used in place referential constraint. A system index is distinct
of the original name. A synonym does not from a user index, which a user creates explicitly.
replace the original name; instead, it acts as an
alias for the table, view, or sequence. system-monitoring interface. A collection of
tables and pseudo-tables in the sysmaster
sysmaster database. A database on each database that maintains dynamically updated
database server that holds the ON–Archive information about the operation of the database
catalog tables and system-monitoring interface server. The tables are constructed in memory but
(SMI) tables that contain information about the are not recorded on disk. Users can query the
state of the database server. The database server SMI tables with the SELECT statement of SQL.
creates the sysmaster database when it initializes
disk space. table. A rectangular array of data in which each
row describes a single entity and each column
system call. A routine in an operating-system contains the values for each category of
library that programs call to obtain information description. For example, a table can contain the
from the operating system. names and addresses of customers. Each row
corresponds to a different customer and the
system catalog. A group of database tables that
columns correspond to the name and address
contain information about the database itself,
items. A table is sometimes referred to as a base
such as the names of tables or columns in the
table to distinguish it from the views, indexes,
database, the number of rows in a table, the
and other objects defined on the underlying table
information about indexes and database
or associated with it.
privileges, and so on. See also data dictionary.
table fragment. Zero or more rows that are
system-defined cast. A pre-defined cast that is
grouped together and stored in a dbspace that
known to the database server. Each built-in cast
you specify when you create the fragment. A
performs automatic conversion between two
virtual table fragment might reside in an sbspace
different built-in data types.
or an extspace.
system-defined hash fragmentation. An
table fragmentation. A method of separating a
Extended Parallel Server-defined distribution
table into potentially balanced fragments to
scheme that maps each row in a table to a set of

D-32 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

distribute the workload and optimize the thread. A piece of work or task for a virtual
efficiency of the database operations. Also known processor just as a virtual processor is a task for a
as data partitioning. Table-fragmentation CPU. A virtual processor is a task that the
methods (also known as distribution schemes) operating system schedules for execution on the
include expression-based, hybrid, range, round-robin, CPU; a database server thread is a task that a
and system-defined hash. virtual processor schedules internally for
processing. Threads are sometimes called
table hierarchy. A relationship you can define lightweight processes because they are like
among typed tables in which subtables inherit the processes but make fewer demands on the
behavior (constraints, triggers, storage options) operating system. See also multithreading and
from supertables. Subtables can add additional user thread.
constraint definitions, storage options, and
triggers. TLI. Acronym for Transport Layer Interface. It
is the interface designed for use by application
table inheritance. The property that allows a programs that are independent of a network
typed table to inherit the behavior (constraints, protocol.
storage options, triggers) from a typed table above
it in the table hierarchy. trace. To keep a running list of the values of
program variables, arguments, expressions, and
target table. The underlying base table that a so on, in a program or SPL routine.
violations table and diagnostics table are
associated with. You use the START transaction. A collection of one or more SQL
VIOLATIONS TABLE statement to create the statements that is treated as a single unit of
association between the target table and the work. If one statement in a transaction fails, the
violations and diagnostics tables. entire transaction can be rolled back (canceled). If
the transaction is successful, the work is
tblspace. The logical collection of extents that committed and all changes to the database from
are assigned to a table. It contains all the disk the transaction are accepted. See also explicit
space that is allocated to a given table or table transaction, implicit transaction, and singleton
fragment and includes pages allocated to data implicit transaction.
and to indexes, pages that store TEXT or BYTE
data in the dbspace, and bitmap pages that track transaction lock. A lock on an R-tree index that
page use within the extents. is obtained at the beginning of a transaction and
held until the end of the transaction.
TCP/IP. The specific name of a particular
standard transport layer protocol (TCP) and transaction logging. The process of keeping
network layer protocol (IP). A popular network records of transactions. See also logical log.
protocol used in DOS, UNIX, and other
environments. transaction mode. The method by which
constraints are checked during transactions. You
temporary. An attribute of any file, index, or use the SET statement to specify whether
table that is used only during a single session. constraints are checked at the end of each data
Temporary files or resources are typically manipulation statement or after the transaction is
removed or freed when program execution committed.
terminates or an online session ends.
trigger. A database object that executes a set of
terabyte. A unit of storage, equal to 1024 actions if a DML event manipulates a specified
gigabytes or 10244 bytes. table. (An INSTEAD OF trigger substitutes a set
of actions for a DML event that attempts to
TEXT. A data type for a simple large object that manipulate a specified view.)
stores text and can be as large as 231 bytes. See
also BYTE. tuple. See row.

Glossary D-33
two-phase commit. A protocol that ensures that of the operating system. This direct control helps
transactions are uniformly committed or rolled improve performance and reliability for updates
back across multiple database servers. It governs to data. Unbuffered I/O is supported by
the order in which commit transactions are character-special files on UNIX and by both
performed and provides a recovery mechanism unbuffered files and the raw disk interface on
in case a transaction does not execute. See also Windows.
heterogeneous commit.
Uncommitted Read. See Read Uncommitted.
type constructor. An SQL keyword that
indicates to the database server the type of uncorrelated subquery. See independent
complex data to create (for example, LIST, subquery.
MULTISET, ROW, SET).
unique constraint. Specifies that each entry in a
type hierarchy. A relationship that you define column or set of columns has a unique value.
among named row types in which subtypes inherit
representation (data fields) and behavior (routines) unique index. An index that prevents duplicate
from supertypes and can add more fields and values in the indexed column.
routines.
unique key. See primary key.
type inheritance. The property that allows a
UNIX real user ID. See Informix user ID.
named row type or typed table to inherit
representation (data fields, columns) and behavior unload job. The information required to unload
(routines, operators, rules) from a named row data from a relational database using the HPL.
type above it in the type hierarchy. This information includes format, map, query,
device array, project, and special options.
type substitutability. The ability to use an
instance of a subtype when an instance of its unlock. To free an object (database, table, page,
supertype is expected. or row) that has been locked. For example, a
locked table prevents others from adding,
typed collection variable. An ESQL/C collection
removing, updating, or (in the case of an
variable or SPL variable that has a defined
exclusive lock) viewing rows in that table as long
collection data type associated with it and can only
as it is locked. When the user or program
hold a collection of its defined type. See also
unlocks the table, others are permitted access
untyped collection variable.
again.
typed table. A table that is constructed from a
unnamed row type. A row type created with the
named row type and whose rows contain instances
ROW constructor that has no defined name and
of that row type. A typed table can be used as
no inheritance properties. Two unnamed row
part of a table hierarchy. The columns of a typed
types are equivalent if they have the same
table correspond to the fields of the named row
number of fields and if corresponding fields have
type.
the same data type, even if the fields have
UDA. See user-defined aggregate. different names.

UDF. See user-defined function. untyped collection variable. A generic ESQL/C

collection variable or SPL variable that can hold a
UDR. See user-defined routine. collection of any collection data type and takes on
the data type of the last collection assigned to it.
UDT. See user-defined data type. See also typed collection variable.

unbuffered disk I/O. Disk I/O that is

controlled directly by the database server instead

D-34 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

updatable view. A view whose underlying table routine in SPL (SPL routine) or in an external
can be modified by inserting values into the language (external routine) that the database
view. Only an INSTEAD OF trigger can update a server supports.
multi-table view.
user ID. Also called authorization identifier. See
update. The process of changing the contents of also Informix user ID.
one or more columns in one or more existing
rows of a table. user ID password. See Informix user password.

update lock. A promotable lock that is acquired user index. An index that a user creates
during a SELECT...FOR UPDATE. An update explicitly with the CREATE INDEX statement.
lock behaves like a shared lock until the update Compare with system index.
actually occurs, and it then becomes an exclusive
lock. It differs from a shared lock in that only user name. See Informix user ID.
one update lock can be acquired on an object at a
user password. See Informix user password.
time.
user thread. User threads include session
user-defined aggregate. An aggregate function
threads (called sqlexec threads) that are the
that is not provided by the database server (built
primary threads that the database server runs to
in) that includes extensions to built-in aggregates
service client applications. User threads also
and newly defined aggregates. The database
include a thread to service requests from the
server manages all aggregates.
onmode utility, threads for recovery, and
user-defined base type. See opaque data type. page-cleaner threads. See thread.

user-defined cast. A cast that a user creates with variable. The identifier for a location in memory
the CREATE CAST statement. A user-defined that stores the value of a program object whose
cast typically requires a cast function. A value can change during program execution.
user-defined cast can be an explicit cast or an Compare with constant, macro, and pointer.
implicit cast.
variant function. A user-defined function that
user-defined data type. A data type that you might return different values when passed the
define for use in a relational database. You can same arguments. A variant function can contain
define opaque data types and distinct data types. SQL statements. Compare with nonvariant
function.
user-defined function. A user-defined routine that
returns at least one value. You can write a view. A dynamically controlled subset of the
user-defined function in SPL (SPL function) or in columns of one or more database tables. A view
an external language that the database server can give the programmer control over what
supports (external function). information the user sees and manipulates and
represents a virtual table that holds the results of
user-defined procedure. A user-defined routine a specified SELECT statement.
that does not return a value. You can write a
user-defined procedure in SPL (SPL procedure) or violations table. A special table that holds rows
in an external language that the database server that fail to satisfy constraints and unique index
supports (external procedure). requirements during data manipulation
operations on base tables. You use the START
user-defined routine. A routine that you write VIOLATIONS TABLE statement to create a
and register in the system catalog tables of a violations table and associate it with a base table.
database, and that an SQL statement or another
routine can invoke. You can write a user-defined virtual column. A derived column of
information, created with an SQL statement that

Glossary D-35
is not stored in the database. For example, you largest character that an operating system can
can create virtual columns in a SELECT support, and it must match the size of an integer
statement by arithmetically manipulating a single data type that the C compiler can scale. Some
column, such as multiplying existing values by a examples of an integer data type that the C
constant, or by combining multiple columns, compiler can scale are short integer (short int),
such as adding the values from two columns. integer (int), or long integer (long int).

virtual-column index. A type of generalized-key wildcard. A special symbol representing any

index that contains keys that are the result of an character or any string of zero or more
expression. characters. In SQL, for example, you can use the
asterisk ( * ), question mark ( ? ), percent sign (
virtual processor. A multithreaded process that % ), and underscore ( _ ) as wildcard characters
makes up the database server and is similar to in some contexts. (Asterisk and question mark
the hardware processors in the computer. It can are also UNIX wildcards.)
serve multiple clients and, where necessary, run
multiple threads to work in parallel for a single window. A rectangular area on the screen in
query. which you can take actions without leaving the
context of the background program.
virtual table. A table created to access data in
an external file, external DBMS, smart large WORM. Acronym for Write-Once-Read-Many
object, or in the result set of an iterator function optical media. When a bit of data is written to a
in a query. The database server does not manage WORM platter, a permanent mark is made on
external data or directly manipulate data within that optical platter.
a smart large object. The Virtual-Table Interface
allows users to access the external data in a X/Open. An independent consortium that
virtual table using SQL DML statements and join produces and develops specifications and
the external data with Dynamic Server table standards for open-systems products and
data. technology, such as dynamic SQL.

VLDB. Acronym for very large database. X/Open Portability Guide (XPG). A set of
specifications that vendors and users can use to
warning. A message or other indicator about a build portable software. Any vendor that carries
condition that software (such as the database the XPG brand on a given software product is
server or compiler) detects. A condition that guaranteeing that the software correctly
results in a warning does not necessarily affect implements the X/Open Common Applications
the ability of the code to run. See also Environment (CAE) specifications. There are
compile-time error and runtime error. CAE specifications for SQL, XA, ISAM, RDA,
and so on.
white space. A series of one or more space
characters. The GLS locale defines the characters zoned decimal. (1) A data representation that
that are considered to be space characters. For uses the low-order four bits of each byte to
example, both the TAB and blank might be designate a decimal digit (0 through 9) and the
defined as space characters in one locale, but high-order four bits to designate the sign of the
certain combinations of the CTRL key and another digit. (2)
character might be defined as space characters in
a different locale.

wide character. A form of a code set that

involves normalizing the size of each multibyte
character so that each character is the same size.
This size must be equal to or greater than the

D-36 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

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E-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

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AIX; DB2; DB2 Universal Database; Distributed Relational Database
Architecture; NUMA-Q; OS/2, OS/390, and OS/400; IBM Informix®;
C-ISAM®; Foundation.2000™; IBM Informix ® 4GL; IBM
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Other company, product, and service names used in this publication may be
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E-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Index
( { } ), braces (continued)
Special characters pathname delimiters 3-8
( _ ), underscore
(-), hyphen
in SQL identifiers 3-43
DATE separator 3-26
( ; ), semicolon
DATETIME delimiter 2-13
list separator 3-58, 3-72
INTERVAL delimiter 2-21
( : ), colon
subtraction operator 2-41, 2-57
cast ( :: ) operator 2-53, 2-57
symbol in syscolauth 1-7, 1-20
DATETIME delimiter 2-13
symbol in sysfragauth 1-33
INTERVAL delimiter 2-21
symbol in systabauth 1-53
list separator 3-36, 3-43, 3-58, 3-67, 3-72
unary operator 2-42, 2-57
( != ), not equal to
(,), comma
relational operator 2-57
decimal point 3-31
( / ), slash
list separator 2-25, 2-29, 3-36
DATE separator 2-11, 2-44, 3-26
thousands separator 2-24
division operator 2-41, 2-57
(.), period
pathname delimiter 3-10, 3-34, 3-67
DATE separator 3-26, 3-27
( ’ ), single quotes
DATETIME delimiter 2-13
string delimiter 3-31, 3-43
decimal point 2-17, 2-24, 3-31
( ″ ), double quotes
execution symbol 3-6
delimited SQL identifiers 3-43
INTERVAL delimiter 2-21
string delimiter 2-1, 2-23, 2-26, 2-33
membership operator 2-57
( () ), parentheses
nested dot notation 2-48
delimiters in expressions 2-45
(), blank space
( $ ), dollar sign
DATETIME delimiter 2-13
currency symbol 2-24, 3-31
INTERVAL delimiter 2-21
pathname indicator 3-18, 3-71
padding CHAR values 2-9
( \ ), backslash
padding VARCHAR values 2-37
invalid as delimiter 3-28
(*), asterisk
pathname delimiter 3-12, 3-61
multiplication operator 2-32, 2-41, 2-45, 2-57
( [ ] ), brackets
systabauth value 1-7, 1-53
MATCHES range delimiters 2-38
wildcard symbol 1-18, 1-64
substring operator 2-8, 2-35, 2-57
(+), plus sign
( % ), percentage
addition operator 2-41, 2-57
DBTIME escape symbol 3-39
truncation indicator 3-51
pathname indicator 3-18, 3-38
unary operator 2-57
( > ), greater than
(=), equality
angle ( < > ) brackets 2-8, A-22
assignment operator 3-12
relational operator 1-9, 2-57
relational operator 1-18, 2-6, 2-10, 2-57
( < ), less than
(~), tilde
angle ( < > ) brackets 2-8, A-22
pathname indicator 3-10
relational operator 2-57, 3-28
( | ), vertical bar
absolute value delimiter 2-19
A
Abbreviated year values 2-14, 3-22, 3-24, 3-27, 3-40
concatenation ( || ) operator 2-57
AC_CONFIG environment variable 3-18
field delimiter 3-28
ac_config.std file 3-18
( # ), sharp ACCESS keyword 1-12, 2-40
comment indicator 3-6 Access method
( { } ), braces
B-tree 1-15, 1-37, 3-42
collection delimiters 2-23, 2-26, 2-33, 2-48 built-in 1-12, 1-15

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2004 X-1

Access method (continued) ANSI compliance (continued)
primary 1-13, 1-52 public synonyms 1-52, 1-54
R-tree 3-42 ANSIOWNER environment variable 3-18
secondary 1-12, 1-26, 1-39, 2-27 ANY operator 2-57
sysams data 1-12 Arabic locales 2-8
sysindices data 1-39 archecker utility 3-18
sysopclasses data 1-41 Archiving
systabamdata data 1-52 setting DBREMOTECMD 3-36
Access privilege. Arithmetic
See Privilege. DATE operands 2-11, 2-43
Accessibility xxi DATETIME operands 2-42
dotted decimal format of syntax diagrams C-1 integer operands 2-19, 2-32, 2-34
syntax diagrams, reading in a screen reader C-1 INTERVAL operands 2-20, 2-42
Activity-log files 3-66 operators 2-56
Addition (+) operator 2-41, 2-57 string operands 2-9
Administrative listener port 3-54 time operands 2-40
AFCRASH configuration parameter 3-18 AS keyword 2-53, 2-54
AFDEBUG environment variable 3-18 ASCII code set 1-32
Aggregate function assign() support function 2-47
built-in 2-23, 2-25, 2-33 AT keyword 2-22
no BYTE argument 2-7 Attached indexes 1-36, 3-25, 3-76
no collection arguments 2-23, 2-25, 2-33 Audit Analysis officer 3-63
no TEXT argument 2-35 See AAO
sysaggregates data 1-12 Authentication information file 3-59
user-defined 1-12 Authorization identifier 1-59, 1-67
AIX operating system 3-68
Alias of a table 1-6 B
Alignment of data type 1-18, 1-62 B-tree access method 1-15, 1-37, 3-42
ALL operator 2-57 B+ tree index 1-35
ALTER OPTICAL CLUSTER statement 1-43 Backslash ( \ ) symbol 3-28
Alter privilege 1-7, 1-53, 1-64 Bandwidth 3-53
ALTER SEQUENCE statement 3-80 BETWEEN operator 2-57
ALTER TABLE statement bin subdirectory 3-8
casting effects 2-51 Binding style 1-66
changing data types 2-3 Blank spaces 3-67
lock mode 3-49 BLOB data type
next extent size 1-9 casting not available 2-6
SERIAL columns 2-31 coltype code 1-23
SERIAL8 columns 2-32 defined 2-6
synonyms 3-80 inserting data 2-6
systables.version 1-55 syscolattribs data 1-19
am_beginscan() function 1-14 Blobspace
am_close() function 1-14 defined 2-39
am_getnext() function 1-13 memory cache for staging 3-59
am_insert() function 1-14 names 3-43
am_open() function 1-14 sysblobs data 1-17
AND operator 1-18, 2-57 Boldface type xii
ANSI compliance BOOLEAN data type
-ansi flag 3-22 coltype code 1-23
DATETIME literals 3-40 defined 2-7
DBANSIWARN environment variable 3-21 Boolean expression
DECIMAL range 2-16 with BOOLEAN data type 2-7
DECIMAL(p) data type 2-15 with BYTE data type 2-7
Information Schema views 1-63 with TEXT data type 2-35
isolation level 1-67 Borland C compiler 3-55

X-2 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Bourne shell 3-6, 3-7 Cast (continued)
Braces ( { } ) symbols 2-48 from BYTE to BLOB 2-8
Bracket ( [ ] ) symbols 2-35 from TEXT to CLOB 2-35
Buffer implicit 1-17, 2-53, 2-54
BYTE or TEXT storage (DBBLOBBUF) 3-22 rules of precedence 2-54
fetch buffer (FET_BUFFER_SIZE) 3-19, 3-44 syscasts data 1-17
floating-point display (DBFLTMASK) 3-29 Cast ( :: ) operator 2-53, 2-57
network buffer (IFX_NETBUF_SIZE) 3-52 CAST AS keywords 2-53
private network buffer pool 3-52 CHAR data type
Built-in access method 1-13, 1-15 built-in casts 2-52
Built-in aggregates 1-12, 2-23, 2-25, 2-33 collation 2-8, 2-9, 2-38
Built-in casts 1-17, 2-50 conversion to NCHAR 2-26, 3-32
Built-in data types defined 2-8
casts 2-50, 2-56 nonprintable characters 2-9
listed 2-38 storing numeric values 2-9
syscolumns.coltype code 1-22 CHARACTER data type.
sysdistrib.type code 1-29 See CHAR data type.
sysxtdtypes data 1-62 Character data types
BY keyword 2-7, 2-35 Boolean comparisons 2-37
BYTE data type casting between 2-50
casting to BLOB 2-8 data strings 2-5
defined 2-7 listed 2-38
increasing buffer size 3-22 syscolumns data 1-24
inserting values 2-8 Character string
restrictions CHAR data type 2-8
in Boolean expression 2-7 CHARACTER VARYING data type 2-10
systables.npused 1-55 CLOB data type 2-10
with GROUP BY 2-7 DATETIME literals 2-14, 2-44, 3-40
with LIKE or MATCHES 2-7 INTERVAL literals 2-21
with ORDER BY 2-7 LVARCHAR data type 2-23
selecting from BYTE columns 2-8 NCHAR data type 2-26
setting buffer size 3-22 NVARCHAR data type 2-26
sysblobs data 1-16 TEXT data type 2-34
syscolumns data 1-25 VARCHAR data type 2-36
sysfragments data 1-34 with DELIMIDENT set 3-43
sysopclstr data 1-42 CHARACTER VARYING data type
See also VARCHAR data type.
C defined 2-9
C compiler length (syscolumns) 1-24
default name 3-55 Character-based applications 3-62, 3-78
INFORMIXC setting 3-55 Check constraint
thread package 3-80 creation-time value 3-24, 3-27
C shell 3-6 syschecks data 1-18
.cshrc file 3-7 syscheckudrdep data 1-18
.login file 3-7 syscoldepend data 1-20
C++ map file 3-58 sysconstraints data 1-26
call_type table in stores_demo database A-5 chkenv utility 3-6
call_type table in superstores_demo database B-6 error message 3-9
CARDINALITY() function 2-23, 2-25, 2-33 syntax 3-9
Cartesian join 3-46 Chunk 2-39, 3-37
Cascading delete 1-49 CLIENT_LOCALE environment variable 3-27
Cast 2-50, 2-56 Client/server
built-in 1-17, 2-50, 2-54 Datablade API 2-40
distinct data type 2-54 default database 3-60
explicit 1-17, 2-53, 2-54 INFORMIXSQLHOSTS environment variable 3-61

Index X-3
Client/server (continued) Column (continued)
shared memory communication segments 3-60 range of values 1-25
stacksize for client session 3-62 referential constraints (sysreferences) 1-49
CLOB data type syscolumns data 1-22
casting not available 2-10 Column-level privileges
code-set conversion 2-11 systabauth data 1-7
collation 2-11 systabauth table 1-53
coltype code 1-23 Combine function 1-12
defined 2-10 Command-line conventions
inserting data 2-10 how to read xv
multibyte characters 2-10 sample diagram xv
syscolattribs data 1-19 Comment indicator 3-6
CLOSE statement 3-70 Comment lines 3-6
Clustering 1-13, 1-35, 1-38 Committed read 1-67
Code set Communications support module 3-56, 3-59
ASCII 1-32 Commutator function 1-46
collation order 2-37 Compiling
conversion 3-82 ESQL/C programs 3-20
East Asian 2-9, 2-37, 3-41 INFORMIXC setting 3-55
EBCDIC 1-32, 1-67 JAVA_COMPILER setting 3-66
ISO 8859-1 xi, 1-30 multithreaded ESQL/C applications 3-79
Code, sample, conventions for xvii Complex data type 2-46, 2-49
Collation collection types 2-47
CHAR data type 2-8, 2-9 ROW types 2-48
CLOB data type 2-11 sysattrtypes data 1-15
GL_COLLATE table 1-56 Compliance
NCHAR data type 2-26 ANSI/ISO standard for SQL 1-63, 3-21
server_attribute data 1-67 sql_languages.conformance 1-66
TEXT data type 2-35 with industry standards xxiv
VARCHAR data type 2-37 X/Open CAE standards 1-63
Collection data type XPG4 standard 1-65
casting matrix 2-56 Composite index 1-37
defined 2-47 Concatenation ( || ) operator 2-57
empty 2-48 concsm.cfg file 3-56
LIST 2-22 Configuration file
MULTISET 2-25 .cshrc file 3-7
SET 2-32 .informix 3-6, 3-9, 3-44, 3-49
sysattrtypes data 1-15 .login file 3-7
sysxtddesc data 1-61 .profile file 3-7
sysxtdtypes data 1-61 for communications support module 3-56, 3-59
Colon for connectivity 3-55, 3-60, 3-61
cast ( :: ) operator 2-53 for database servers 3-43, 3-68
DATETIME delimiter 2-13 for High-Performance Loader 3-74
INTERVAL delimiter 2-21 for MaxConnect 3-55
pathname separator 3-67 for ON-Bar utility 3-18
Color and intensity screen attributes 3-62 for onxfer utility 3-81
Column for terminal I/O 3-62, 3-79
changing data type 2-3, 2-50 Configuration parameter
constraints (sysconstraints) 1-26 COSERVER 3-69
default values (sysdefaults) 1-27 DBSPACETEMP 3-37
hashed 1-34 DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE 3-49
in sales_demo database B-3, B-4 DIRECTIVES 3-49
in stores_demo database A-2, A-5 DISABLE_B162428_XA_FIX 3-54
in superstores_demo database B-6, B-16 END 3-69
inserting BLOB data 2-6 EXT_DIRECTIVES 1-28, 3-50

X-4 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Configuration parameter (continued) Conventions (continued)
MITRACE_OFF 1-56, 1-57 sample-code xvii
NODE 3-69 syntax diagrams xiii
OPCACHEMAX 3-59 syntax notation xiii
OPT_GOAL 3-71 typographical xii
OPTCOMPIND 3-70 Converting data types
STACKSIZE 3-62 CHAR and NCHAR 3-32
STMT_CACHE 3-78 DATE and DATETIME 2-53
TABLESPACE 3-38 INTEGER and DATE 2-52
USEOSTIME 2-15 number and string 2-52
CONNECT DEFAULT statement 3-60 number to number 2-51
Connect privilege 1-8, 1-59 retyping a column 2-50
CONNECT statement 3-33, 3-57, 3-60 VARCHAR and NVARCHAR 3-32
Connection Coserver
authentication 3-59 sysexternal data 1-32
coserver 3-60 sysviolations data 1-60
INFORMIXCONRETRY environment variable 3-56 COSERVER configuration parameter 3-60, 3-69
INFORMIXCONTIME environment variable 3-57 CPFIRST environment variable 3-20
INFORMIXSERVER environment variable 3-60 CPU cost 3-77
Connectivity information 3-54, 3-61 CREATE ACCESS METHOD statement 1-12
Constraint CREATE CAST statement 1-17, 2-53
check CREATE DATABASE statement 3-33
creation-time value 3-27 CREATE DISTINCT TYPE statement 1-62, 2-18, B-17
loading performance B-3 CREATE DUPLICATE statement 1-36
syschecks data 1-18 CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE statement 1-31, 1-32
syscheckudrdep data 1-18 CREATE FUNCTION statement 1-50
syscoldepend data 1-20 CREATE IMPLICIT CAST statement B-17
column CREATE INDEX statement 1-36, 1-38, 1-40, 1-49, 1-55,
sysconstraints data 1-26 3-42
not null storage options 3-42
collection data types 2-23, 2-25, 2-33, 2-48 CREATE OPAQUE TYPE statement 2-27
syscoldepend data 1-20 CREATE OPERATOR CLASS statement 1-42
syscolumns data 1-23 CREATE OPTICAL CLUSTER statement 1-43
sysconstraints data 1-26 CREATE PROCEDURE statement 1-50, 3-68
object mode 1-41 CREATE ROLE statement 1-50
primary key CREATE ROUTINE FROM statement 1-50, 3-68
sysconstraints data 1-26 CREATE ROW TYPE statement 1-23, 2-28
sysreferences data 1-49 CREATE SCHEMA statement 1-3
unique SERIAL values 2-30 CREATE SEQUENCE statement 1-51
unique SERIAL8 values 2-31 CREATE SYNONYM statement 1-51
referential CREATE TABLE statement
stores_demo data A-8 assigning data types 2-3
superstores_demo data B-19 default lock mode 3-49
sysconstraints data 1-26 default privileges 3-68
sysreferences data 1-49 SET constructor 2-33
table typed tables 2-28
sysconstraints data 1-26 CREATE TEMP TABLE statement 3-37
unique CREATE TRIGGER statement 1-58
sysconstraints data 1-26 CREATE VIEW statement 1-6, 1-59
violations 1-60 Credential 3-59
Constructor 2-33, 2-48 Currency symbol 2-24, 3-31
Contact information xxv Current date 1-27, 3-23
Conventions CURRENT keyword 2-41, 3-45
command-line xv cust_calls table in stores_demo database A-4
documentation xii cust_calls table in superstores_demo database B-7

Index X-5
customer table in sales_demo database B-3 Data types (continued)
customer table in stores_demo database A-2 casting 2-50, 2-56
customer table in superstores_demo database B-8, B-9 classified by category 2-2
collection 2-47
D complex 2-46
Data compression 3-64 conversion 2-50
Data corruption 1-9, 1-19 distinct 2-17, 2-49
Data dependencies exact numeric 1-65
syscheckudrdep data 1-19 extended 2-46
syscoldepend data 1-20 fixed point 2-16
sysdepend data 1-27 floating-point 2-15, 2-19, 2-34
sysnewdepend data 1-40 inheritance 2-28
Data dictionary 1-2 internal 2-5
Data distributions 1-10, 1-28, 3-41 named ROW 2-27
Data encryption 3-65 opaque 2-26, 2-49
Data integrity 1-66 sequential integer 2-31
Data pages 1-19, 1-37, 1-54 simple large object 2-39
Data type smart large object 2-39
BLOB 2-6 summary list 2-3
BOOLEAN 2-7 unique numeric value 2-31
BYTE 2-7 unnamed ROW 2-28
CHAR 2-8 Data warehousing B-1
CHARACTER 2-6, 2-9 Database
CHARACTER VARYING 2-9 data types 2-2
CLOB 2-10 dimensional B-2
DATE 2-11 identifiers 3-42
DATETIME 2-11 joins in stores_demo A-7
DEC 2-15 object-relational B-1
DECIMAL 2-15 objects, sysobjectstate data 1-41
DISTINCT 2-17 privileges 1-59
DOUBLE PRECISION 2-18 sales_demo B-1
FLOAT 2-18 stores_demo A-1
INT 2-19 superstores_demo B-3, B-5
INT8 2-19 syscrd 1-3
INTEGER 2-19 sysmaster 1-3
INTERVAL 2-19 sysutils 1-3
LIST 2-22 sysuuid 1-3
LVARCHAR 2-23 Database identifiers 3-43
MONEY 2-24 Database server
MULTISET 2-25 attributes in Information Schema view 1-66
NCHAR 2-26 codeset 1-67
NUMERIC 2-26 coserver name 3-60
NVARCHAR 2-26 default connection 3-60
OPAQUE 2-26 default isolation level 1-67
REAL 2-27 optimizing queries 3-71
ROW 2-27, 2-29 pathname for 3-33
SERIAL 2-30 remote 3-20, 3-44
SERIAL8 2-31 role separation 3-63
SET 2-32 server name 1-27, 3-34
SMALLFLOAT 2-33 Database Server Administrator (DBSA) 3-63
SMALLINT 2-34 DATABASE statement 3-33
TEXT 2-34 Database system administrator (DBSA) 1-3
VARCHAR 2-36 DataBlade module
Data types Client and Server API 2-40
approximate 1-65 data types (sysbuiltintypes) 1-3

X-6 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

DataBlade module (continued) DBREMOTECMD environment variable 3-36
trace messages (systracemsgs) 1-56, 1-57 dbschema utility 3-80
user messages (syserrors) 1-30 Dbserver group 3-60
DATE data type DBSERVERNAME configuration parameter 3-60
abbreviated year values 3-22 dbservername.cmd batch file 3-13
casting to integer 2-52 dbslice 1-34, 1-35
converting to DATETIME 2-53 dbspace
defined 2-11 for BYTE or TEXT values 1-17
display format 3-25 for system catalog 1-3
in expressions 2-40, 2-43 for table fragments 1-33
international date formats 2-11 for temporary tables 3-36
source data 2-43 name 3-43
DATE() function 2-44, 3-27 DBSPACE keyword 1-34
DATETIME data type DBSPACETEMP configuration parameter 3-36
abbreviated year values 3-22 DBSPACETEMP environment variable 3-36
converting to DATE 2-52, 2-53 DBTEMP environment variable 3-38
defined 2-11 DBTIME environment variable 2-15, 3-39
display format 3-39 DBUPSPACE environment variable 3-41
EXTEND function 2-43 DCE-GSS communications support module
extending precision 2-42 (CSM) 3-59
field qualifiers 2-12 DEC data type.
in expressions 2-40, 2-45 See DECIMAL data type.
international formats 2-13, 2-15, 2-21 DECIMAL data type
length (syscolumns) 1-24 built-in casts 2-52
literal values 2-14 defined 2-15
precision and size 2-12 disk storage 2-16
source data 2-44 display format 3-29, 3-30
two-digit year values and DBDATE variable 2-14 fixed point 2-16
year to fraction example 2-13 floating point 2-15
DAY keyword length (syscolumns) 1-25
DATETIME qualifier 2-12 Decimal digits, display of 3-29
INTERVAL qualifier 2-20 Decimal point
UNITS operator 2-11, 2-44 DBFLTMASK setting 3-29
DB-Access utility 1-9, 1-63, 3-5, 3-29, 3-33, 3-38, 3-60 DBMONEY setting 3-31
DBA privilege 1-30, 1-56, 1-57, 1-59 DECIMAL radix 2-17
DBA routines 1-47 Decimal separator 3-31
DBACCNOIGN environment variable 3-20 DECLARE statement 3-70
DBANSIWARN environment variable 3-21 DECRYPT_BINARY function 2-10
DBBLOBBUF environment variable 3-22 DECRYPT_CHAR function 2-10
DBCENTURY environment variable DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE configuration
defined 3-22 parameter 3-49
effect on functionality of DBDATE 3-27 Default
expanding abbreviated years 2-14, 3-23 C compiler 3-55
DBDATE environment variable 2-11, 3-25 century 3-23, 3-40
DBDELIMITER environment variable 3-28 CHAR length 2-8
DBEDIT environment variable 3-28 character set for SQL identifiers 3-43
dbexport utility 3-28 compilation order 3-20
DBFLTMASK environment variable 3-29 configuration file 3-69
DBLANG environment variable 3-29 connection 3-60
dbload utility 2-6, 2-8, 2-35, 3-28 data type 2-29
DBMONEY environment variable 2-24, 3-30 database server 3-34, 3-60
DBNLS environment variable 3-32 DATE display format 2-11
DBONPLOAD environment variable 3-33 DATE separator 3-26
DBPATH environment variable 3-33 DATETIME display format 2-15
DBPRINT environment variable 3-35 DECIMAL precision 2-15

Index X-7
Default (continued) Distinct data type (continued)
detached indexes 3-42 defined 2-17
detail level 3-65 sysxtddesc data 1-61
disk space for sorting 3-42 sysxtdtypes data 1-61, 1-62, 2-18
fetch buffer size 3-44 Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) 3-80
heap size 3-66 Distributed query 2-46, 3-20, 3-44
isolation level 1-67 Documentation conventions xii
join method 3-69 Documentation Notes xix
level of parallelism 3-73 Documentation set of all manuals xxi
lock mode 3-48 Documentation, types of xviii
message directory 3-30 machine notes xix
MONEY scale 2-25 online manuals xxi
operator class 1-13, 1-42 printed manuals xxi
printing program 3-35 Dollar sign 2-24, 3-31
query optimizer goal 3-71 Dotted decimal format of syntax diagrams C-1
sysdefaults.default 1-27 Double data type of C 2-18
table privileges 3-68 DOUBLE PRECISION data type.
temporary dbspace 3-38 See FLOAT data type.
termcap file 3-79 Double-precision floating-point number 2-18
text editor 3-28 DROP CAST statement B-17
Default locale xi DROP DATABASE statement 3-33
DEFAULT_ATTACH environment variable 3-42 DROP FUNCTION statement 1-47
DEFINE statement of SPL 2-30, 2-31 DROP INDEX statement 1-55
Delete privilege 1-33, 1-53, 3-68 DROP OPTICAL CLUSTER statement 1-43
DELETE statement 1-9, 1-60 DROP PROCEDURE statement 1-47
Delete trigger 1-58 DROP ROUTINE statement 1-47
DELIMIDENT environment variable 3-42 DROP ROW TYPE statement 2-28
DELIMITED files 1-31, 1-32 DROP SEQUENCE statement 3-80
Delimited identifiers 3-42, 3-43 DROP TABLE statement 3-80
Delimiter DROP TYPE statement 2-18, 2-27
for DATETIME values 2-13 DROP VIEW statement 1-63, 3-80
for fields 1-32, 3-28
for identifiers 3-42 E
for INTERVAL values 2-21 EBCDIC collation 1-32, 1-67
Demonstration database Editor, DBEDIT setting 3-28
tables A-2, A-5, B-5 EMACS text editor 3-29
Dependencies, software x Empty set 2-48
Descending index 1-37 en_us.8859-1 locale xi
DESCRIBE statement 3-53 ENCRYPT_DES function 2-10
Describe-for-updates 3-53 ENCRYPT_TDES function 2-10
destroy() support function 2-47 Encryption 3-65
Detached index 3-42 END configuration parameter 3-69
Deutsche mark (DM) currency symbol 3-31 Enterprise Replication 1-3
Diagnostics table 1-60 env utility 3-8
Dimension tables, in push-down hash joins 3-48 ENVIGNORE environment variable
DIRECTIVES configuration parameter 3-49 defined 3-6, 3-43
Directives for query optimization 3-49, 3-69, 3-71 relation to chkenv utility 3-9
Disabilities, visual Environment configuration file
reading syntax diagrams C-1 debugging with chkenv 3-9
Disabled object 1-60 setting environment variables in UNIX 3-4, 3-6
Disk space Environment registry key 3-10
for data distributions 3-41 Environment variable
for temporary data 3-37 AC_CONFIG 3-18
Distinct data type AFDEBUG 3-18
casts 2-54 ANSIOWNER 3-18

X-8 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Environment variable (continued) Environment variable (continued)
C8BITLEVEL 3-14 INFORMIXCPPMAP 3-58
CLIENT_LOCALE 3-14, 3-27 INFORMIXDIR 3-58
CPFIRST 3-20 INFORMIXKEYTAB 3-59
DB_LOCALE 3-15 INFORMIXOPCACHE 3-59
DBACCNOIGN 3-20 INFORMIXSERVER 3-60
DBANSIWARN 3-21 INFORMIXSHMBASE 3-60
DBBLOBBUF 3-22 INFORMIXSQLHOSTS 3-61
DBCENTURY 3-22 INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 3-62
DBDATE 2-11, 3-25 INFORMIXTERM 3-62
DBDELIMITER 3-28 INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF 3-64
DBEDIT 3-28 ISM_COMPRESSION 3-64
DBFLTMASK 3-29 ISM_DEBUG_FILE 3-64
DBLANG 3-29 ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL 3-65
DBMONEY 2-24, 3-30 ISM_ENCRYPTION 3-65
DBNLS 3-32 ISM_MAXLOGSIZE 3-65
DBONPLOAD 3-33 ISM_MAXLOGVERS 3-66
DBPATH 3-33 JAR_TEMP_PATH 3-66
DBPRINT 3-35 JAVA_COMPILER 3-66
DBREMOTECMD 3-36 JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE 3-66
DBSPACETEMP 3-36 LD_LIBRARY_PATH 3-67
DBTEMP 3-38 LIBERAL_MATCH 3-67
DBTIME 2-15, 3-39 LIBPATH 3-68
DBUPSPACE 3-41 NODEFDAC 3-68
DEFAULT_ATTACH 3-42 ONCONFIG 3-68, 3-69
DELIMIDENT 3-42 OPT_GOAL 3-71
ENVIGNORE 3-43 OPTCOMPIND 3-69
ESQLMF 3-15 OPTMSG 3-70
FET_BUF_SIZE 3-19, 3-44 OPTOFC 3-70
GL_DATE 2-11, 3-25 PATH 3-71, 3-72
GL_DATETIME 2-15, 3-25 PDQPRIORITY 3-72
GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM 3-15, 3-45 PLCONFIG 3-74
GLS8BITSYS 3-15 PLOAD_LO_PATH 3-74
IBM_XPS_PARAMS 3-45 PLOAD_SHMBASE 3-74
IFMX_CART_ALRM 3-46 PSORT_DBTEMP 3-75
IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS 3-48 PSORT_NPROCS 3-76
IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE 3-49 RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE 3-77
IFX_DIRECTIVES 3-49 SERVER_LOCALE 3-17
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES 1-28, 3-50 SHLIB_PATH 3-77
IFX_LONGID 3-51 STMT_CACHE 3-77
IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE 3-52 TERM 3-78
IFX_NETBUF_SIZE 3-52 TERMCAP 3-78
IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING 3-52 TERMINFO 3-79
IFX_OPT_FACT_TABS 3-47 THREADLIB 3-79
IFX_PAD_VARCHAR 3-53 TOBIGINT 3-80
IFX_UPDDESC 3-53 USETABLENAME 3-80
IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND 3-53 XFER_CONFIG 3-81
IMCADMIN 3-54 Environment variables xii
IMCCONFIG 3-55 command-line utilities 3-11
IMCSERVER 3-55 displaying current settings 3-8, 3-12
INF_ROLE_SEP 3-63 how to set
INFORMIXC 3-55 in Bourne shell 3-7
INFORMIXCONCSMCFG 3-56 in C shell 3-7
INFORMIXCONRETRY 3-56 in Korn shell 3-7
INFORMIXCONTIME 3-57 how to set in Bourne shell 3-7

Index X-9
Environment variables (continued) Extension checking (DBANSIWARN) 3-22
how to set in Korn shell 3-7 Extent, changing size 1-9
listed alphabetically 3-14 External database 1-52
listed by topic 3-81 External database server 1-52
manipulating in Windows environments 3-10 External directives for query optimization 3-50
modifying settings 3-8 External routine 1-46
overriding a setting 3-6, 3-43 External table
rules of precedence in UNIX 3-9 sysextcols data 1-31
rules of precedence in Windows 3-13 sysextdfiles data 1-31
scope of reference 3-11 sysexternal data 1-32
setting syssyntable data 1-52
at the command line 3-4 systables data 1-54
for native Windows applications 3-10 External view 1-52
in a configuration file 3-4 extspace 1-13
in a login file 3-4
in a shell file 3-7 F
in Windows environments 3-5 Fact table
with command-line utilities 3-11 dimensional example B-3
with the Registry Editor 3-10 in push-down hash joins 3-47
with the System applet 3-11 FALSE setting
setting in autoexec.bat 3-12 BOOLEAN value 2-7
standard UNIX system 3-4 CPFIRST 3-20
types of 3-3 ISM_COMPRESSION 3-64
unsetting 3-7, 3-12, 3-43 Farsi locales 2-8
view current setting 3-8 FET_BUF_SIZE environment variable 3-19, 3-44
where to set 3-7 Fetch buffer 3-44
Equality ( = ) operator 2-10 Fetch buffer size 3-19, 3-44
Era-based dates 3-41 FETCH statement 3-70
Error message files 3-29 Field delimiter
Error messages xx DBDELIMITER 3-28
esql command 3-20, 3-55 Field of a ROW data type 2-48
ESQL/C Field qualifier
DATETIME routines 3-39 DATETIME values 2-12
esqlc command 3-20 EXTEND function 2-43
long identifiers 3-52 INTERVAL values 2-20
message chaining 3-70 Fields of a ROW data type 2-48
multithreaded applications 3-79 File
program compilation order 3-20 environment configuration files 3-9
Exact numeric data types 1-65 installation directory 3-58
Executable programs 3-71 permission settings 3-6
Execute privilege 1-44, 3-68 shell 3-6
Explicit cast 1-17, 2-53 temporary 3-36, 3-38, 3-75
Explicit pathnames 3-12, 3-35 temporary for SE 3-38
Explicit temporary tables 3-37 termcap, terminfo 3-62, 3-78, 3-79
Exponent 2-17 File extensions
Exponential notation 2-15 .a 3-52
export utility 3-7 .cfg 3-56
export_binary() support function 2-47 .cmd 3-13
export() support function 2-47 .ec 3-20
Expression-based fragmentation 1-34, 3-24, 3-27 .ecp 3-20
EXT_DIRECTIVES configuration parameter 1-28, 3-50 .iem 3-30
EXTEND function 2-43 .jar 3-66
Extended data types 1-61, 2-46, B-17 .rc 3-6, 3-10, 3-43, 3-49
Extended Parallel Server (XPS) 1-10, 3-14, B-1 .so 3-52
Extensible Markup Language (XML) 2-10 .sql 1-63, 3-33, 3-34, 3-43, B-1, B-5

X-10 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

File extensions (continued) fwritable gcc option 3-56
.std 3-18, 3-69, 3-78
.xps 3-69 G
FILETOBLOB function 2-6 gcc compiler 3-56
FILETOCLOB function 2-10 Generalized-key index
Filtering mode 1-41, 1-60 sysindexes data 1-36
Finalization function 1-12 sysnewdepend data 1-40
Fixed and Known Defects File xix sysrepository data 1-49
FIXED column format 1-31, 1-32 Generic B-trees 1-37
Fixed point decimal 2-16, 2-24, 3-31 geography table in sales_demo database B-3
Fixed-length UDT 1-62 GET DIAGNOSTICS statement 1-30
FLOAT data type getenv utility 3-5
built-in casts 2-52 GL_COLLATE table 1-56
defined 2-18 GL_CTYPE table 1-56
display format 3-29, 3-30 GL_DATE environment variable 2-11, 3-25, 3-27
Floating-point decimal 2-15, 2-18, 2-34, 3-29 GL_DATETIME environment variable 2-15, 3-25
Foreign key A-8, B-3 Global Language Support (GLS) x, 3-32
Formatting Global network buffer pool 3-52
DATE values with DBDATE 3-26 GLOBAL_DETACH_INFORM environment
DATE values with GL_DATE 3-41 variable 3-45
DATETIME values with DBTIME 3-39 Globally detached index 1-35
DATETIME values with GL_DATETIME 3-41 GLS environment variables 3-10
DECIMAL(p) values with DBFLTMASK 3-29 GNU C compiler 3-56
FLOAT values with DBFLTMASK 3-29 GRANT statement 1-50
MONEY values with DBMONEY 3-30 Graphic characters 3-62
SMALLFLOAT values with DBFLTMASK 3-29 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) 3-45
Formatting mask GROUP BY clause 2-7, 2-35, 3-37
with DBDATE 3-25 Group informix 3-30
with DBFLTMASK 3-29
with DBMONEY 3-30 H
with DBTIME 3-39 Hash-join 3-47, 3-48, 3-69
with GL_DATE 3-41 Hashed columns 1-34
with GL_DATETIME 3-41 Hashing parameters 1-52
FRACTION keyword Heap size 3-67
DATETIME qualifier 2-12 Hebrew locales 2-8
INTERVAL qualifier 2-20 Help xxi
FRAGMENT BY clause 3-37 Hexadecimal digits 3-28
Fragmentation HIGH INTEG keywords
distribution strategy 1-34 ALTER TABLE statement 2-40
expression 1-34, 3-24, 3-27 CREATE TABLE statement 2-40
list 1-34 HIGH keyword
PDQPRIORITY environment variable 3-73 PDQPRIORITY 3-73
PSORT_NPROCS environment variable 3-77 UPDATE STATISTICS 1-10, 1-29
round robin 1-34 High-Performance Loader 3-33, 3-74
setting priority levels for PDQ 3-72 Histogram 1-29
sysfragauth data 1-33 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE window 3-10
sysfragments data 1-33 Host language 1-66
FROM keyword 1-9, 1-18 Host variable 2-6, 2-8, 2-35, 2-48
Function HOUR keyword
for BLOB columns 2-6 DATETIME qualifier 2-12
for CLOB columns 2-10 INTERVAL qualifier 2-20
for MULTISET columns 2-25 HP-UX operating system 3-77
support for complex types 2-47 HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) 2-10
Function keys 3-62 Hybrid fragmentation strategy 1-35
Functional index 1-37, 2-48

Index X-11
Hyphen Index (continued)
DATETIME delimiter 2-13 functional 1-37, 2-48
INTERVAL delimiter 2-21 generalized-key 1-36, 1-40, 1-49
globally detached 1-35, 3-45
I nonfragmented 3-42
I/O overhead 3-77 of data types 2-3
IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 1-10 of environment variables 3-81
IBM Informix ESQL/C 3-20, 3-27, 3-39, 3-52, 3-70 of system catalog 1-10
IBM Informix Extended Parallel Server (XPS) 1-10, R-tree 3-42
3-14 sysindexes data 1-36
IBM Informix Storage Manager (ISM) 3-64, 3-66 sysindices data 1-38
IBM_XPS_PARAMS environment variable 3-45 sysobjstate data 1-41
IDS (Informix Dynamic Server) 1-10 threads for sorting 3-76
IFMX_CART_ALRM environment variable 3-46 unique 1-26, 1-36, 2-30, 2-31
IFMX_OPT_FACT_TABS environment variable 3-47 Index privilege 1-53
IFMX_OPT_NON_DIM_TABS environment Indexkey structure 1-38
variable 3-48 Indirect typing 2-30, 2-31
IFX_DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE environment Industry standards
variable 3-48 See Compliance.
IFX_DIRECTIVES environment variable 3-49 Industry standards, compliance with xxiv, 1-66
IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES environment variable 1-28, 3-50 INF_ROLE_SEP environment variable 3-63
IFX_LONGID environment variable 3-51 Information Schema views
IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE environment accessing 1-64
variable 3-52 columns 1-64
IFX_NETBUF_SIZE environment variable 3-52 defined 1-63
IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING environment generating 1-63
variable 3-52 server_info 1-66
IFX_PAD_VARCHAR environment variable 3-53 sql_languages 1-66
IFX_UPDDESC environment variable 3-53 tables 1-64
IFX_XASTDCOMPLIANCE_XAEND environment Informational messages 1-30
variable 3-53 Informix Dynamic Server documentation set xxi
imcadmin administrative tool 3-54 Informix extension checking (DBANSIWARN) 3-21
IMCADMIN environment variable 3-54 informix owner name 1-9, 1-17, 1-29, 1-36, 1-38, 1-54,
IMCCONFIG environment variable 3-55 3-30, 3-63
IMCSERVER environment variable 3-55 Informix subkey 3-10
IMPEX data type 2-54 informix.rc file 3-6, 3-10, 3-49
IMPEXBIN data type 2-54 INFORMIXC environment variable 3-55
Implicit cast 1-17, 2-53 INFORMIXCONCSMCFG environment variable 3-56
Implicit connection 3-60 INFORMIXCONRETRY environment variable 3-56
Implicit temporary tables 3-37 INFORMIXCONTIME environment variable 3-57
import_binary() support function 2-47 INFORMIXCPPMAP environment variable 3-58
import() support function 2-47 INFORMIXDIR environment variable 3-58
IN clause 3-37 INFORMIXDIR/bin directory xi
IN keyword 1-34, 2-7, 2-25, 2-30, 2-33, 2-35, 2-57 INFORMIXKEYTAB environment variable 3-59
IN TABLE storage option 3-42 INFORMIXOPCACHE environment variable 3-59
Index INFORMIXSERVER environment variable 3-60
attached 1-36, 3-25, 3-42, 3-76 INFORMIXSHMBASE environment variable 3-60
B-tree 1-37, 3-42 INFORMIXSTACKSIZE environment variable 3-62
clustered 1-36, 1-38 INFORMIXTERM environment variable 3-62
composite 1-36, 1-37 Inheritance hierarchy 1-39, 2-29
default values for attached 3-76 Initialization function 1-12, 1-50
descending 1-37 Input support function 2-23
detached 3-42 input() support function 2-47
distribution scheme 3-42 Insert privilege 1-33, 1-53, 3-68
fragmented 1-33 INSERT statement 1-56, 1-60, 2-14, 2-48, 3-21, 3-27

X-12 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Insert trigger 1-58 KEEP ACCESS TIME keywords (continued)
Installation directory 3-59 CREATE TABLE statement 2-40
Installation Guides xviii Key
INSTEAD OF trigger 1-58 foreign A-8, B-3
INT data type. generalized 1-40, 1-49
See INTEGER data type. primary 1-26, 1-49, 1-60, A-8, B-6
INT8 data type Key scan 1-13
built-in casts 2-52 Key tables 3-59
defined 2-19 Keyboard I/O
using with SERIAL8 2-32 INFORMIXTERM setting 3-62
INTEG keyword 2-40 TERM setting 3-78
INTEGER data type TERMCAP setting 3-78
built-in casts 2-52 TERMINFO setting 3-79
defined 2-19 keytab file 3-59
length (syscolumns) 1-24 Keywords
Intensity attributes 3-62 in syntax diagrams xvi
INTERACTIVE_DESKTOP_OFF environment Korn shell 3-6, 3-7
variable 3-64
Internationalized trace messages 1-56 L
Interprocess communications (IPC) 3-60 Language
INTERVAL data type See also Locale.
defined 2-19 C 1-50, 3-20, 3-55
field delimiters 2-21 C++ 3-58
in expressions 2-40, 2-41, 2-45, 2-46 CLIENT_LOCALE setting 3-10, 3-27
length (syscolumns) 1-24 DBLANG setting 3-29
ipcshm protocol 3-60 Extensible Markup Language (XML) 2-10
IS NULL operator 2-7, 2-35 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 2-10
ISM_COMPRESSION environment variable 3-64 Informix ESQL/C 2-40, 2-48, 3-80
ISM_DEBUG_FILE environment variable 3-64 Java 3-18, 3-66
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL environment variable 3-65 sql_languages information schema view 1-66
ISM_ENCRYPTION environment variable 3-65 Stored Procedure Language (SPL) 2-48, 3-24, 3-27
ISM_MAXLOGSIZE environment variable 3-65 syslangauth data 1-39
ISM_MAXLOGVERS environment variable 3-66 sysroutinelangs data 1-50
ISO 8859-1 code set xi, 1-67 Large-object data type
Isolation level 1-67, 3-69 defined 2-38
items table in stores_demo database A-3 listed 2-38
items table in superstores_demo database B-10 LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable 3-67
Iterator function 1-12 Leaf pages 1-35
LIBERAL_MATCH environment variable 3-67
J libos.a library 3-51
Japanese eras 3-41 LIBPATH environment variable 3-68
Jar management procedures 3-66 LIKE keyword of SPL 2-30, 2-31
JAR_TEMP_PATH environment variable 3-66 LIKE operator 2-7, 2-35, 2-57, 3-68
Java virtual machine (JVM) 3-18, 3-66 Linearized code 1-57
JAVA_COMPILER environment variable 3-66 List
JIT compiler 3-66 of data types 2-3
Join columns A-6, B-19 of environment variables 3-14
Join methods 3-69 of environment variables, by topic 3-81
Join operations 1-9, 3-37 of system catalog tables 1-10
Join, Cartesian 3-46 LIST data type, defined 2-22
JVM_MAX_HEAP_SIZE environment variable 3-66 LOAD statement 2-6, 2-8, 2-35, 3-28
Locale x
K collation order 1-56, 2-38
KEEP ACCESS TIME keywords default xi
ALTER TABLE statement 2-40 en_us.8859-1 xi

Index X-13
Locale (continued) mkdir utility 3-30
multibyte 2-9 MODERATE INTEG keywords
of trace messages 1-57 ALTER TABLE statement 2-40
right-to-left 2-8 CREATE TABLE statement 2-40
specifying 3-82, 3-86 Modifiers
Lock-table overflow 3-49 CLASS 1-46
LOCKMODE keyword 3-48 COSTFUNC 1-47
LOCOPY function 2-6, 2-10 HANDLESNULLS 1-46
LOG keyword INTERNAL 1-46
ALTER TABLE statement 2-40 NEGATOR 1-46
CREATE TABLE statement 2-40 NOT VARIANT 1-46
Logging mode 1-19 PARALLELIZABLE 1-47
Long identifiers SELCONST 1-46
client version 3-51 STACK 1-47
IFX_LONGID setting 3-51 VARIANT 1-46
Information Schema views 1-64 MODIFY NEXT SIZE keywords 1-9
LOTOFILE function 2-6, 2-10 MONEY data type
LOW keyword built-in casts 2-52
PDQPRIORITY 3-73 defined 2-24
UPDATE STATISTICS 1-29 display format 3-30
Lowercase mode codes 1-47 international money formats 2-25
Lowercase privilege codes 1-7, 1-20, 1-33, 1-53, 1-61 length (syscolumns) 1-25
LVARCHAR data type MONTH keyword
casting opaque types 2-54 DATETIME qualifier 2-12
coltype code 1-23 INTERVAL qualifier 2-20
defined 2-23 Multibyte characters
CLOB data type 2-10
M VARCHAR data type 2-37
Machine notes xix, 3-63 MULTISET data type
Magnetic storage media 1-17 constructor 2-48
Mantissa precision 1-65, 2-16 defined 2-25
manufact table in superstores_demo database B-12
Map file for C++ programs 3-58 N
MATCHES operator 2-7, 2-35, 2-38, 2-57, 3-68 N setting
MaxConnect 3-54, 3-55 sysroleauth.is_grantable 1-50
MEDIUM keyword 1-10, 1-25, 1-29 Named ROW data type
Membership operator 2-57 See also ROW type.
Memory cache, for staging blobspace 3-59 casting permitted 2-56
Message file defined 2-27
specifying subdirectory with DBLANG 3-30 defining 2-27
XBSA 3-64 equivalence 2-28
Messages inheritance 1-39, 2-28
chaining 3-70 typed tables 2-28
error in syserrors 1-30 NCHAR data type
optimized transfers 3-70 collation order 2-26
reducing requests 3-71 conversion to CHAR 3-32
trace message template 1-57 defined 2-26
warning in syserrors 1-30 multibyte characters 2-26
mi_collection_card() function 2-23, 2-25, 2-33 Negator function 1-46
mi_db_error_raise() function 1-30 Nested dot notation 2-48
Microsoft C compiler 3-55 Nested-loop join 3-69
MINUTE keyword Network buffers 3-52
DATETIME qualifier 2-12 Network environment variable, DBPATH 3-33
INTERVAL qualifier 2-20 NFS directory 3-38
MITRACE_OFF configuration parameter 1-56, 1-57

X-14 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

NO KEEP ACCESS TIME keywords Online manuals xxi
ALTER TABLE statement 2-40 Online notes xviii, xix
CREATE TABLE statement 2-40 Online transaction processing (OLTP) 1-35
no setting of NODEFDAC 3-68 onload utility 2-6, 2-8, 2-35
NODE configuration parameter 3-69 onpload utility 3-33, 3-74
NODEFDAC environment variable 3-68 onstat utility 3-4, 3-46
NOLOG keyword onutils utility 3-45
ALTER TABLE statement 2-40 Opaque data type
CREATE TABLE statement 2-40 cast matrix 2-56
NONE setting comparing 2-54
ISM_ENCRYPTION 3-65 defined 2-26
JAVA_COMPILER 3-66 smart large objects 2-39
Nonprintable characters storage 2-23
CHAR data type 2-9 sysxtddesc data 1-61
TEXT data type 2-35 sysxtdtypes data 1-61
VARCHAR data type 2-37 OPCACHEMAX configuration parameter 3-59
NOT NULL constraint OPEN statement 3-70
collection elements 2-23, 2-25, 2-33, 2-48 Operator class
syscoldepend data 1-20 sysams data 1-13
sysconstraints data 1-26 sysindices data 1-39
NOT NULL keywords 2-7, 2-22, 2-35 sysopclasses data 1-41
NOT operator 2-57 Operator precedence 2-56
NULL value OPT_GOAL configuration parameter 3-71
allowed or not allowed 1-12, 1-23 OPT_GOAL environment variable 3-71
BOOLEAN literal 2-7 OPTCOMPIND configuration parameter 3-70
BYTE data type 2-7 OPTCOMPIND environment variable 3-69
TEXT data type 2-35 Optical cluster
NUMERIC data type. INFORMIXOPCACHE setting 3-59
See DECIMAL data type. sysblobs.type 1-17
Numeric data types sysopclstr data 1-42
casting between 2-51 Optimizer
casting to character types 2-52 setting IFX_DIRECTIVES 3-49
listed 2-38 setting IFX_EXTDIRECTIVES 3-50
NVARCHAR data type setting OPT_GOAL 3-71
collation order 2-26 setting OPTCOMPIND 3-70
conversion to VARCHAR 3-33 setting OPTOFC 3-71
defined 2-26 sysdistrib data 1-29
length (syscolumns) 1-24 Optimizer directives
multibyte characters 2-26 sysdirectives data 1-28
OPTMSG environment variable 3-70
O OPTOFC environment variable 3-70
Object mode of database objects 1-41 OR operator 2-57
Object-relational schema B-1 ORDER BY clause 2-7, 2-35, 3-37
ODBC driver 3-67, 3-77 orders table in superstores_demo database B-11, B-12,
OFF setting B-13
IFX_DIRECTIVES 3-49, 3-50 Ordinal positions 2-22
PDQPRIORITY 3-73 Output support function 2-23
ON setting output() support function 2-47
IFX_DIRECTIVES 3-49, 3-50 Overflow error 2-16
ON-Bar 3-65 Owner routines 1-47, 3-68
ONCONFIG environment variable 3-68, 3-69
onconfig.std file 3-69, 3-78 P
onconfig.xps file 3-69 PAGE lock mode 1-54, 3-49
oninit command 3-49 Parallel database query.
Online help xxi See PDQ.

Index X-15
Parallel distributed queries, setting with Primary access method 1-13, 1-52
PDQPRIORITY 3-72 Primary key 1-26, 1-49, 1-60, 2-30, 2-31, A-2, B-6
Parallel sorting, setting with PSORT_NPROCS 3-75 Primary thread 3-62
Partial characters 2-8 Printed manuals xxi
PATH environment variable 3-71, 3-72 printenv utility 3-8
Pathname Printing with DBPRINT 3-35
for C compiler 3-55 Private environment-configuration file 3-9, 3-44
for C++ map file 3-58 Private network buffer pool 3-52
for client or shared libraries 3-67 Private synonym 1-54
for concsm.cfg file 3-56 Privilege
for connectivity information 3-61 default table privileges 3-68
for database server 3-33 on columns (syscolauth table) 1-20
for dynamic-link libraries 3-68, 3-77 on procedures and functions (sysprocauth
for environment-configuration file 3-9 table) 1-44
for executable programs 3-71 on table fragments (sysfragauth table) 1-33
for installation 3-58 on tables (systabauth table) 1-53
for keytab file 3-59 on the database (sysusers table) 1-59
for message files 3-29 on UDTs and named row types
for parallel sorting 3-75 (sysxtdtypeauth) 1-61
for remote shell 3-36 product table in sales_demo database B-3
for smart-large-object handles 3-74 Protected routines 1-47
for temporary .jar files 3-66 Pseudo-machine code (p-code) 1-44
for termcap file 3-78 PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable 3-75
for terminfo directory 3-79 PSORT_NPROCS environment variable 3-76
for XBSA messages 3-64 Public synonym 1-51, 1-54
for xfer_config file 3-81 public user name 1-64
separator symbols 3-72 Purpose functions 1-13
PDQ Push-down hash join
OPTCOMPIND environment variable 3-69 dimension tables 3-48
PDQPRIORITY environment variable 3-72 fact tables 3-47
PDQPRIORITY configuration parameter 3-73 putenv utility 3-5
Percentage ( % ) symbol 3-39
Period Q
DATE delimiter 3-26 Qualifier field
DATETIME delimiter 2-13 DATETIME 2-12
INTERVAL delimiter 2-21 EXTEND 2-45
Permissions 3-6, 3-30 INTERVAL 2-20
PLCONFIG environment variable 3-74 UNITS 2-44
plconfig file 3-74 Query optimizer
PLOAD_LO_PATH environment variable 3-74 defined 1-9
PLOAD_SHMBASE environment variable 3-74 directives 3-49, 3-50
PostScript 2-10 push-down hash-join plans 3-47, 3-48
Precedence rules sysprocplan data 1-48
for casts 2-54 Quoted string
for lock mode 3-49 DATE and DATETIME literals 2-44
for native Windows application 3-14 DELIMIDENT setting 3-43
for SQL operators 2-56 INTERVAL literals 2-21
for UNIX environment variables 3-9 invalid with BYTE 2-8
for Windows environment variables 3-13 invalid with TEXT 2-35
Precision LVARCHAR data type 2-23
of currency values 2-24
of numbers 1-65, 2-15, 2-18, 2-19, 2-34 R
of time values 2-11, 2-20, 2-42, 2-45 R-tree index 3-42, 3-77
PREPARE statement 1-55 Raw UNIX devices 3-37
Prepared statement 1-55 Read committed 1-67

X-16 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Read uncommitted 1-67 ROW type (continued)
REAL data type. named 2-27, 2-49
See SMALLFLOAT data type. sysattrtypes data 1-15
recv() support function 2-47 sysxtddesc data 1-61
References privilege 1-20, 1-53 sysxtdtypes data 1-61
Referential constraint 1-26, 1-49, 1-60, A-8, B-19 unnamed 2-28, 2-49
regedt32.exe Registry Editor 3-10 Rowids 1-13
region table in superstores_demo database B-13 RTNPARAMTYPES data type 1-46
Registry Editor 3-10 RTREE_COST_ADJUST_VALUE environment
Reject file 1-32 variable 3-77
Relational operators 2-9, 2-57 Runtime
Release Notes xix warnings (DBANSIWARN) 3-22
Remote database server 3-20, 3-44
Remote shell 3-36 S
Remote tape devices 3-36 sales table in sales_demo database B-4
RENAME SEQUENCE statement 3-80 sales_demo database
Repeatable read 3-69 customer table columns B-3
Replica identifier 1-34 defined B-3
Resource contention 3-73 geography table columns B-3
Resource Grant Manager (RGM) 1-35 product table columns B-3
Resource privilege 1-8, 1-59 sales table columns B-4
REVOKE statement 1-53 time table columns B-4
Right-to-left locales 2-8 sales_rep table in superstores_demo database B-13
Role Sample-code conventions xvii
default role 1-59 SAVE EXTERNAL DIRECTIVES statement 3-51
INF_ROLE_SEP setting 3-63 sbspace
sysroleauth data 1-50 defined 2-10, 2-40
sysusers data 1-59 name 3-43
Role separation 3-63 sysams data 1-13
Round-robin fragmentation 1-34 syscolattribs data 1-19
Routine systabamdata data 1-52
See also User-defined routine. Scale of numbers 1-65, 2-16, 3-29
DataBlade API routine 1-56 Scan cost 1-14
DATETIME formatting 3-39 Schema Tools 3-5
identifier 1-45 Screen reader
owner 1-45 reading syntax diagrams C-1
privileges 1-44 SECOND keyword
protected 1-47 DATETIME qualifier 2-12
Stored Procedure Language (SPL) 2-48 INTERVAL qualifier 2-20
syserrors data 1-30 Secondary access method 1-13, 1-26, 1-39, 1-41, 2-27
syslangauth data 1-39 SELECT INTO TEMP statement 3-37
sysprocauth data 1-44 Select privilege 1-20, 1-53, 1-64, 3-68
sysprocbody data 1-44 SELECT statement 1-9, 1-28
sysprocedures data 1-45 Select trigger 1-58
sysprocplan data 1-48 Selectivity constant 1-47
sysroutinelangs data 1-50 Self-join 1-6
systraceclasses data 1-56 send() support function 2-47
systracemsgs data 1-56 SENDRECV data type 2-54
ROW lock mode 1-54, 3-49 Sequence
ROW type 2-48 syssequences data 1-51
casting permitted 2-56 syssynonyms data 1-51
equivalence 2-28 syssyntable data 1-51
fields 1-15, 2-48 systabauth data 1-53
inheritance 1-39, 2-28 systables data 1-54
inserting values 2-30

Index X-17
Sequential integers Shell (continued)
aggid code 1-12 specifying with DBREMOTECMD 3-36
am_id code 1-13 SHLIB_PATH environment variable 3-77
classid code 1-56 Simple large objects
constrid code 1-26 defined 2-39
extended_id code 1-62 location (sysblobs) 1-16
id code 1-28, 1-30 Single-precision floating-point number 2-27, 2-34
langid code 1-50 SMALLFLOAT data type
msgid code 1-57 built-in casts 2-52
opclassid code 1-42 defined 2-34
planid code 1-48 display format 3-29, 3-30
procid code 1-45, 1-46 SMALLINT data type
seqid code 1-51 built-in casts 2-52
SERIAL data type 2-30 defined 2-34
SERIAL8 data type 2-31 length (syscolumns) 1-24
tabid code 1-5, 1-51, 1-54 Smart large objects
trigid code 1-58 See also sbspacee.
udr_id code 1-18 defined 2-39
SERIAL data type syscolattribs data 1-19
defined 2-30 Smart-large-object handles 3-74
inserting values 2-31 Software dependencies x
length (syscolumns) 1-24 SOFTWARE registry key 3-10
resetting values 2-31 SOME operator 2-57
SERIAL8 data type Sort-merge join 3-69
assigning a starting value 2-31 Sorting
defined 2-31 See also Collation.
inserting values 2-32 DBSPACETEMP environment variable 3-36
length (syscolumns) 1-24 PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable 3-75
resetting values 2-32 PSORT_NPROCS environment variable 3-76
using with INT8 2-32 Space
Serializable transactions 1-67 DATETIME delimiter 2-13
SET ALL_MUTABLES statement 3-74 INTERVAL delimiter 2-21
SET data type, defined 2-32 Spatial queries 3-77
SET ENVIRONMENT statement 3-4, 3-5, 3-70, 3-74 SPL routine 1-45, 2-48, 3-24, 3-27
SET OPTIMIZATION statement 3-71 SPL variables 2-48
SET PDQPRIORITY statement 3-73 SQL (Structured Query Language) 3-22
SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statement 1-47 SQL character set 3-43
SET STMT_CACHE statement 3-78 SQL code xvii
SET TEMP TABLE_SPACE statement 3-37 SQL Communication Area (SQLCA) 3-22
set utility 3-12 sqlhosts file 3-54, 3-60, 3-61
setenv utility 3-8 SQLHOSTS subkey 3-61
Setnet32 utility 3-5 SQLSTATE value 1-30
Setting environment variables sqlwarn array 3-22
in UNIX 3-6 Stack size 1-47, 3-62
in Windows 3-10 STACKSIZE configuration parameter 3-62
SGML (Standard Graphic Markup Language) 2-10 Staging area blobspace 3-59
Shared environment-configuration file 3-9 Standard Graphic Markup Language (SGML) 2-10
Shared libraries 3-52 START DATABASE statement 3-33
Shared memory STAT data type 1-29
INFORMIXSHMBASE 3-60 state table in stores_demo database A-5
PLOAD_SHMBASE 3-74 state table in superstores_demo database B-14
Shell Statement cache 3-77
remote 3-36 Statements of SQL
search path 3-71 ALTER OPTICAL CLUSTER 1-43
setting environment variables in a file 3-6 ALTER SEQUENCE 3-80

X-18 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Statements of SQL (continued) Statements of SQL (continued)
ALTER TABLE 1-9, 1-55, 3-80 SET ENVIRONMENT CLIENT_TZ 3-45, 3-46
CLOSE 3-70 SET OPTIMIZATION 3-71
CONNECT 3-33, 3-34, 3-57, 3-60 SET PDQPRIORITY 3-73
CREATE ACCESS METHOD 1-12 SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION 1-47
CREATE AGGREGATE 1-12 SET STMT_CACHE 3-78
CREATE CAST 1-17, 2-53 SET TEMP TABLE_SPACE 3-37
CREATE DATABASE 3-33 START DATABASE 3-34
CREATE DISTINCT TYPE 1-61, 2-18, B-17 UNLOAD 3-22, 3-28
CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE 1-31, 1-32 UPDATE 2-7, 2-35, 3-21
CREATE FUNCTION 1-50, 3-68 UPDATE STATISTICS 1-9, 3-42
CREATE IMPLICIT CAST B-17 UPDATE STATISTICS FOR PROCEDURE 1-48
CREATE INDEX 1-4, 1-36, 1-38, 1-40, 1-50, 1-55, Statements ofSQL
3-42 DROP TABLE 3-80
CREATE OPAQUE TYPE 1-61, 2-27 static option of ESQL/C 3-51
CREATE OPERATOR CLASS 1-41 STMT_CACHE configuration parameter 3-78
CREATE OPTICAL CLUSTER 1-42, 1-43 STMT_CACHE environment variable 3-77
CREATE PROCEDURE 1-44, 1-50 STMT_CACHE keyword 3-78
CREATE ROLE 1-50, 1-59 stock table in stores_demo database A-3
CREATE ROUTINE FROM 1-50, 1-51 stock table in superstores_demo database B-14
CREATE ROW TYPE 1-61, 2-28 stock_discount table in superstores_demo
CREATE SCHEMA AUTHORIZATION 1-3 database B-15
CREATE SEQUENCE 1-51 Storage identifiers 3-43
CREATE SYNONYM 1-51 Stored procedure language (SPL) 1-45, 2-48, 3-24
CREATE TABLE 1-27, 1-49, 1-52 stores_demo database xi
CREATE TRIGGER 1-58 call_type table columns A-5
CREATE VIEW 1-59 catalog table columns A-4
DATABASE 3-34 cust_calls table columns A-4
DECLARE 3-70 customer table columns A-2
DELETE 1-9, 1-48, 1-60 data values A-13
DESCRIBE 3-53 defined A-1
DROP CAST B-17 items table columns A-3
DROP DATABASE 3-34 join columns A-7
DROP FUNCTION 1-47 manufact table columns A-5
DROP INDEX 1-55 primary-foreign key relationships A-8
DROP OPTICAL CLUSTER 1-43 stock table columns A-3
DROP PROCEDURE 1-47 structure of tables A-1
DROP ROUTINE 1-47 String Editor dialog box 3-11
DROP ROW TYPE 2-28 strings option of gcc 3-56
DROP SEQUENCE 3-80 Structured Query Language (SQL) 3-21
DROP TYPE 2-18, 2-27 See Statements of SQL.
DROP VIEW 1-63, 3-80 Subscripts 2-8, 2-35
FETCH 3-70 SUBSTRING function 1-9
GET DIAGNOSTICS 1-30 Subtable 1-34, 1-39, B-11, B-18
GRANT 1-33, 1-50, 1-53, 1-64 Subtype 1-39, 2-28
INSERT 1-60, 2-48, 3-21, 3-27 Summary
LOAD 2-8, 2-35, 3-21, 3-28 of data types 2-3
OPEN 3-70 of environment variables, by topic 3-81
PREPARE 1-55 of environment variables, by type of server 3-14
RENAME SEQUENCE 3-80 of system catalog tables, by type of server 1-10
RENAME TABLE 3-80 superstores_demo database xi
REVOKE 1-53, 1-59 call_type table columns B-6
SELECT 1-9, 1-28, 1-48, 3-37 catalog table columns B-6
SET ALL_MUTABLES 3-74 cust_calls table columns B-7
SET ENVIRONMENT 3-70, 3-74 customer table columns B-8, B-9

Index X-19
superstores_demo database (continued) sysindexes system catalog table 1-36
defined B-5 sysindices system catalog table 1-38
items table columns B-10 sysinherits system catalog table 1-39
manufact table columns B-12 syslangauth system catalog table 1-39
orders table columns B-11, B-12, B-13 syslogmap system catalog table 1-40
primary-foreign key relationships B-19, B-21 sysmaster database 1-3
sales_rep table columns B-13 initialization 3-4, 3-60
stock table columns B-14 versus system catalog tables 1-3
stock_discount table columns B-15 sysnewdepend system catalog table 1-40
structure of tables B-5 sysobjstate system catalog table 1-41
Supertable 1-39, B-11, B-18 sysopclasses system catalog table 1-41
Supertype 1-39, 2-28 sysopclstr system catalog table 1-42
Support function sysprocauth system catalog table 1-44
DISTINCT data types 2-49 sysprocbody system catalog table 1-44
OPAQUE data types 2-27, 2-47 sysprocedures system catalog table 1-45
routine identifier 1-45 sysprocplan system catalog table 1-48
Symbol table 1-45, 1-46 sysreferences system catalog table 1-49
Synonym sysrepository system catalog table 1-49
syssynonyms data 1-51 sysroleauth system catalog table 1-50
syssyntable data 1-51 sysroutinelangs system catalog table 1-50
systables data 1-54 syssequences system catalog table 1-51
USETABLENAME setting 3-80 syssynonyms system catalog table 1-51
Syntax diagrams syssyntable system catalog table 1-51
conventions for xiii systabamdata system catalog table 1-52
keywords in xvi systabauth system catalog table 1-53
reading in a screen reader C-1 systables system catalog table 1-54
variables in xvi System administrator (DBA) 1-3
Syntax segment xv System applet 3-11
sysaggregates system catalog table 1-12 System catalog
sysams system catalog table 1-12 sysaggregates 1-12
sysattrtypes system catalog table 1-15 sysams 1-12
sysblobs system catalog table 1-16 sysattrtypes 1-15
sysbuiltintypes table 1-3 sysblobs 1-16
syscasts system catalog table 1-17, 2-50 syscasts 1-17
syschecks system catalog table 1-18 syschecks 1-18
syscheckudrdep system catalog table 1-18 syscheckudrdep 1-18
syscolattribs system catalog table 1-19 syscolattribs 1-19
syscolauth system catalog table 1-20 syscolauth 1-20
syscoldepend system catalog table 1-20 syscoldepend 1-20
syscolumns system catalog table 1-22 syscolumns 1-22
sysconstraints system catalog table 1-26 sysconstraints 1-26
syscrd database 1-3 sysdefaults 1-27
sysdbclose() routine 3-5 sysdepend 1-27
sysdbopen() routine 3-5 sysdirectives 1-28
sysdefaults system catalog table 1-27 sysdistrib 1-28
sysdepend system catalog table 1-27 sysdomains 1-30
sysdirectives system catalog table 1-28 syserrors 1-30
sysdistrib system catalog table 1-28 sysextcols 1-31
sysdomains system catalog table 1-30 sysextdfiles 1-31
syserrors system catalog table 1-30 sysexternal 1-32
sysextcols system catalog table 1-31 sysfragauth 1-33
sysextdfiles system catalog table 1-31 sysfragments 1-33
sysexternal system catalog table 1-32 sysindexes 1-36
sysfragauth system catalog table 1-33 sysindices 1-38
sysfragments system catalog table 1-33 sysinherits 1-39

X-20 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

System catalog (continued) System catalog tables (continued)
syslangauth 1-39 indexes 1-36, 1-38, 1-50
syslogmap 1-40 inheritance 1-39
sysnewdepend 1-40 list of tables 1-10
sysobjstate 1-41 messages 1-30, 1-56
sysopclasses 1-41 operator classes 1-41
sysopclstr 1-42 optical clusters 1-42
sysprocauth 1-44 privileges 1-20, 1-33, 1-53, 1-59, 1-61
sysprocbody 1-44 programming languages 1-39, 1-50
sysprocedures 1-45 referential constraints 1-26, 1-49, 1-60
sysprocplan 1-48 roles 1-50
sysreferences 1-49 routines 1-44, 1-45, 1-48
sysrepository 1-49 sequence objects 1-51
sysroleauth 1-50 simple large objects 1-16
sysroutinelangs 1-50 smart large objects 1-19
syssequences 1-51 synonyms 1-51, 1-52
syssynonyms 1-51 trace classes 1-56
syssyntable 1-51 trace messages 1-56
systabamdata 1-52 triggers 1-57, 1-58
systabauth 1-53 updating 1-9, 1-10
systables 1-54 use by database server 1-4
systraceclasses 1-56 user-defined aggregates 1-12
systracemsgs 1-56 user-defined data types 1-61
systrigbody 1-57 views 1-54, 1-59
systriggers 1-58 System control panel 3-13
sysusers 1-59 System environment variable 3-13
sysviews 1-59 System requirements
sysviolations 1-60 database x
sysxtddesc 1-61 software x
sysxtdtypeauth 1-61 SYSTEM() command, on NT 3-64
sysxtdtypes 1-61 systraceclasses system catalog table 1-56
System catalog tables systracemsgs system catalog table 1-56
See also System catalog. systrigbody system catalog table 1-57
access methods 1-12, 1-52 systriggers system catalog table 1-58
accessing 1-9 sysusers system catalog table 1-59
altering contents 1-9 sysutils database 1-3
authorization identifiers 1-59 sysuuid database 1-3
casts 1-17 sysviews system catalog table 1-59
columns 1-22 sysviolations systems catalog table 1-60
complex data types 1-15, 1-61 sysxtddesc system catalog table 1-61
constraint violations 1-60 sysxtdtypeauth system catalog table 1-61
constraints 1-18, 1-20, 1-26 sysxtdtypes system catalog table 1-61, 2-27
data distributions 1-28
database tables 1-54 T
default values 1-27 tabid 1-5, 1-55
defined 1-2 Table
dependencies 1-27, 1-40 changing a column data type 2-50
example dependencies, in sysdepend 1-27
syscolauth 1-7 fragmented 1-33
syscolumns 1-5 hashing parameters 1-52
sysindexes 1-7 hierarchy 1-34, 1-39, 2-28, B-18
systabauth 1-6 inheritance, sysinherits data 1-39
systables 1-4 lock mode 3-48
external tables 1-31, 1-32 nonfragmented 3-42
fragmentation 1-33 separate from large object storage 2-38

Index X-21
Table (continued) thread flag of ESQL/C 3-80
structure in superstores_demo database B-5 THREADLIB environment variable 3-79
synonyms in syssyntable 1-51 Time data types
system catalog tables 1-12, 1-61 arithmetic 2-41
temporary 3-37, 3-38 length (syscolumns) 1-24
temporary in SE 3-38 listed 2-38
typed, and named ROW type 2-28 time table in sales_demo database B-4
untyped, and unnamed ROW 2-30 Time values
Table-based fragmentation 1-34 DBCENTURY setting 3-22
Table-level privilege DBDATE setting 3-25
PUBLIC 1-64 DBTIME setting 3-39
sysfragauth data 1-33 GL_DATETIME settings 3-41
systabauth data 1-7, 1-53 USEOSTIME parameter 2-15
Tape management Time zone, specifying 3-45, 3-46
setting DBREMOTECMD 3-36 Time-limited licenses
Temporary dbspace 3-36 (IFX_NO_TIMELIMIT_WARNING) 3-52
Temporary files 3-38 TO keyword
in SE, specifying directory with DBTEMP 3-38 DATETIME qualifier 2-12
setting DBSPACETEMP 3-36 EXTEND function 2-43
setting PSORT_DBTEMP 3-75 INTERVAL qualifier 2-20
Temporary tables 3-36 TOBIGINT environment variable 3-80
in SE, specifying directory with DBTEMP 3-38 TOC Notes xix
specifying dbspace with DBSPACETEMP 3-36 TODAY operator 1-27, 3-45
TERM environment variable 3-78 Trace class 1-56
TERMCAP environment variable 3-78 Trace statements 1-57
termcap file Trailing blank spaces 3-67
setting INFORMIXTERM 3-62 Transaction isolation level 1-67, 3-69
setting TERMCAP 3-78 Transaction logging 1-19, 1-67, B-1
Terminal handling Trigger
setting INFORMIXTERM 3-62 creation-time value 3-24, 3-27
setting TERM 3-78 sysobjstate data 1-41
setting TERMCAP 3-78 systrigbody data 1-57
setting TERMINFO 3-79 systriggers data 1-58
terminfo directory 3-63, 3-79 TRUE setting
TERMINFO environment variable 3-79 BOOLEAN values 2-7
TEXT data type CPFIRST 3-20
casting to CLOB 2-35 ISM_COMPRESSION 3-64
collation 2-35 ISM_ENCRYPTION 3-65
defined 2-34 sysams table 1-13, 1-14
increasing buffer size 3-22 Truncation 2-8
inserting values 2-35 TYPE keyword 2-29
length (syscolumns) 1-25 Typographical conventions xii
nonprintable characters 2-35
queries 2-35 U
restrictions UDA
in Boolean expression 2-35 See User-defined aggregates.
with GROUP BY 2-35 UDR
with LIKE or MATCHES 2-35 See User-defined routine.
with ORDER BY 2-35 UDT
setting buffer size 3-22 See User-defined data type.
sysblobs data 1-16 UDT indexes 3-77
sysfragments data 1-34 Unary arithmetic operators 2-57
with control characters 2-35 Uncommitted read 1-67
Text editor 3-28 Under privilege 1-53
Thousands separator 2-24 Unique constraint 2-30, 2-31

X-22 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Unique index 1-36, 2-30 User privileges (continued)
Unique keys 1-13 sysxtdtypeauth data 1-61
Unique numeric values User-defined aggregates 1-12
See also Sequential integers. User-defined casts 1-17, 2-53
SERIAL data type 2-31 User-defined data type
SERIAL8 data type 2-31 casting 2-53
UNITS operator 2-11, 2-41, 2-44, 2-57 casting into built-in type 2-50
units table in superstores_demo database B-16 opaque 2-49
UNIX sysxtddesc data 1-61
BSD, default print utility 3-35 sysxtdtypes data 1-61
default locale for xi User-defined routine
environment variables 3-4 casts (syscasts) 1-17
PATH environment variable 3-71 check constraints (syscheckudrdep) 1-18
System V error messages (syserrors) 1-30
default print utility 3-35 for opaque data types 2-27
terminfo libraries 3-63, 3-79 functional index 3-42
temporary files 3-75 language authorization (syslangauth) 1-39
TERM environment variable 3-78 privileges 1-44, 3-68
TERMCAP environment variable 3-78 protected 1-47
TERMINFO environment variable 3-79 secondary access method 1-26
UNLOAD statement 3-22, 3-28 sysprocedures data 1-45
Unnamed ROW data type USETABLENAME environment variable 3-80
See also ROW type. Utility
declaring 2-29 archecker 3-18
defined 2-28 chkenv 3-6, 3-9
inserting values 2-30 DB-Access 1-9, 1-63, 3-5, 3-22, 3-29, 3-60, B-1
unset utility 3-7 dbexport 3-28
unsetenv utility 3-7 dbload 2-6, 2-8, 2-35
Unsetting an environment variable 3-7 dbschema 1-31, 1-32, 1-47, 3-80
Untyped table 1-55 dce_login 3-59
Update privilege 1-20, 1-33, 1-53, 3-68 env 3-8
UPDATE statement 1-60, 2-7, 2-35, 3-53 export 3-7
UPDATE STATISTICS FOR PROCEDURE gcc 3-56
statement 1-48 getenv 3-5
UPDATE STATISTICS statement 1-38, 3-41 ifx_getenv 3-5
and DBUPSPACE environment variable 3-41 ifx_putenv 3-5
effect on sysdistrib table 1-29 imcadmin 3-54
sysindices (index statistics) 1-43 load 1-32
sysindices data 1-38 lp 3-35
update system catalog 1-9 lpr 3-35
Update trigger 1-58 MaxConnect 3-55
Uppercase mode codes 1-47 ON-Bar 3-64, 3-65
Uppercase privilege codes 1-7, 1-20, 1-33, 1-53, 1-61 oninit 3-49
Usage privilege 1-61 onload 2-6, 2-8, 2-35
USEOSTIME configuration parameter 2-15 onpload 3-33, 3-74
User environment variable 3-13 onstat 3-46
User informix 1-9, 1-17, 2-50 onutil 3-46
User name 1-67 onutils 3-45
User privileges onxfer 3-81
syscolauth data 1-20 printenv 3-8
sysfragauth data 1-33 putenv 3-5
syslangauth data 1-39 regedt32.exe 3-10
sysprocauth data 1-44 set 3-12
systabauth data 1-53 setenv 3-8
sysusers data 1-59 Setnet32 3-5

Index X-23
Utility (continued)
source 3-6
X
X setting
unset 3-7
sysams.am_sptype 1-13
unsetenv 3-7, 3-43
systabauth.tabauth 1-53
vi 3-29
X/Open
V compliance 1-66
Information Schema views 1-63
VARCHAR data type
See also CHARACTER VARYING data type. server_info view 1-66
collation 2-37 XBSA
conversion to NVARCHAR 3-32, 3-33 debugging records 3-65
defined 2-36 message log file 3-65
shared library 3-65
length (syscolumns) 1-24
XFER_CONFIG environment variable 3-81
multibyte characters 2-37
nonprintable characters 2-37 xfer_config file 3-81
storing numeric values 2-37 XML (Extensible Markup Language) 2-10
Variable-length packets 3-53 XOR setting 3-65
XPG4 standard 1-65
Variable-length UDT 1-62
XPS (Extended Parallel Server) 1-10, 3-14, B-1
Variables, in syntax diagrams xvi
VARIANT routine 1-46
vi text editor 3-29
Y
Y setting
View
DBDATE 3-26
columns view 1-64
DBTIME 3-40
Information Schema 1-63
sysroleauth.is_grantable 1-50
server_info view 1-66
Year 2000 3-23
sql_languages view 1-66
YEAR keyword
sysdepend data 1-27
DATETIME qualifier 2-12
sysindexes view 1-38
EXTEND function 2-43
syssynonyms data 1-51
INTERVAL qualifier 2-20
syssyntable data 1-51
Year values, two and four digit 2-14, 3-22, 3-26, 3-40
systabauth data 1-53
yes setting
systables data 1-54
NODEFDAC 3-68
sysviews data 1-59
YES setting
tables view 1-64
columns.is_nullable 1-65
Violations
sql_languages.integrity 1-66
sysobjstate data 1-41
sysviolations data 1-60
Virtual machine 3-18, 3-66
Z
Zero (0)
Virtual processor 3-77
C null as terminator 2-37
Visual disabilities DBDATE separator 3-26
reading syntax diagrams C-1 DECIMAL scale 2-15
hexadecimal digit 3-28
W IFX_DIRECTIVES setting 3-49, 3-50
Warning message 1-30, 3-22
IFX_LONGID setting 3-51
WHERE keyword 1-9, 1-18, 2-35
IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE setting 3-52
Whitespace characters 3-67
INFORMIXOPCACHE setting 3-59
Whitespace in identifiers 3-43
integer scale 1-65, 2-15
Window borders 3-62
ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL setting 3-65
Windows environments
OPTCOMPIND setting 3-69
manipulating environment variables 3-10
OPTMSG setting 3-70
setting environment variables 3-5
OPTOFC setting 3-71
Windows NT
padding of 1-digit years 3-23
default locale for xi
padding with DBFLTMASK 3-29
Windows registry 3-10
padding with DBTIME 3-40
PDQPRIORITY setting 3-72

X-24 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

Zero (0) (continued)
PSORT_NPROCS setting 3-77
STMT_CACHE setting 3-77
sysams values 1-13, 1-14
sysfragments.hybdpos 1-35
sysindices.nrows 1-38
systables.type_xid 1-55
sysxdtypes values 1-62
zip column B-12
zipcode column A-2, B-11

Index X-25
X-26 IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference



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