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Informix Guide to SQL: Reference

1. 1 37 SYSDEPEND 1238 SYSDISTRIB o 0 2 2 1 39 SYSERRORS 3 5 eS oR Bo a eH we oe e dT SYSEXTCOLS o 6 3 de ssl a 142 SYSEXTDFILES 1 43 SYSEXTERNAL 2 1 44 SYSFRAGAUTH 2 1 45 SYSFRAGMENTS 1 46 SYSINDEXES 2 0 2 2 2 1 49 SYSINDIGES y araman aoe She a a a Ge ee we ESD SYSINHERITS 2 ee eee 1 58 SYSLANGAUTH 2 4 3 2 wa ras Beh we a rs 1653 SYSLOGMAP 154 SYSNEWDEPEND 1 54 SYSOBJSTATE 2 0 2 1 55 SYSOPGLASSES sro eae od a a ee EDO SYSOPCESIR sh fo Gte amp Ge de a Oe Mw om Ae ee EZ SYSPROGAU THE ran a hae te BG as e ee 159 SYSPROCBODY 1 60 SYSPROCEDURES 1 61 iv Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSPROCPLAN h ee eee ee 1 65 SYSREFERENCES 2 ee ee 1 66 SYSREPOSITORY o 1 67 SYSROLEAUTH k o aoe ae a dS OR See eR 1 68 SYSROUTINELANGS 2 1 68 SYSSYNONYMS a os 4 ceed a OE SE A 1 69 SYSSYNTABLE o 1 70 SYSTABAMDATA 2 ee ee 1 71 SYSTABAUTH to bat a Be EAB es 1 72 SYSTABIEES e 2222 al eo S ow He Ee Se eR 1 73 SYSTRACECLASSES o o 1 75 SYSTRACEMSGS 00 00 a a a a 1 76 SYSTRIGBODY 2 os e ee oe de a a 1 77 SYSTRIGGERS o 1 78 SYSUSERS s a 8 a o oe Re e
2. we ee eee 2 99 Collection Data Types we we ee 2 60 Row Data Types ee eee ee ee 2 61 Distinct Data Types 2 wee ee ee ee 2 62 Opaque Data Types 2 2 62 Data Type Casting and Conversion 2 63 Using Built in Casts Zop A he ae 20 Converting from Number to Kimber E Converting Between Number and CHAR co 2 65 Converting Between INTEGER and DATE or DATETIME o 2 66 Converting Between DATE and DATETIME 2 66 2 2 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Using User Defined Casts 1 ew ew 2 67 Implicit Casts we 0 ew 2 67 Explicit Casts y aca Be ee e 2700 Determining Which Cast to Apply Pai aa ia E ua aten So a at 12268 Casts for Distinct Types Erg e ghd a Be de dey 92269 What Extended Data Types Can Be Cast Bose oO eke te a 3 32270 Operator Precedence 2 2 2 a ee ee 27 DataTypes 2 3 2 4 Informix Guide to SQL Reference 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 covers the following topics Built in data types Extended data types Casting or converting between two data types Operator precedence Summary of Data Types Figure 2 1 charts the categories of data types that Informix database servers support Figu
3. For more information about the IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST environment variable see your documentation notes or release notes Environment Variables 3 61 IFX_DIRECTIVES setenv 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 use either ON and OFF or 1 and 0 to set the environment variable IFX_DIRECTIVES ON Optimizer directives accepted OFF Optimizer directives not accepted 1 Optimizer directives accepted 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 DIRECTIVES parameter is ON For more information about the DIRECTIVES parameter see the Adminis trator s Reference For more information on the performance impact of directives see your Performance Guide 3 62 Informix Guide to SQL Reference IFX_LONGID rs IFX_LONGID Use the IFX_LONGID environment variable setting and the version number of the client application to determine whether a particular client applicatio
4. 2 2 2 3 99 Appendix A The stores_demo Database Appendix B The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases Glossary Index Table of Contents ix Introduction In This Introduction About This Manual Types of Users Software Dependencies Assumptions About Your Locale Demonstration Databases New Features New Features in Version 8 3 New Features in Version 9 2 Year 2000 Compliance Version 9 2 Features from Dynamic Server 7 30 Documentation Conventions Typographical Conventions Icon Conventions Comment Icons Feature Product and Platform Teoh Command Line Conventions How to Read a Command Line Diagram Sample Code Conventions Additional Documentation On Line Manuals Printed Manuals Error Message Documentation Py te ie Documentation Notes Release Notes Machine Notes Related Reading Ooo NNA DAD OAV oF FR WW Q 2 Compliance with Industry Standards Informix Welcomes Your Comments Informix Guide to SQL Reference 15 16 In This Introduction This Introduction provides an overview of the information in this manual and describes the conventions it uses About This Manual This manual includes information about system catalog tables data types and environment variables that Informix products use It also includes a glossary that contains definitions of common terms found in Informix documentation and a description of the demonstration databases
5. _ value is 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 to set the memory address to the value 0x800000 set the INFORMIXSHMBASE environment variable by entering the following command setenv INFORMIXSHMBASE 8192 For more information see your Administrator s Guide and the Administrator s Reference Environment Variables 3 73 INFORMIXSQLHOSTS INFORM IXSQLHOSTS The INFORMIXSOLHOSTS environment variable specifies the full pathname to the place where client database server connectivity information is stored On UNIX by default this environment variable points to the INFORMIXDIR etc sqlhosts file For example to specify that the client or database server will look for connectivity information in the mysqlhosts file in the work envt directory enter the following command setenv INFORMIXSQLHOSTS work envt mysqlhosts When the INFORMIXSQLHOSTS environment variable is set the client or database server looks in the specified file for connectivity information When the INFORMIXSOLHOSTS environment variable is not set the client or database server looks in the INFORMIXDIR etc sqlhosts file setenv INFORMIXSQLHOSTS pathname pathname specifies the full pathname and filename of the file that contains conne
6. 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 the old values 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 32 768 100 400 700 50000700 The same situation might occur if you attempt to transfer data from FLOAT or SMALLFLOAT columns to INTEGER SMALLINT or DECIMAL columns Both data type conversion and casting depend on casts defined in the syscasts system catalog table For information about syscasts see SYSCASTS on page 1 25 A cast is either built in or user defined Guidelines exist for casting distinct and extended data types Data Types 2 63 Using Built in Casts 2 64 For more information about casting opaque types see Extending Informix Dynamic Server 2000 For information about casting other extended types see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation 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 da
7. Gigabyte is a unit of storage A gigabyte equals 1024 megabytes or 10243 bytes An application environment that lets Informix APIs and database servers handle different languages cultural conventions and code sets For informa tion about the GLS feature see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality A variable or identifier whose scope of reference is all modules of a program Compare with local variable For Extended Parallel Server a type of index that has a fragmentation strategy that is independent of the table fragmentation and where the database server cannot verify that each index row resides on the same coserver as the referenced data row You can use an expression system defined hash or hybrid distribution scheme to create globally detached indexes for any table See also locally detached index 24 Informix Guide to SQL Reference GLS GLS API hash fragmentation hash rule header file help message heterogeneous commit hierarchy high availability High Performance Loader highlight See Global Language Support GLS A legacy acronym for Informix GLS An API of C routines that a C language external routine can use to access Informix GLS locales This API also includes functions that obtain culture specific collation order time and date formats numeric formats and functions that provide a uniform way of accessing character data regardless of whether the locale supports single byte characters or m
8. maryj O Customer likes our merchandise Requests that we stock more types of infant joggers Will call back to place order 1998 06 12 8 25 1998 07 07 10 30 1998 07 02 8 21 1998 07 10 14 06 Authorized credit for two cans to customer issued apology Called ANZ buyer to report the QA problem Checked with shipping Ed Smith Order sent yesterday we were waiting for goods from ANZ Next time will call with delay if necessary Spoke with Jane Akant in Finance She found the error and is sending new bill to customer Sent note to marketing group of interest in infant joggers 1 of 2 asege eg Owep seJ0 s ay ul BJeg trv 90u8Jejay FOS 01 ping XILWOJUI customer_num call_dtime user_id call_code call_descr res_dtime res_descr 127 1998 07 31 14 30 maryj I Received Hero watches item Sent memo to shipping to send 304 instead of ANZ ANZ item 304 to customer and watches pickup HRO watches Should be done tomorrow 8 1 116 1997 11 28 13 34 mannyn I Received plain white swim 1997 11 28 16 47 Shipping found correct case in caps 313 ANZ instead of warehouse and express mailed it navy with team logo 313 in time for swim meet SHM 116 1997 12 21 11 24 mannyn I Second complaint from this 1997 12 27 08 19 Memo to shipping Ava Brown customer Received two cases right handed outfielder gloves 1 HRO instead of one case lefties to send case of left handed gloves pick up wrong case memo
9. 10 A DECIMAL data type 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 be in the range 10 to 10 91 DECIMAL Storage The database server uses 1 byte of disk storage to store two digits of a decimal number The database server uses an additional byte to store the exponent and sign The significant digits to the left of the decimal and the significant digits to the right of the decimal are stored on separate groups of bytes The way the database server stores decimal numbers is best illustrated with an example If you specify DECIMAL 6 3 the data type consists of three significant digits to the left of the decimal and three significant digits to the right of the decimal for instance 123 456 The three digits to the left of the decimal 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 7 illus trates The exponent byte is not shown With the additional byte required for the exponent and sign this data type requires a total of 5 bytes of storage Figure 2 7 Byte 2 Byte 3 Schematic That Illustrates the Storage of Digits in a Decimal Value Significant digits to the left of Significant digits to the right of decimal decimal You can use the following formulas rounded do
10. and 6 28 Informix Guide to SQL Reference isolation iterator function jagged rows join join index jukebox kernel key keyword kilobyte The level of independence when multiple users attempt to access common data specifically relating to the locking strategy for read only SQL requests The various levels of isolation are distinguished primarily by the length of time that shared locks are or can be acquired and held Set the isolation level with the SET ISOLATION or SET TRANSACTION statement A cursor function that is written in an external language such as C or Java A query result in which rows differ in the number and type of columns they contain because the query applies to more than one table in a table hierarchy The process of combining information from two or more tables based on some common domain of information Rows from one table are paired with rows from another table when information in the corresponding rows match on the joining criterion For example if a customer_num column exists in the customer and the orders tables you can construct a query that pairs each customer row with all the associated orders rows based on the common customer_num See also Cartesian product and outer join A type of generalized key index that contains keys that are the result of a query that joins multiple tables A cabinet that consists of one or more optical disc drives slots that store optical platters when the
11. 2nd component of a composite index 3rd component of a composite index 4th component of a composite index 5th component of a composite index 6th component of a composite index 1 of 2 System Catalog 1 49 SYSINDEXES 1 50 Column Name part7 part8 part9 part10 part11 part12 part13 partl4 part15 partl6 levels leaves nunique clust idxflags Informix Guide to SQL Reference Type SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER Explanation 7th component of a composite index 8th component of a composite index 9th component of a composite index 10th component of a composite index 11th component of a composite index 12th component of a composite index 13th component of a composite index 14th component of a composite index 15th component of a composite index 16th component of a composite index Number of B tree levels Number of leaves Number of unique keys in the first column Degree of clustering smaller numbers corre spond to greater clustering Stores the current locking mode of the index Normal 0x01 Coarse 0x02 2 of 2 Changes that affect existing indexes are reflected in this table only after you run the UPDATE STATISTICS statement Each partnth column component of a composite index the part1 through part16 columns in this table holds the column number colno of
12. Column Name Data Type Description g u 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 m y yes m 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference TT The items Table The items Table An order can include one or more items One row exists in the items table for each item in an order Figure A 3 shows the columns of the items table Figure 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 gt 1 total_price MONEY 8 quantity ordered unit price total price of item The stores_demo Database A 5 The stock Table A 6 Column Name stock_num TT manu_code description unit_price unit unit_descr Informix Guide to SQL Reference The stock
13. Informix Guide to SQL Reference Informix Extended Parallel Server Version 8 3 Informix Dynamic Server 2000 Version 9 2 December 1999 Part No 000 6526 Published by Informix Press Informix Corporation 4100 Bohannon Drive Menlo Park CA 94025 1032 1999 Informix Corporation All rights reserved The following are trademarks of Informix Corporation or its affiliates one or more of which may be registered in the United States or other jurisdictions Answers OnLine C ISAM Client SDK DataBlade Data Director Decision Frontier M Dynamic Scalable Architecture Dynamic Server Dynamic Server Developer Edition Dynamic Server with Advanced Decision Support Option Dynamic Server with Extended Parallel Option Dynamic Server with MetaCube Dynamic Server with Universal Data Option Dynamic Server with Web Integration Option Dynamic Server Workgroup Edition Dynamic Virtual Machine Extended Parallel Server Formation Formation Architect Formation Flow Engine Gold Mine Data Access TIF 2000 i Reach i Sell Mustra9 Informix Informix 4GL Informix Inquire Informix Internet Foundation 2000 InformixLink9 Informix Red Brick Decision Server Informix Session Proxy Informix Vista InfoShelf Interforum I Spy Mediazation MetaCube NewEra ON Bar OnLine Dynamic Server OnLine Secure Dynami
14. Maximum length for character data types null otherwise Total number of digits allowed for exact numeric data types DECIMAL INTEGER MONEY and SMALLINT and the number of digits of mantissa precision for approximate data types FLOAT and SMALLFLOAT and null for all other data types The value is machine dependent for FLOAT and SMALLFLOAT Uses one of the following values 2 approximate data types FLOAT and SMALLFLOAT 10 exact numeric data types DECIMAL INTEGER MONEY and SMALLINT Null for all other data types Number of significant digits to the right of the decimal point for DECIMAL and MONEY data types 0 for INTEGER and SMALLINT data types Null for all other data types 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 Indicates whether a column allows nulls either YES or NO Reserved 2 of 2 System Catalog 1 89 Structure of the Information Schema Views 1 90 The sql_languages Information following columns Column Name Data Type source VARCHAR 254 source_year VARCHAR 254 conformance VARCHAR 254 integrity VARCHAR 254 implementation VARCHAR 254 binding _ style VARCHAR 254 programming lang VARCHAR 254 users columns Schema View The sql_languages Information Schema view contains a row for each instance of conformance to standards that the current database server
15. chainrings from 24 48 teeth 10028 109 PRC Steel toe clips with nylon strap Extra wide at buckle to reduce pressure 10029 109 SHM Ingenious new design combines button on sole of shoe with slot on a pedal plate to give riders new options in 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 ANSI and Snell standards for impact protection 7 5 oz Quick release shadow buckle 10031 110 ANZ No buckle so no plastic touches your chin Meets both ANSI and Snell standards for impact protection 7 5 oz Lycra cover lt BYTE value gt lt BYTE value gt lt BYTE value gt lt BYTE value gt lt BYTE value gt lt BYTE value gt The Ultimate In Riding Comfort Lightweight With Anatomical Support Customize Your Mountain Bike With Extra Durable Crankset Classic Toeclip Improved To Prevent Soreness At Clip Buckle Ingenious Pedal Clip Design Delivers Maximum Power And Fast Unlocking Feather Light Quick Release Maximum Protection Helmet Minimum Chin Contact Feather Light Maximum Protection Helmet 4 of 10 asege eg Owe sa o s y ul ejeg Le y aseqejeq owap seJo s ay catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10032 110 SHM Dense outer layer comb
16. outer join outmigration output overloading owner privileged packed decimal pad page parallel database query parallel processing platform parallelism An asymmetric joining of a dominant outer table and a subservient table in a query where the values for the outer part of the join are preserved even though no matching rows exist in the subservient table Any dominant table rows that do not have a matching row in the subservient table contain null values in the columns selected from the subservient table The process by which Optical Subsystem migrates TEXT or BYTE data from the Dynamic Server environment to an optical storage subsystem The result that the computer produces in response to a query or a request for a report See routine overloading A class of SPL routines that any user can create who has Resource database privileges A storage format that represents either two decimal digits or a sign and one decimal digit in each byte Usually to fill empty places at the beginning or end of a line string or field with spaces or blanks when the input is shorter than the field The physical unit of disk storage and basic unit of memory storage that the database server uses to read from and write to Informix databases Page size is fixed for a particular operating system and platform A page is always entirely contained within a chunk See also home page and remainder page The execution of SOL querie
17. preprocessor primary access method primary key primary key constraint printable character privilege procedure procedure overloading process See routine overloading and type substitutability The total number of significant digits in a real number both to the right and left of the decimal point For example the number 1437 2305 has a precision of 8 See also scale An opaque data type for which the database server provides the type definition See also BLOB BOOLEAN CLOB LVARCHAR and pointer See filter A lock held on index keys that qualifies for a predicate In a predicate lock exclusive predicates consist of a single key value and shared predicates con sist of a query rectangle and a scan operation such as inclusion or overlap An SQL statement that is generated by the PREPARE statement from a character string or from a variable that contains a character string This fea ture allows you to form your request while the program is executing without having to modify and recompile the program A program that takes high level programs and produces code that a standard language compiler such as C can compile An access method whose routines access a table with such operations as insert ing deleting updating and scanning See also secondary access method The information from a column or set of columns that uniquely identifies each row in a table The primary key sometimes is called a unique key Spe
18. tabid INTEGER Table identifier of the table that contains the fragment named in the fragment column fragment NVARCHAR Name of dbspace where fragment is stored 128 Identifies the fragment on which privileges are granted fragauth NCHAR 6 A 6 byte pattern that specifies fragment level privi leges including 3 bytes reserved for future use This pattern contains one or more of the following codes u Update i Insert d Delete If a code in the fragauth column is lowercase such as u for Update the grantee cannot grant the privilege to other users If a code in the fragauth column is uppercase such as U for Update the grantee can grant the privilege to other users A composite index for the tabid grantor grantee and fragment columns allows only unique values A composite index on the tabid and grantee columns allows duplicate values System Catalog 1 45 SYSFRAGMENTS The following example displays the fragment level privileges for one base table as they appear in the sysfragauth system catalog table 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 SYSFRAGM ENTS The sysfragments system catalog table stores fragmentation information for tables and indexes One row exists for each table or index fragment The sysfragments t
19. A UDR can either return values or not The data type system of Dynamic Server is an extensible and flexible data type system that supports the following types of activities m Extension of existing data types by redefining some of the behavior for the data types that the database server provides m Definition of custom data types by a user 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 Extending Informix Dynamic Server 2000 The superstores_demo database creates the distinct data type percent ina 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 B 24 Informix Guide to SQL Reference User Defined Routines and Extended Data Types The superstores_demo database creates the following named row types m location hierarchy a location_t a loc_us_t a loc_non_us_t m customer hierarchy o name_t a customer_t a retail_t a whlsale_t m orders table a 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 C
20. Analysis Because the next century expansion is the closest to the current date 1 1 2001 is chosen 3 34 Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBCENTURY Behavior of DBCENTURY R or DBCENTURY Not Set Example data type DATETIME year to month Current date 4 6 1999 User enters 1 1 DBCENTURY R Present century algorithm Present century expansion 1901 1 Example data type DATE Current date 4 6 2003 User enters 0 1 1 DBCENTURY not set Present century expansion 2000 1 Analysis In both examples the Present algorithm is used Important The interpretation of the variables P E and C will always vary with the current date In the first example 1 1 1 will be expanded as 1 1 2001 if the current date is 4 6 2001 and DBCENTURY P In the second example 1 1 will be expanded as 2001 1 if the current date is 5 7 1995 and DBCENTURY E Behavior of DBCENTURY with Expressions that Contain Date Values This section describes how the database server uses the DBCENTURY environment variable to interpret dates in fragmentation expressions triggers check constraints and UDRs When an expression check constraint fragmentation expression trigger or UDR contains a date value in which the year has 1 or 2 digits the database server uses the setting of DBCENTURY at the time the database object table trigger or UDR is created The setting of DBCENTURY at creation time is used to expand date values dur
21. 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 table summarizes the coltype values for the predefined data types Predefined Data Type Value for coltype Column BLOB 41 CLOB 41 BOOLEAN 41 LVARCHAR 40 4 Storing Column Length The value that the collength column holds depends on the data type of the column 1 32 Informix Guide to SQL Reference GLS SYSCOLUMNS Length of Integer Based Columns A collength value for a SMALLINT INTEGER or INT8 column is not machine dependent The database server uses the following lengths for SQL integer based data types Integer Based Data Type Length in bytes SMALLINT 2 INTEGER 4 INT8 8 The database server stores a SERIAL data type as an INTEGER value and a SERIAL8 data type as an INT8 value Therefore SERIAL has the same length as INTEGER 4 bytes and SERIAL8 has the same length as INT8 8 bytes Length of Fixed Point Columns A collength value for a MONEY or DECIMAL column is determined using the following formula precision 256 scale Length of Varying Length Character Columns For columns of type VARCHAR the max_size and min_space values are encoded
22. ESQL C programs environment variable to change order of 3 28 multithreaded ESQL C applications 3 98 Complex data type 2 59 to 2 62 collection types 2 60 row types 2 61 sysattrtypes information about members 1 23 Compliance with industry standards Intro 15 A BC DEFGH Configuration file for database servers 3 82 for ON Archive utility 3 25 for ON Bar utility 3 24 for tctermcap 3 26 config arc file 3 25 CONNECT statement and INFORMIXSERVER environment variable 3 71 Connection authentication DCE GSS CSM environment variable 3 69 INFORMIXCONRETRY environment variable 3 66 INFORMIXCONTIME environment variable 3 66 Constraint check described in syscoldepend table 1 29 column described in sysconstraints table 1 36 not null described in syscoldepend table 1 29 referential described in sysreferences table 1 66 Contact information Intro 16 Conventions documentation Intro 6 Converting data types 2 63 DATE and DATETIME 2 66 INTEGER DATE and DATETIME 2 66 number and char 2 65 number to number 2 65 CPFIRST environment variable 3 28 CREATE SCHEMA statement example 1 7 CREATE TABLE statement and typed tables 2 37 assigning data types 2 6 CREATE VIEW statement in sysviews table 1 10 customer table in sales_demo database columns in B 4 customer table in stores_demo database columns in A 3 JKLUMNOPQRSTUVV X Y Z customer table in superstores_demo database columns in B 12 B 13 B 14 cust_calls table in sto
23. Explanation Whether a primary access method supports clustering Non Zero access method supports clustering Zero access method does not support clustering Whether a primary access method supports rowids Non Zero access method supports rowids Zero access method does not support rowids Whether a primary access method is read write Non Zero access method is read write Zero access method is read only Whether an access method supports parallel execution Non Zero access method supports parallel execution Zero access method does not support parallel execution 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 The routine specified for the AM_CREATE purpose for this access method The value of am_create is the procid for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table 3 of 6 System Catalog 1 19 SYSAMS 1 20 Column Name am_drop am_open am_close am_insert am_delete am_update am_stats Informix Guide to SQL Reference Type INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER Explanation The routine specified for the AM_DROP purpose for this access method The value of am_drop is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_OPEN purpose
24. The shorter value is padded on the right with spaces until the values have equal lengths then they are compared for the full length Nonprintable Characters with VARCHAR Nonprintable VARCHAR characters are entered displayed and treated in the same way as nonprintable CHAR characters are For detailed information on entering and displaying nonprintable characters refer to Nonprintable Characters with CHAR on page 2 14 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 given the following statement the value that gets stored in table mytab is 1 create table mytab coll varchar 10 insert into mytab values 1 Data Types 2 47 Built In Data Types 2 48 Tip VARCHAR treats C null binary 0 and string terminators as termination characters for nonprintable characters Multibyte Characters with VARCHAR The database locale must support multibyte VARCHAR characters If you store multibyte characters make sure to calculate the number of bytes needed For more information see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Collating VARCHAR The main difference between the NVARCHAR and the VARCHAR data types is the difference in collation sequencing Collatio
25. and root node Within the context of a MPP system a node is an individual computer See also massively parallel processing system Within the context of a SMP system a node can either be the entire SMP computer or a fully functioning subsystem that uses a portion of the hardware resources of that SMP system See also symmetric multiprocessing system For Extended Parallel Server a node is an individual computer with one or more CPUs that runs a single instance of an operating system within a parallel processing platform A node can be a uniprocessor a cluster of stand alone computers an SMP computer or an independent subsystem configured within an SMP computer A character with a code point greater than 127 Non ASCII characters include 8 bit characters and multibyte characters A user defined function that returns a single group of values one row of data and therefore does not require a cursor when it is executed Compare with cursor function A user defined function that always returns the same value when passed the same arguments A nonvariant function must not contain SQL statements Compare with variant function A constraint on a column that specifies the column cannot contain null values A value that is unknown or not applicable A null is not the same as a value of zero or blank 34 Informix Guide to SQL Reference object object mode object relational database OLTP online transaction processing
26. application online transaction processing queries ON Monitor opaque data type opaque type support function open operational table See database object The state of a database object as recorded in the sysobjstate system catalog table A constraint or unique index can be in the enabled disabled or filter ing mode A trigger or duplicate index can be in the enabled or disabled mode You use the SET statement to change the object mode of an object A database that adds object oriented features to a relational database including support for user defined data types user defined routines user defined casts user defined access methods and inheritance Acronym for Online Transaction Processing See also online transaction processing application Characterized by quick indexed access to a small number of data items The applications are typically multiuser and response times are measured in fractions of seconds See also decision support application The transactions that OLTP applications handle are usually simple and pre defined A typical OLTP system is an order entry system where only a limited number of rows are accessed by a single transaction many times See also deci sion support query Not for Extended Parallel Server An interface that presents a series of screens through which a database server administrator can monitor and modify a database server A fundamental data type that you define which conta
27. call_type catalog cust_calls customer o retail_customer new o whlsale_customer new items location new a location_non_us new a location_us new manufact orders region new sales_rep new state stock stock_discount new units new This section lists the column names column data types and column descrip tions for each table in the superstores_demo database The unique identifier for each table primary key is shaded and indicated by a key symbol Columns that represent extended data types are discussed in User Defined Routines and Extended Data Types on page B 24 Primary foreign key relationships between the tables are outlined in Referential Relationships on page B 27 The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 9 Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables The call_type Table The call codes associated with customer calls are stored in the call_type table Figure B 7 shows the columns of the call_type table Figure B 7 The call_type Table g _u call_code Name g u catalog_num stock_num manu_code unit advert advert_descr B 10 Informix Guide to SQL Reference The catalog Table Type SERIAL 1001 SMALLINT CHAR 3 CHAR 4 ROW picture BLOB caption LVARCHAR CLOB Name Type Description CHAR 1 call code codel_descr CHAR 30 description of call code The catalog table describes each item in stock Retail stores use this tabl
28. sysexternal Vv 1 44 sysfragauth Vv 1 45 sysfragments Vv Vv 1 46 1 of 3 Structure of the System Catalog System Catalog Table XPS IDS Page sysindexes Vv 1 49 sysindices Vv 1 51 sysinherits Vv 1 53 syslangauth Vv 1 53 syslogmap 1 54 sysnewdepend Vv 1 54 sysobjstate Vv Vv 1 55 sysopclasses Y 1 56 sysopclstr Y 1 57 sysprocauth Vv Y 1 59 sysprocbody Vv Y 1 60 sysprocedures Vv Vv 1 61 sysprocplan Vv Y 1 65 sysreferences Vv Y 1 66 sysrepository Vv 1 67 sysroleauth Y 1 68 sysroutinelangs Y 1 68 syssynonyms 1 69 syssyntable Vv Vv 1 70 systabamdata Y 1 71 systabauth Vv Vv 1 72 systables Vv Y 1 73 systraceclasses Y 1 75 systracemsgs Y 1 76 2 of 3 System Catalog 1 15 SYSAGGREGATES GLS 1 16 systrigbody systriggers sysusers sysviews sysviolations sysxtddesc systdtypeauth sysxtdtypes Column Name name owner aggid init_func iter_func Informix Guide to SQL Reference System Catalog Table SYSAGGREGATES The sysaggregates system catalog table records user defined aggregates UDAs The sysaggregates system catalog table has the following columns Type NVARCHAR 128 NCHAR 32 SERIAL NVARCHAR 128 NVARCHAR 128 XPS Ss taz SSSSSSNSS Explanation Aggregate name Aggregate owner Aggregate identifier Page 1 77 1 78 1 79 1 80 1 81 1 82 1 83 1 84 Name of initialization UDR Name of iterator UDR 3 of 3 In a database whose collation order is locale de
29. table or index and removing the fragments that do not apply to the operation Glossary 23 fragmentation full checkpoint function function cursor function overloading fuzzy checkpoint gateway generalized key GK index gigabyte Global Language Support GLS global variable globally detached index The process of defining groups of rows within a table based on a rule and then storing these groups or fragments in separate dbspaces that you specify when you create a table or index fragmentation strategy See also table fragmentation A type of checkpoint where the pages on disk are synchronized with the pages in the shared memory buffer pool A routine that returns one or more values See also user defined function A cursor that is associated with an EXECUTE FUNCTION statement which executes routines that return values See also cursor function See routine overloading A type of checkpoint where only certain pages on disk are synchronized with the pages in the shared memory buffer pool and the logical log is used to synchronize the rest of the pages during fast recovery A data communications device that establishes communications between networks A type of index for static tables with Extended Parallel Server that can speed certain queries by letting you store the result of an expression as a key in a B tree or bitmap index The three categories of GK index are selective virtual column and join
30. 2 25 using with SERIAL8 2 41 INTEGER data type casts for 2 65 2 66 description of 2 26 length syscolumns 1 33 Intensity attributes setting INFORMIXTERM for 3 75 INTERVAL data type DATE DATETIME with 2 52 2 57 to 2 58 description of 2 26 expressions with 2 52 EXTEND function with 2 54 field delimiters 2 29 length syscolumns 1 34 ISM_COMPRESSION environment variable 3 77 ISM_DEBUG_FILE environment variable 3 77 ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL environment variable 3 78 ISM_ENCRYPTION environment variable 3 79 ISM_MAXLOGSIZE environment variable 3 79 ISM_MAXLOGVERS environment variable 3 80 ISO 8859 1 code set Intro 4 items table in stores_demo database columns in A 5 items table in superstores_demo database columns in B 15 K keytab file environment variable to specify path 3 69 Korn shell profile file 3 9 L Language environment setting with DBLANG 3 42 sql_languages information schema view 1 90 sysroutinelangs information 1 68 Large object data type description of 2 49 list of 2 48 LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable 3 80 LIBPATH environment variable 3 81 List of environment variables 3 19 of environment variables by topic 3 99 of system catalog tables 1 14 LIST data type description of 2 30 LOAD statement specifying field delimiter with DBDELIMITER 3 40 Locale Intro 4 default Intro 4 en_us 8859 1 Intro 4 LOCOPY function 2 10 2 15 Long identifiers and client version 3 62 and IFX_LONGID environ
31. 2 64 indicates which numeric data type conversions are acceptable and what kinds of errors you can encounter when you convert between certain numeric data types Figure 2 14 Numeric Data Type Conversion Chart TO FROM SMALLINT INTEGER INT8 SMALLFLOAT FLOAT DECIMAL SMALLINT OK OK OK OK OK OK INTEGER E OK OK E OK P INT8 E E OK D E P SM ALLFLOAT p E E OK oK dl FLOAT E E E D OK P DECIMAL 3 E E p B dl Legend OK No error P An error can occur depending on the precision of the decimal E An error can occur depending on data 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 numbers before storing them as decimal numbers This conversion can result in an error depending on the precision assigned to the DECIMAL column Converting Between Number and CHAR You can convert a CHAR or NCHAR column to a numeric column However if the CHAR or NCHAR column contains any characters that are not valid in a number column for example the letter instead of the number 1 your database server returns an error Data Types 2 65 Using Built in Casts 2 66 You can also convert a numeric column to a character column However if the character column is not large enough to receive the number the database server generates an error If the database server generates an error it cannot complete the ALTER TABLE statement or cast
32. 28 setenv CPFIRST Set the CPFIRST environment variable to determine the nondefault compi lation order for all ESQL C source files in your programming environment When compiling an ESQL C program the default order is to run the ESQL C preprocessor on the program source file and pass the resulting file to the C language preprocessor and compiler However you can 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 determine the nondefault compilation order for a specific program you can either give the program source file a ecp extension run the cp option with the esq command on a program source file with a ec extension or set CPFIRST Set the CPFIRST environment variable to TRUE uppercase only to run the C preprocessor on all ESQL C source files The C preprocessor will run 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 CPFIRST TRUE Informix Guide to SQL Reference setenv DBACCNOIGN DBACCNOIGN The DBACCNOIGN environment variable affects the behavior of the DB Access utility if an error occurs under one of the following circumstances m You run DB Access in nonmenu mode m You execute the LOAD command with DB Access in menu
33. 3 23 m A topical index of environment variables is included at the end of this chapter beginning on page 3 100 Environment Variables 3 5 Types of Environment Variables Types of Environment Variables The following types of environment variables are discussed in this chapter m Informix specific environment variables Set Informix environment variables when you want to work with Informix products Each Informix product manual specifies the environment variables that you must set to use that product m Operating system specific environment variables 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 have to set the TERMCAP or TERMINFO environment variable to use some products effectively GLS The GLS environment variables that let you work in a nondefault locale are described in the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality These GLS variables are included in the list of environment variables in Figure 3 1 on page 3 19 and in the topic index in Figure 3 2 on page 3 100 but are not discussed in this manual Tip Additional environment variables that are specific to your client application or SQL API might be discussed in the manual for that product 3 6 Informix Guide to SQL Reference UNIX E C WIN NT Where to Set Environment Variables in UNIX Wher
34. 3 94 generalized key in sysnewdepend 1 54 generalized key in sysrepository 1 67 of environment variables 3 99 sysindexes information 1 49 sysindices information 1 51 sysobjstate information 1 55 threads for 3 94 Indexkey structure fields in 1 52 A BC DEFGH Industry standards compliance with Intro 15 Information Schema views accessing 1 87 columns 1 88 description of 1 86 generating 1 86 server_info 1 90 sql_languages 1 90 tables 1 88 Informix extension checking specifying with DBANSIWARN 3 30 Informix Storage Manager 3 77 3 79 INFORMIXC environment variable 3 64 INFORMIXCONCSMCFG environment variable 3 65 INFORMIXCONRETRY environment variable 3 66 INFORMIXCONTIME environment variable 3 66 INFORMIXCPPMAP environment variable 3 68 INFORMIXDIR environment variable 3 68 INFORMIXDIR bin directory Intro 5 INFORMIXKEYTAB environment variable 3 69 INFORMIXOPCACHE environment variable 3 70 INFORMIXSERVER environment variable 3 70 INFORMIXSHMBASE environment variable 3 72 3 73 INFORMIXSTACKSIZE environment variable 3 74 INFORMIXTERM environment variable 3 75 INF_ROLE_SEP environment variable 3 76 Input support function 2 31 Inserting values into SERIAL columns 2 40 Installation directory specifying with INFORMIXDIR 3 68 JK L MN OP QRS TU VW X Y Z Installation files INFORMIXDIR environment variable 3 68 INT data type See INTEGER data type INTS data type casts for 2 65 2 66 description of
35. DBDELIMITER e e kor e e we e 3 39 DBEDIT 2 2 340 DBFLTMASK 2 2 2 2 2 341 DBLANGi fey eR ke At A A re AO Se ee A DBMONEY secc 8 be the Ok ae Choe Re he Ow OA DBONPLOAD 2 2 2 2 3 45 DBPATER si g eo ee Ok ek ee e Ch Ok k a ae ot ce SO DBPRINT a4 Se use ae Gee A te Ao Ae we e AS DBREMOTECMD 2 3 49 DBSPACETEMP 3 50 DBITEMP 2 o bo Soh eB Dah 2 be 4k o 23552 DEFIME ae io ek ee ee ee a OS DBUPSPACE 3 56 DELIMIDENT 2 2 4 4 e 3 57 3 2 Informix Guide to SQL Reference ENVIGNORE FET_BUF_SIZE IFMX_SMLTBL BROADCAST SIZE IFX_DIRECTIVES IFX_LONGID IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL SIZE IFX_NETBUF_SIZE IFX_UPDDESC FORMIXC FORMIXCONCSMCFG FORMIXCONRETRY FORMIXCONTIME FORMIXCPPMAP FORMIXDIR FORMIXKEYTAB FORMIXOPCACHE FORMIXSERVER FORMIXSHMBASE FORMIXSQOLHOSTS FORMIXSTACKSIZE FORMIXTERM F_ROLE_SEP ISM_COMPRESSION ISM_DEBUG_FILE ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL ISM_ENCRYPTION ISM_MAXLOGSIZE ISM_MAXLOGVERS LD_LIBRARY_PATH LIBPATH NODEFDAC ONCONFIG OPTCOMPIND OPTMSG OPTOFC OPT_GOAL H Z 2272227222722222 3 58 3 59 3 60 3 61 3 62 3 63 3 63 3 64 3 64 3 65 3 66 3 66 3 68 3 68 3 69 3 70 3 70 3 72 3 73 3 74 lt 3 75 3 76 3 77 3 77 3 78 3 79 3 79 3 80 3 80 3 81 3 81
36. DBEDIT environment variable 3 40 dbexport utility specifying field delimiter with DBDELIMITER 3 39 3 57 DBFLTMASK environment variable 3 41 DBLANG environment variable 3 42 dbload utility specifying field delimiter with DBDELIMITER 3 40 DBMONEY environment variable 2 32 3 44 DBONPLOAD environment variable 3 45 DBPATH environment variable 3 46 DBPRINT environment variable 3 48 DBREMOTECMD environment variable 3 49 Dbserver group value in INFORMIXSERVER 3 71 dbservername cmd batch file 3 18 DBSPACETEMP environment variable 3 50 DBTEMP environment variable 3 52 DBTIME environment variable 2 20 3 53 DBUPSPACE environment variable 3 56 DCE GSS communications support module CSM environment variable for 3 69 DEC data type See DECIMAL data type DECIMAL data type casts for 2 65 description of 2 21 disk storage 2 22 fixed point 2 21 floating point 2 21 length syscolumns 1 33 Decimal digits display of 3 41 Decimal point as delimiter in DATETIME 2 19 as delimiter in INTERVAL 2 29 Default column in sysdefaults table 1 37 configuration file 3 82 Default locale Intro 4 DELIMIDENT environment variable 3 57 Delimited identifier setting DELIMIDENT environment variable 3 57 Delimiter for DATETIME values 2 19 for INTERVAL values 2 29 Demonstration database map of A 11 structure of tables A 2 B 9 tables in A 3 to A 10 Demonstration databases Intro 5 Dependencies software Intro 4 Diagnostics for base tables
37. Environment Variables The following diagram shows the syntax for setting an environment variable at acommand prompt in Windows NT For more information on how to read syntax diagrams see Command Line Conventions in the introduction 3 16 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Setting Environment Variables for Command Prompt Utilities To view your current settings after one or more Informix products are installed enter the following command at a command prompt Sometimes you must add information to an environment variable that is already set For example the PATH environment variable is always set in Windows NT environments When you use an Informix product you must add the name of the directory where the executable files for the Informix products are stored to the PATH In the following example INFORMIXDIR is d informix that is during installation 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 4PATH 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 4INFORMIXDIRZ bin ZPATHS You might prefer to use this version to ensure that your PATH e
38. Examples of tasks include encapsu lating multiple SQL statements creating trigger actions and restricting who can access database objects A variable that the operating system maintains for each user and made avail able to all programs that the user runs A file that receives error information whenever a program runs Glossary 19 error message error trapping escape character escape key ESQUC Smart Large Object API exception exception handling exclusive access exclusive lock executable file execute explicit cast explicit connection A message that is associated with a usually negative designated number Informix applications display error messages on the screen or write them to files See exception handling A character that indicates that the following character normally interpreted by the program is to be printed as a literal character instead The escape character is used with the interpreted character to escape or ignore the interpreted meaning The keyboard key usually marked ESC that is used to terminate one mode and start another mode in most UNIX and DOS systems An API of C routines that an Informix ESQL C client application can use to access smart large objects as operating system files The ESQL C Smart Large Object API is part of the Informix ESOL C SQL API You can also access smart large objects with a set of functions in the DataBlade API An error or warning that th
39. If the DBSPACETEMP environment variable is set to a nonexistent dbspace the database server defaults to the root dbspace for explicit temporary tables and to tmp for implicit temporary tables not to the DBSPACETEMP configu ration parameter Important If the DBSPACETEMP environment variable is set to an invalid value the database server might fill tmp to the limit and eventually bring down the system or kill the file system 3 52 Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBTEMP DBTEMP Set the DBTEMP environment variable to specify the full pathname of the directory into which you want Informix Enterprise Gateway products to place their temporary files and temporary tables setenv DBTEMP pathname pathname is the full pathname of the directory for temporary files and temporary tables Set the DBTEMP environment variable to specify the pathname usr magda mytemp by entering the following command setenv DBTEMP usr magda mytemp Important DBTEMP must not point to an NFS directory If you do not set DBTEMP temporary files are created in tmp If DBTEMP is not set temporary tables are created in the directory of the database that is the dbs directory For more information see your INFORMIX Enterprise Gateway User Manual Environment Variables 3 53 DBTIME DBTIME The DBTIME environment variable specifies the end user formats of DATETI
40. Informix Guide to SQL Reference Using the System Catalog Each table recorded in the systables system catalog table is assigned a tabid asystem assigned sequential ID number that uniquely identifies each table in the database The system catalog tables receive tabid numbers 1 through 24 and the user created tables receive 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 colname tabid colno coltype collength colmin colmax customer_num 0 1 262 4 fname 0 2 0 15 Iname 0 3 0 15 company 0 4 0 20 addressl 0 5 0 20 address2 0 6 0 20 city 0 7 0 5 state 0 8 0 2 zipcode 0 9 0 5 phone 0 10 0 8 fname 02 1 0 5 Iname 02 2 0 5 company 02 3 0 20 phone 02 4 0 8 In the syscolumns system catalog 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 contain no entries These two columns contain values when a column is the first key in a composite index or is the only key in the index has no null or duplicate values and the UPDATE STATISTICS statement has been run System Catalog 1 9 Using
41. ON Archive menu interface m It defines the terminal control attributes that allow ON Archive to manipulate the screen and cursor m It defines the mappings between commands and key presses m It defines the characters used in drawing menus and borders for an API ARC_KEYPAD pathname _ pathname is the pathname for a tctermcap file For example to set the ARC_KEYPAD environment variable to specify the file usr jane tctermcap janeroe enter the following command setenv ARC_KEYPAD usr jane tctermcap janeroe For more information on archiving see your Archive and Backup Guide 3 26 Informix Guide to SQL Reference COCKPITSERVICE COCKPITSERVICE Set the COCKPITSERVICE environment variable to specify a nondefault TCP service for DB Cockpit setenv _ COCKPITSERVICE servicename servicename is the name of the TCP service for client server communication The onprobe server and oncockpit client components of DB Cockpit communicate with each other through a TCP service Before you can launch DB Cockpit onprobe or oncockpit you should define the TCP service and assign it a unique service number For example setenv COCKPITSERVICE cockpit2 If you do not specify the service name either with the service command line option or in the COCKPITSERVICE environment variable the default is cockpit Environment Variables 3 27 CPFIRST 3
42. On UNIX the default map file is INFORMIXDIR etc c map On Windows NT the default map file is INFORMIXDIR etc c map INFORM IXDIR The INFORMIXDIR environment variable specifies the directory that contains the subdirectories in which your product files are installed You must always set the INFORMIXDIR environment variable Verify that the INFORMIXDIR environment variable 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 the INFORMIXDIR environment variable see your Installation Guide INFORMIXDIR pathname pathname is the directory path where the product files are installed To set the INFORMIXDIR environment variable to the desired installation directory enter the following command setenv INFORMIXDIR usr informix Environment Variables 3 69 INFORMIXKEYTAB UNIX setenv INFORMIXKEYTAB 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 commu nications 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
43. SQL Reference delete delimited identifier delimiter deluxe mode descriptor detached index device array diagnostic area diagnostics table Dirty Read disabled mode To remove any row or combination of rows with the DELETE statement An identifier surrounded by double quotes The purpose of a delimited identifier is to allow usage of identifiers that are otherwise identical to SOL reserved keywords or that contain nonalphabetical characters See also identifier A boundary on an input field or the terminator for a column or row Some files and prepared objects require semicolon comma space or tab delimiters between statements A method of loading or unloading data that uses regular inserts A quoted string or embedded variable name that identifies an allocated system descriptor area or an sqlda structure It is used for the Informix SOL APIs See also identifier The type of index you get when the distribution scheme specified by the FRAGMENT BY clause and the storage option specified by the IN clause of the CREATE INDEX or ALTER FRAGMENT ON INDEX statements differ from the distribution scheme of the underlying table Index pages reside in sepa rate dbspaces from the corresponding data pages See also attached index A list of I O devices See also component A data structure that stores diagnostic information about an executed SQL statement A special table that holds information about the
44. 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 on page 2 61 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 9 CLOB Stores text data For more information about this data type see the description on page 2 15 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Large Object Data Types 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 Performance Guide When you define a BLOB or CLOB column you can determine the following large object characteristics m LOG and NOLOG whether the database server should log the smart large object in accordance with the current database log mode m 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 m HIGH INTEG and MODERATE INTEG whether the database server should use page headers to detect data corruption Use
45. T Today S Dbservername default NCHAR 256 If default type L the literal default value class CHAR 1 Type of column T table t row type 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 type NCHAR 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 English text A space separates the two parts If the data type of the column is not NCHAR or NVARCHAR a binary representation is encoded in the default column A composite index for the tabid colno and class columns allows only unique values System Catalog 1 37 SYSDEPEND 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 depen dency so a view based on three tables has three rows The sysdepend system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation btabid INTEGER Table identifier of base table or view btype NCHAR 1 Base object type T Table V View dtabid INTEGER Table identifier of dependent table dtype NCHAR 1 Dependent object type V View currently only view is implemented The btabid and dtabid columns are indexed and allow duplicate values 1 38 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSDISTRIB SYSDISTRIB The sysdistr
46. Type implicit implicit Allowed Allowed Allowed defined 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Operator Precedence Operator Precedence An operator is a symbol or keyword that is used for operations on data types Some operators only support built in data types other operators support both built in and extended data types The following table shows the precedence of the operators that Informix database servers support in descending order of precedence Operators with the same precedence are listed in the same row Operator Precedence UNITS unary unary ANY ALL SOME NOT lt lt gt gt l lt gt IN BETWEEN LIKE AND OR MATCHES Data Types 2 71 Environment Variables In This Chapter Types of Environment Variables Where to Set Environment Variables in UNIX Where to Set Environment Variables in Windows NT Using Environment Variables in UNIX Setting Environment Variables in an Environment Configuration File Setting Environment Variables at Login Time Syntax for Setting Environment Variables Unsetting Environment Variables Modifying
47. VIEW statement on each view To re create the views rerun the script 1 86 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Accessing the Information Schema Views 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 Informix recommends 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 views are described in this section m tables m columns m sql languages m server_info Most of the columns in the views are defined as VARCHAR data types with large maximums to accept large names and in anticipation of long identifier names in future standards System Catalog 1 87 Structure of the Information Schema Views 1 88 Column Name table_schema table_name table_type remarks 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
48. Variables at Login Time Add the commands that set your environment variables to the following login file For the C shell login or cshrc For the Bourne shell or Korn shell profile Environment Variables 3 9 Syntax for Setting Environment Variables 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 supports a shortcut as the fourth item indicates The 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 For more information on how to read syntax diagrams see Command Line Conventions in the Introduction Unsetting Environment Variables To unset an environment variable enter the following command Shell Command C unsetenv ABCD Bourne or Korn unset ABCD 3 10 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Modifying an Environment Variable Setting Modifying an Environment Variable Setting Sometimes you must add information to an enviro
49. 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 This data value requires 5 or 8 2 1 bytes of storage For information on how to use DATETIME data in arithmetic and relational expressions see Manipulating DATE with DATETIME and INTERVAL Values on page 2 53 For more information on the DATETIME data type see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax and the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality If you specify a locale other than U S ASCII 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 Locales and the GL_DATE and DBDATE environment variables affect the display of datetime data They do not affect the internal format used in a DATETIME column 2 20 Informix Guide to SQL Reference DEC For information on how the USEOSTIME configuration parameter can affect the subsecond granularity when the database server obtains the current time from the operating system for SQL statements see the Administrator s Reference For more information on DBTIME see page 3 54 For more information on locales and GLS environment
50. also explicit transaction and singleton implicit transaction A built in or user defined cast that the database server automatically invokes to perform the data conversion See also explicit cast A connection made using a database statement DATABASE CREATE DATABASE START DATABASE DROP DATABASE See also explicit connection A SELECT statement that uses the asterisk symbol so that a query returns all columns of the table A system of archiving that allows the option to archive only those parts of the data that have changed since the last archive was created A subquery that has no relationship to or dependency on any of its parent queries It needs to be evaluated only once and the results can be used thereafter In independent subqueries both the parent and subquery are parallelized See also correlated subquery and subquery A structure of entries each of which contains a value or values and a pointer to the corresponding location in a table or smart large object An index might improve the performance of database queries by ordering a table according to key column values or by providing access to data inside of large objects 26 Informix Guide to SQL Reference index fragment Informix user ID Informix user password inheritance initialize inmigration inner join input input parameter insert cursor installation interactive Consists of zero or more index items grouped together which can be stor
51. an INTERVAL value with the same choices as a DATETIME value In addition you can 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 resultis a span of time which is an INTERVAL value On the other hand if you add or subtract an INTERVAL value from a DATETIME value another DATETIME value is produced because the result is a specific time Figure 2 11 indicates the range of expressions that you can use with DATE DATETIME and INTERVAL data and the data type that results from each expression Figure 2 11 Range of Expressions for DATE DATETIME and INTERVAL Data Type of Operand 1 Operator Data Type of Operand 2 Result DATE a 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 1of2 2 52 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Time Data Types Data Type of Operand 1 Operator Data Type of Operand 2 Result CURRENT DATETIME INTERVAL INTERVAL CURRENT DATETIME CURRENT or INTERVAL DATETIME DATETIME or UNITS DATETIME INTERVAL or UNITS INTERVAL INTERVAL or NUMBER INTERVAL 2 of 2 No other combinations are allowed You cannot add two DATETIME values because this oper
52. an overloaded user defined routine to uniquely identify a particular signature of the user defined routine See also routine overloading and routine signature The ability to add computing hardware to achieve correspondingly faster performance for a DSS query or OLTP operation of a given volume See Stored Procedure Language SPL An SPL routine that returns one or more values An SPL routine that does not return a value A user defined routine that is written in Stored Procedure Language SPL Its name parameters and other information are registered in the system catalog tables of a database The database server also stores the executable format in system catalog tables An SPL routine can be an SPL procedure or an SPL function A variable that is created with the DEFINE statement and used in an SPL routine Acronym for Structured Query Language SQL is a database query language that was developed by IBM and standardized by ANSI Informix relational database management products are based on an extended implementation of ANSEstandard SQL An application programming interface that allows you to embed Structured Query Language SQL statements directly in an application The embedded language product Informix ESQL C is an example of an SQL API See also host variable Acronym for SQL Communications Area The SQLCA is a data structure that stores information about the most recently executed SQL statement The result code returned by t
53. are executed the database server uses the permissions of the user that 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 Starting with Version 9 x protected routines which cannot be deleted are indicated differently in the mode column In earlier versions protected routines were simply indicated by a P Currently protected routines are treated as DBA routines and cannot be Owner routines Thus D and 0 indicate DBA and Owner routines and d and 0 indicate protected DBA and protected Owner routines Important After a SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION is done all owner routines created while using the new identity are given a restricted mode A 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 or display them through dbschema Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSPROCPLAN SYSPROCPLAN The sysprocplan system catalog table describes the query execution plans and dependency lists for data manipulation statements within each routine If new plans are generated during the execution of a routine the new plans are also recorded in sysprocplan Because different parts of a routine plan can be created on different dates the table can contain multiple rows for each routine It is possible to
54. as sales tax information Figure B 21 shows the columns of the state table Figure B 21 The state Table Name Type Description code CHAR 2 state code sname CHAR 15 state name sales_tax percent state sales tax The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 21 Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables B 22 CEI The stock Table The stock table is a catalog of the items sold by the distributor Figure B 22 shows the columns of the stock table Figure B 22 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 distributer cost per unit of item from manufacturer status CHAR 1 status of item m active m D discontinued m 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 unit in bigger_unit Informix Guide to SQL Reference The stock discount Table Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables The stock_discount table contains infor
55. be changed You can however insert a value in a SERIAL column using the INSERT statement or reset the serial value n using the ALTER TABLE statement as long as that value does not duplicate any existing values in the table When you insert a number ina SERIAL column or reset the next value of a SERIAL column your database server assigns the next number in sequence to the number entered However if you reset the next value of a SERIAL column to a value that is less than the values already in that column the next value is computed with the following formula maximum existing value in SERIAL column 1 For example if you reset the serial value of the customer_num column in the customer table to 50 and the highest assigned customer number is 128 the next customer number assigned is 129 A SERIAL data column is commonly used to store unique numeric codes for example order invoice or customer numbers SERIAL data values require 4 bytes of storage SERI AL8 The SERIALS data type stores a sequential integer assigned automatically by the database server when a row is inserted For more information on how to insert values into SERIAL8 columns see the 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 require 8 bytes of storage The following restrictions apply to SERIAL8 columns m You can define only on
56. columns Data Type Explanation VARCHAR 128 Owner of table VARCHAR 128 Name of table or view VARCHAR 128 BASE TABLE for table or VIEW for view VARCHAR 255 Reserved 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 orif these privi leges are granted to PUBLIC you see one 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Column Name Data Type Explanation table_schema VARCHAR 128 Owner of table table_name VARCHAR 128 Name of table or view column_name VARCHAR 128 Name of the column of the table or view ordinal_position INTEGER Ordinal position of the column The ordinal_position of a column in a table is a sequential number that starts at 1 for the first column This column is an Informix extension to XPG4 data_type VARCHAR 254 Data type of the column such as CHARACTER or DECIMAL 1 of 2 Column Name char_max_length numeric_precision numeric_prec_radix numeric_scale datetime_precision is_nullable remarks Structure of the Information Schema Views Data Type INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER VARCHAR 3 VARCHAR 254 Explanation
57. computed normally Data Types 2 55 Time Data Types GLS 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 A column or program variable of type DATE The TODAY keyword The DATE function The MDY function A DATE literal A DATETIME value can come from the following sources A column or program variable of type DATETIME The CURRENT keyword The EXTEND function 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 When you represent DATE and DATETIME values as quoted 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 1999 as a DATE string but not as a DATETIME string Instead you must use 1999 10 30 or 99 10 30 as the DATETIME string If you use a nondefault locale the DATE and DATETIME strings must match the formats that your locale defines For more information see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality You can customize the DATE format that the database server expects with the DBDATE and GL_D
58. data pages See also detached index Not for Extended Parallel Server Any database server activity or operation that could potentially access and alter data which should be recorded and monitored by the database secure auditing facility Examples of audit events include accessing tables altering indexes dropping chunks granting data base access updating the current row running database utilities and so forth For a complete list of audit events see the Trusted Facility Manual Not for Extended Parallel Server A file that contains records of audit events and resides in the specified audit directory Audit files form an audit trail of information that can be extracted by the database secure auditing facility for analysis by the database administrator Not for Extended Parallel Server A structure that specifies which events should be audited by or excluded from auditing by the database secure auditing facility The SOL statements that you use to obtain auxiliary information about tables and databases These statements include INFO OUTPUT WHENEVER and GET DIAGNOSTICS A method of organizing an index into a tree structure for efficient record retrieval 4 Informix Guide to SQL Reference B tree index backup base table base type before image big endian bitmap index blob BLOB blobpage blobspace Boolean A type of index that uses a balanced tree structure for efficient record retrieval A B tree
59. database server uses to interpret NCHAR and NVARCHAR data that is in a particular database The DB_LOCALE environment variable can specify a nondefault database locale See also locale See DBMS An SOL entity that is recorded in a system catalog table such as a table col umn constraint cursor index prepared statement synonym trigger user defined cast user defined data type user defined routine or view A software package that manages access to one or more databases for one or more client applications See also relational database server A virtual processor that functions similarly to a CPU in a computer See also application process A program that performs a specific task For example DB Access dbexport and onmode are Informix database server utilities An application programming interface that Informix provides to allow a C user defined routine access to the database server You can also use the DataBlade API to create client LIBMI applications for backward compatibility with Illustra applications A group of database objects and supporting code that extends an object relational database to manage new kinds of data or add new features A DataBlade module can include new data types routines casts aggregates access methods SQL code client code and installation programs Acronym for Database Administrator The DBA is responsible for the contents and use of a database whereas the database server administrator
60. delete all the plans for a particular routine with the DELETE statement on sysprocplan When the routine is executed new plans are automatically generated and recorded in sysprocplan Only Dynamic Server stores plans in sysprocplan The sysprocplan system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation procid INTEGER Routine identifier planid INTEGER Plan identifier datakey NCHAR 1 Identifier routine plan part D Dependency list Q Execution plan seqno INTEGER Line number of plan created DATE Date plan created datasize INTEGER Size in bytes of the list or plan data NCHAR 256 Encoded compiled list or plan A composite index for the procid planid datakey and seqno columns allows only unique values System Catalog 1 65 SYSREFERENCES 1 66 SYSREFERENCES following columns Column Name Type constrid INTEGER primary INTEGER ptabid INTEGER updrule NCHAR 1 delrule NCHAR 1 matchtype NCHAR 1 pendant NCHAR 1 Informix Guide to SQL Reference The sysreferences system catalog table lists the referential constraints that are placed on columns in the database It contains a row for each referential constraint in the database The sysreferences system catalog table has the Explanation Constraint identifier Constraint identifier of the corresponding primary key Table identifier of the primary key Reserved for future use displays an R Displays cascading delete or restrict
61. described in sysviolations table 1 81 Directives for query optimization environment variable for 3 61 Disk space for temporary data 3 51 specifying for data distributions 3 56 Distinct data type casts 2 69 description of 2 23 sysxtddesc contents for 1 82 sysxtdtypeauth contents for 1 83 sysxtdtypes contents for 1 84 Documentation notes Intro 14 A BC DEFGH Documentation types of documentation notes Intro 14 error message files Intro 13 machine notes Intro 14 on line manuals Intro 13 printed manuals Intro 13 related reading Intro 15 release notes Intro 14 DOUBLE PRECISION data type See FLOAT data type E Editor specifying with DBEDIT 3 40 ENVIGNORE environment variable description 3 9 3 58 relation to chkenv utility 3 13 Environment configuration file debugging with chkenv 3 12 setting environment variables in UNIX 3 7 3 8 Environment variable AC_CONFIG 3 24 ARC_CONFIG 3 25 ARC_DEFAULT 3 25 ARC_KEYPAD 3 26 COCKPITSERVICE 3 27 command prompt utilities 3 16 CPFIRST 3 28 DBACCNOIGN 3 29 DBANSIWARN 3 30 DBBLOBBUF 3 31 DBCENTURY 2 17 3 32 DBDATE 2 17 3 36 DBDELIMITER 3 39 DBEDIT 3 40 DBFLTMASK 3 41 DBLANG 3 42 DBMONEY 2 32 3 44 DBONPLOAD 3 45 DBPATH 3 46 DBPRINT 3 48 DBREMOTECMD 3 49 DBSPACETEMP 3 50 DBTEMP 3 52 DBTIME 2 20 3 53 DBUPSPACE 3 56 definition of 3 5 DELIMIDENT 3 57 ENVIGNORE 3 58 FET_BUF_SIZE 3 59 for command prompt utilities for Windows set in autoexec bat 3 16 set in System
62. deter mines only the allocation of memory resources setenv PDQPRIORITY HIGH LOW OFF resources Ea high_value HIGH When the database server allocates resources among all users it gives as many resources as possible to the query LOW Data is fetched from fragmented tables in parallel For supported database servers other than Extended Parallel Server when you specify LOW the database server uses no forms of parallelism For Extended Parallel Server other parallel operations can occur when the setting is LOW Environment Variables 3 89 PDQPRIORITY OFF PDQ processing is turned off for supported database servers other than Extended Parallel Server resources Integer value in the range 0 to 100 Value 0 is the same as OFF for supported database servers other than Extended Parallel Server only Value 1 is the same as LOW For supported database servers other than Extended Parallel Server the resources value specifies the query priority level and the amount of resources that the database server uses to process the query For 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 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 percenta
63. 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 the DBSPACETEMP environment variable to determine where to create the table Environment Variables 3 51 DBSPACETEMP UNIX If you create an explicit temporary table with the SELECT INTO TEMP statement the database server uses the settings in the DBSPACETEMP environment variable to determine where to create the table If the DBSPACETEMP environment variable is not set the database server uses the ONCONFIG parameter DBSPACETEMP If this parameter is not set the database server creates the explicit temporary table in the same dbspace where the database resides 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 these implicit temporary tables the database server uses disk space for writing the temporary data in the following order 1 The operating system directory or directories that the environment variable PSORT_DBTEMP specifies if it is set 2 The dbspace or dbspaces that the environment variable DBSPACETEMP specifies if it is set 3 The dbspace or dbspaces that the ONCONFIG parameter DBSPACETEMP specifies 4 The operating system file space in tmp UNIX or temp Windows NT
64. either of the following types m Variables in an SPL routine For more information see the Informix Guide to SQL Tutorial Host variables in an Informix ESOL C program For more information see the Informix ESQL C Programmer s Manual You can also use nested dot notation to access collection data To learn more about accessing the elements of a collection see the Informix Guide to SQL Tutorial Row Data Types A row type is a sequence 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 a field has no default clause you cannot define constraints on a field and you cannot use fields with tables only with row types DataTypes 2 61 Distinct Data Types 2 62 Two kinds of row types exist m Named row types are identified by their names m Unnamed row types are identified by their structure The structure of an unnamed row type consists of the number and data types of its fields For more information about row types see Row Named on page 2 35 and Row Unnamed on page 2 36 You can cast between named and unnamed row types For information about casting between row types see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Distinct Data Types A distinct data type has the same internal structure as some other source data type in the database The source data type can be either a
65. for this access method The value of am_open is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_CLOSE purpose for this access method The value of am_close is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_INSERT purpose for this access method The value of am_insert is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_DELETE purpose for this access method The value of am_delete is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_UPDATE purpose for this access method The value of am_update is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_STATS purpose for this access method The value of am_stats is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table 4 of 6 Column Name am_scancost am_check am_beginscan am_endscan am_rescan am_getnext Type INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER SYSAMS Explanation The routine specified for the AM_SCANCOST purpose for this access method The value of am_scancost is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_CHECK purpose for this access meth
66. future use seqno Reserved for future use message NVARCHAR 255 Message text The composite index on columns sq lstate locale level and seqno allows only unique values System Catalog 1 41 SYSEXTCOLS XPS 1 42 files Column tabid colno exttype extstart extlength nullstr picture decimal extstype Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSEXTCOLS The sysextcols system catalog table contains a row that describes each of the internal columns in external table tabid of format type fmttype FIXED No entries are stored in sysextcols for DELIMITED or Informix format external Type INTEGER SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT NCHAR 256 NCHAR 256 SMALLINT NCHAR 18 Description Table identifier Column identifier External column type Starting position of column in the external data file External column length in bytes Represents null in external data Reserved for future use Precision for external decimals The external type name You can use DBSCHEMA to write out the description of the external tables To query these catalogs about an external table use the tabid as stored in systables with tabtype E XPS SYSEXTDFILES SYSEXTDFILES For each external table at least one row exists in the sysextdfiles system catalog table Column Type Description tabid INTEGER Table identifier dfentry NCHAR 152 Data file entry You can use DBSCHEMA to write out the descript
67. in cast and one row for each implicit or explicit cast that a user defines The syscasts system catalog table has the following columns Column Name owner argument _type argument_xid result_type result_xid routine_name routine_owner class Type NCHAR 32 SMALLINT INTEGER SMALLINT INTEGER NVARCHAR 128 NCHAR 32 NCHAR Explanation Owner of cast user informix for built in casts and user name for implicit and explicit casts Source data type on which the cast operates Data type identifier of the source data type named in the argument_type column Data type returned by the cast Data type identifier of the data type named in the result_type column Function or procedure used to implement the cast might be null if the data types named in the argument_type and result_type columns have the same length and alignment and are both passed either by reference or by value User name of the owner of the function or procedure named in the routine_name column Type of cast E Explicit cast I Implicit cast S Built in cast If routine_name and routine_owner have null values it indicates that the cast is defined without a routine The index on columns argument_type argument_xid result_type and result_xid allows only unique values The index on columns argument_type and argument_xid allows duplicate values System Catalog 1 25 SYSCHECKS SYSCHECKS The syschecks system cat
68. in the collength column using one of the following formulas m Ifthe collength value is positive collength min_space 256 max_size m Ifthe collength value is negative collength 65536 min_space 256 max_size The database server uses the preceding formulas to encode the collength column for an NVARCHAR data type For more information about the NVARCHAR data type see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality System Catalog 1 33 SYSCOLUMNS Length for Time Data Types For columns of type DATETIME or INTERVAL collength is determined using the following formula length 256 largest_qualifier_value 16 smallest_qualifier_value The length is the physical length of the DATETIME or INTERVAL field and largest_qualifier and smallest_qualifier have the values that the following table shows Field Qualifier Value YEAR 0 MONTH 2 DAY 4 HOUR 6 MINUTE 8 SECOND 0 FRACTION 1 1 FRACTION 2 2 FRACTION 3 3 FRACTION 4 4 FRACTION 5 5 For example if a DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE column has a length of 12 such as YYYY DD MM HH MM a largest_qualifier value of 0 for YEAR and a smallest_qualifier value of 8 for MINUTE the collength value is 3080 or 256 12 0 16 8 Length of Simple Large Object Columns If the data type of the column is BYTE or TEXT collength holds the length of the descriptor 1 34 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSCOLUMNS Storing Maximum and Minimum
69. integrity violations caused by each row in a violations table You use the START VIOLATIONS TABLE statement to create violations and diagnostics tables and associate them with a base table An Informix isolation level set with the SET ISOLATION statement that does not account for locks and allows viewing of any existing rows even rows that currently can be altered from inside an uncommitted transaction Dirty Read is the lowest level of isolation no isolation at all and is thus the most effi cient See also Read Uncommitted The object mode in which a database object is disabled When a constraint index or trigger is in the disabled mode the database server acts as if the object does not exist and does not take it into consideration during the execu tion of data manipulation statements Glossary 17 disk configuration disk 1 0 display label distinct data type distribution distribution scheme DLL DML dominant table DRDA DSS duplicate index dynamic link library DLL dynamic management statements dynamic routine name specification The organization of data on a disk also refers to the process of preparing a disk to store data The process of transferring data between memory and disk The I O refers to input output A temporary name for a column or expression in a query A data type that you create with the CREATE DISTINCT TYPE statement A dis tinct data type has the same internal storage
70. 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 For UDT columns the type field is set to S The encdat column stores the statistics collected by the statcollect UDR in multirepresentational form Only one row is stored for each tabid and colno pair The sysdistrib system catalog table supports extensions for user defined statistics in Dynamic Server only 1 40 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSERRORS SYSERRORS 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 To create a new message insert a row directly into the syserrors system catalog table By default all users can view this table but only users with the DBA privilege can modify it The syserrors system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation sqlstate NCHAR 5 SOLSTATE value associated with the error For more information about SQLSTATE values and their meanings see the GET DIAGNOSTICS statement in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax locale NCHAR 36 The locale with which this version of the message is associated for example en_us 8859 1 level Reserved for
71. locked When the user or program unlocks the table others are permitted access again A row type created with the ROW constructor that has no defined name and no inheritance properties Two unnamed row types are equivalent if they have the same number of fields and if corresponding fields have the same data type even if the fields have different names A generic ESQL C collection variable or SPL variable that can hold a collection of any collection data type and takes on the data type of the last collection assigned to it See also typed collection variable The process of changing the contents of one or more columns in one or more existing rows of a table A promotable lock that is acquired during a SELECT FOR UPDATE An update lock behaves like a shared lock until the update actually occurs and it then becomes an exclusive lock It differs from a shared lock in that only one update lock can be acquired on an object at a time An ageregate function that is not provided by the database server built in that includes extensions to built in aggregates and newly defined aggregates The database server manages all aggregates See opaque data type A cast that a user creates with the CREATE CAST statement A user defined cast typically requires a cast function A user defined cast can be an explicit cast or an implicit cast A data type that you define for use in a relational database You can define opaque data types and distinct data
72. mode 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 DBACCNOIGN 1 Nonmenu Mode Example For example assume DB Access runs the following SQL commands DATABASE mystore BEGIN WORK INSERT INTO receipts VALUES custl 10 INSERT INTO receipt VALUES custl 20 INSERT INTO receipts VALUES custl 30 UPDATE customer SET balance SELECT balance 60 FROM customer WHERE custid custl WHERE custid custl COMMIT WORK In this example one statement has a misspelled table name The receipt table does not exist If your environment does not have DBACCNOIGN set DB Access inserts two records into the receipts table and updates the customer table The decrease in the customer balance exceeds the sum of the inserted receipts If DBACCNOIGN is set to 1 messages display to 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 Environment Variables 3 29 DBACCNOIGN DS 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 page Forty nine rows of data load correctly but the fiftieth row conta
73. nnn Row size Number of columns Number of indexes Number of rows Date created Number that changes when table is altered Table type T Table V View P Private synonym S Public synonym not available in an ANSI compliant database 1 of 2 System Catalog 1 73 SYSTABLES 1 74 Column Name locklevel npused fextsize nextsize flags site dbname am_id Informix Guide to SQL Reference Type NCHAR 1 INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER SMALLINT NVARCHAR 128 NVARCHAR 128 INTEGER Explanation Lock mode for a table B Page P Page R Row T Table Extended Parallel Server only Number of data pages in use Size of initial extent in kilobytes Size of all subsequent extents in kilobytes Has a unique value for the following types of permanent tables ST_RAW represents a raw nonlogging permanent table in a logging database RAW 0x00000002 Extended Parallel Server only STATIC 0x00000004 Extended Parallel Server only OPERATIONAL 0x00000010 Extended Parallel Server only STANDARD 0x00000020 Extended Parallel Server only EXTERNAL 0x00000020 Extended Parallel Server only Reserved for future use used to store database collation and C type information Reserved for future use Access method ID key to sysams table null value or 0 indicates built in storage manager used 2 of 2 GLS SYSTRACECLASSES Each table recorded in the systabl
74. of these characteristics can affect performance For information see your Performance Guide When you access a smart large object column with an SQL statement the database server does not send the actual BLOB or CLOB data Instead it estab lishes a pointer to the data and returns this pointer The client application can then use this pointer to perform the 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 m From within an Informix ESQL C program use the smart large object API For more information see the Informix ESQL C Programmer s Manual m From within a DataBlade module use the Client and Server API For more information see the DataBlade API Programmer s Manual For information on smart large objects see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax and Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation DataTypes 2 51 Time Data Types Time Data Types You can use DATE DATETIME and INTERVAL data in a variety of arithmetic and relational expressions You can manipulate a DATETIME value with another DATETIME value an INTERVAL value the current time identified by the keyword CURRENT or a specified unit of time identified by the keyword UNITS In most situations you can use a DATE value wherever itis appropriate to use a DATETIME value and vice versa You also can manipulate
75. paramstyle Informix Guide to SQL Reference Type NVARCHAR 128 NCHAR 32 SERIAL NCHAR 1 INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER NCHAR 1 NVARCHAR 128 NVARCHAR 255 NCHAR 1 For Dynamic Server the sysprocedures system catalog table has the following columns Explanation Routine name Owner name Routine identifier Mode type D d DBA O o Owner P p Protected R r Restricted Compiled size in bytes of values Compiled size in bytes of symbol table Compiled size in bytes constant data Compiled size in bytes of routine instruction code Number of routine arguments Whether the routine is a procedure or a function t procedure f function The specific name for the routine Location of the external routine This item is language specific in content and format Parameter style I Informix 1 of 3 Column Name langid paramtypes variant handlesnulls percallcost commutator negator selfunc iterator internal class stack costfunc selconst Type INTEGER rtnparamtypes BOOLEAN BOOLEAN INTEGER NVARCHAR 128 NVARCHAR 128 NVARCHAR 128 BOOLEAN BOOLEAN NCHAR 18 INTEGER NVARCHAR 128 INTEGER SYSPROCEDURES Explanation Language identifier from the sysroutinelangs system catalog table Data types of the parameters rtnparamtypes indicates a built in data type Indicates whether the routine is VAR
76. part of another SQL statement For example an INSERT statement can contain a subquery in which a SELECT statement sup plies the inserted values in place of a VALUES clause an UPDATE statement can contain a subquery in which a SELECT statement supplies the updating values or a SELECT statement can contain a subquery in which a second SELECT statement supplies the qualifying conditions of a WHERE clause for the first SELECT statement Parentheses always delimit a subquery unless you are referring to a CREATE VIEW statement or unions Subqueries are always parallelized See also correlated subquery and independent subquery A subscript is an offset into an array Subscripts can be used to indicate the start or end position in a CHAR variable A portion of a character string A typed table that inherits properties column definitions constraints triggers from a supertable above it in the table hierarchy and can add additional properties A named row type that inherits all representation data fields and behavior routines from a supertype above it in the type hierarchy and can add additional fields and routines The number of fields in a subtype is always greater than or equal to the number of fields in its supertype A typed table whose properties constraints storage options triggers are inherited by a subtable beneath it in the table hierarchy The scope of a query on a supertable is the supertable and its subtables A named ro
77. pattern that specifies table privileges s Select u Update Column level privilege i Insert d Delete x Index a Alter r References n Under privilege N Under privilege with grant option If the tabauth privilege code is uppercase for example S for select a user who has this privilege can grant it to others If the tabauth privilege code is lowercase for example s for select the user who has this privilege cannot A composite index for the tabid grantor and grantee columns allows only unique values The composite index for the tabid and grantee columns allows duplicate values SYSTABLES SYSTABLES The systables system catalog table describes each table in the database It contains one row for each table view or synonym that is defined in the database The information in the systables system catalog table includes all database tables and the system catalog tables The systables system catalog table has the following columns Column Name tabname owner partnum tabid rowsize ncols nindexes nrows created version tabtype Type NVARCHAR 128 NCHAR 32 INTEGER SERIAL SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT INTEGER DATE INTEGER NCHAR 1 Explanation Name of table view or synonym Owner of table user informix for system catalog tables and user name for database tables Physical location identifier System assigned sequential ID number system tables 1 24 user tables 100
78. 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 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 sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 27 Referential Relationships B 28 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 separ
79. processing Threads are sometimes called lightweight processes because they are like processes but make fewer demands on the operating system See also multithreading and user thread Acronym for Transport Layer Interface It is the interface designed for use by application programs that are independent of a network protocol To keep a running list of the values of program variables arguments expressions and so on in a program or SPL routine A collection of one or more SQL statements that is treated as a single unit of work If one statement in a transaction fails the entire transaction can be rolled back canceled If the transaction is successful the work is committed and all changes to the database from the transaction are accepted See also explicit transaction implicit ANSI transaction and singleton implicit transaction A lock on an R tree index that is obtained at the beginning of a transaction and held until the end of the transaction The process of keeping records of transactions See also logical log The method by which constraints are checked during transactions You use the SET statement to specify whether constraints are checked at the end of each data manipulation statement or after the transaction is committed A mechanism that resides in the database It specifies that when a particular action insert delete or update occurs on a particular table the database server should automatically perform one or more a
80. range rule the arbitrary rule allows you to use any relational operator and any logical operator to define the expressions Typically includes the use of the OR logical operator to group data Copying all the data and indexes of a database onto a new medium usually a tape or a different physical device from the one that stores the database Archived material is used for recovering from a failure and is usually performed by a database administrator See also backup A value that is passed to a routine or command Compare with parameter An ordered set of items of the same type Individual members of the array are referred to as elements and usually are distinguished by an integer argument that gives the position of the element in the array Informix arrays can have up to three dimensions Acronym for the American Standards Committee for Information Interchange ASCII is a coding scheme that assigns numeric values to letters numbers punctuation marks and certain other characters ASCII describes an ordered set of printable and nonprintable characters used in computers and telecommunication It contains 128 characters each of which can be represented with 7 bits of information See also single byte character Acronym for Associated Services Facility The code in the ASF portion of Informix products controls the connections between clients and servers Sys tem developers use this term users of Informix products see this term only in occasi
81. related to system or network load problems For instance if the database server is busy establishing new SQL client threads some clients might fail because the database server cannot issue a network function call fast enough The INFORMIXCONTIME and INFORMIXCONRETRY environment variables let you configure your client side connection capability to retry the connection instead of returning an error setenv INFORMIXCONTIME value value represents the minimum number of seconds spent in attempts to establish a connection to a database server Environment Variables 3 67 INFORMIXCONTIME 3 68 For example enter the following 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 execution of the CONNECT statement involves searching DBPATH the following rules apply m 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 m The INFORMIXCONRETRY valu
82. row of the active set of a query An identifier associated with a group of rows or a collection data type Conceptually the pointer to the current row or collection element You can use cursors for SELECT statements or EXECUTE PROCEDURE statements associating the cursor with the rows returned by a query or INSERT statements associating the cursor with a buffer to insert multiple rows as a group A select cursor is declared for sequential only regular cursor or nonsequential scroll cursor retrieval of row information In addition you can declare a select cursor for update initiating locking control for updated and deleted rows or WITH HOLD completing a transaction does not close the cursor In ESQL C a cursor can be dynamic meaning that it can be an identifier or a character string variable A user defined function that returns one or more rows of data and therefore requires a cursor to execute An SPL function is a cursor function when its RETURN statement contains the WITH RESUME keywords An external function is a cursor function when it is defined as an iterator function Compare with noncursor function The SQL statements that control cursors specifically the CLOSE DECLARE FETCH FLUSH OPEN and PUT statements An Informix level of isolation available through the SET ISOLATION state ment in which the database server must secure a shared lock on a fetched row before the row can be viewed The database server retains the
83. session setenv DBEDIT editor editor is the name of the text editor you want to use For most 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 Informix product To specify the EMACS text editor set the DBEDIT environment variable by entering the following command setenv DBEDIT emacs Environment Variables 3 41 DBFLTMASK 3 42 setenv DBFLTM ASK The DB Access utility displays the floating point values of data types FLOAT SMALLFLOAT and DECIMAL 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 that display to the right of the decimal point for floating point values you can set the DBFLTMASK environment variable to the number of digits desired DBFLTMASK n n is the number of decimal digits that you want the Informix client application to display in the floating point values n 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 DBF
84. set only in the Windows registry Environment variables set in the registry cannot be modified elsewhere Environment Variables 3 7 Using Environment Variables in UNIX E C UNIX For utilities that run in a command prompt session such as dbaccess environment variables can be set in several ways as described in Setting Environment Variables for Command Prompt Utilities on page 3 15 To use client applications such as ESQL C or the Relational Object Manager in a Windows environment use the Setnet32 utility to set environment variables For information about the Setnet32 utility see the Informix Client Products Installation Guide for your operating system In 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 NT system supports them For more information on ifx_putenv and ifx_getenv see the Informix ESQL C Programmer s Manual Using Environment Variables in UNIX The following sections discuss setting unsetting modifying and viewing environment variables If you already use an Informix product some or all of the appropriate environment variables might be set Setting Environment Variables in an Environment Configuration File The common shared environment configuration file that is provided with Informix products resides in SINFORMIXDIR etc informix rc The permission for this
85. set the DBPRINT environment variable to specify the myprint print program setenv DBPRINT myprint Environment Variables 3 49 DBREMOTECMD UNIX setenv DBREMOTECMD _ oe pathname DBREM OTECMD You can set the DBREMOTECMD environment variable to override the default remote shell used when you perform remote tape operations with the database server You can set the DBREMOTECMD environment variable with either a simple command or the full pathname If you use the full pathname the database server searches your PATH for the specified command command is the command to override the default remote shell pathname is the pathname to override the default remote shell Informix highly recommends the use of the full pathname syntax on the interactive UNIX platform to avoid problems with similarly named programs in other directories and possible confusion with the restricted shell ust bin rsh Enter the following command to set the DBREMOTECMD environment variable for a simple command name setenv DBREMOTECMD remd Enter the following command to set the DBREMOTECMD environment variable to specify the full pathname setenv DBREMOTECMD usr bin remsh For more information on DBREMOTECMD see the discussion in your Archive and Backup Guide about how to use remote tape devices with your database server for archives restores and logical log backups 3 50 Informix Guide to SQL Reference D
86. the DELETE statement the nrows column in the systables system catalog table which holds the number of rows for that table is not updated 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 column If you use the medium or high mode with the UPDATE STATISTICS statement the sysdistrib system catalog table holds the updated data distri bution data after you run UPDATE STATISTICS Whenever you modify a table extensively use the UPDATE STATISTICS statement to update data in the system catalog For more information on the UPDATE STATISTICS statement see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax System Catalog 1 13 Structure of the System Catalog 1 14 Structure of the System Catalog The following system catalog tables describe the structure of an Informix Informix Guide to SQL Reference database System Catalog Table XPS IDS Page sysaggregates Vv 1 16 sysams Vv 1 17 sysattrtypes Vv 1 22 sysblobs Vv Vv 1 23 syscasts Vv 1 24 syschecks Vv Vv 1 25 syscolattribs Vv 1 26 syscolauth Vv Vv 1 28 syscoldepend Vv Vv 1 29 syscolumns Vv Vv 1 30 sysconstraints Vv Vv 1 36 sysdefaults Vv Vv 1 37 sysdepend Vv Vv 1 38 sysdistrib Vv Y 1 39 syserrors Vv 1 41 sysextcols Vv 1 42 sysextdfiles Vv 1 43
87. the System Catalog 1 10 The rows that the following example shows are added to the sysviews system catalog table These rows correspond to the CREATE VIEW portion of the CREATE SCHEMA block tabid seqview text 02 1 addressl address2 city state zipcode phone a s select x0 custom 02 2 er_num x0 fname x0 lname x0 company x0 addressl x0 address2 02 3 xO0 city x0 state x0 zipcode x0 phone from maryl customer 02 4 x0 where x0 state CA The sysviews system catalog table contains the CREATE VIEW statement that creates the view Each line of the CREATE VIEW statement in the current schema is stored in this table In the viewtext column the x0 that precedes the column names in the statement for example x0 fname operates as an alias name 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 grantor grantee tabid tabauth mary public 101 su idx mary cathl 1 01 SU IDXAR mary nhowe 101 A mary 102 SU ID The tabauth column of this table 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 referenc
88. the referenced data row You can use an expression system defined hash or hybrid distribution scheme to create locally detached indexes for any table See also globally detached index A method that holds a lock on the child node until a lock is obtained on the parent node during upward movement when updating an R tree index Lock coupling is used when an R tree index is updated if the bounding box of a leaf node has changed You must propagate the change to the parent node by moving upwards in the tree until you reach a parent node that does not need to be changed An option that describes whether a user who requests a lock on an already locked object is to not wait for the lock and instead receive an error wait until the object is released to receive the lock or wait a certain amount of time before receiving an error Glossary 31 locking locking granularity logical log login login password login user ID logslice LVARCHAR macro mantissa map massively parallel processing system megabyte The process of temporarily limiting access to an object database table page or row to prevent conflicting interactions among concurrent processes Locks can be in either exclusive mode which restricts read and write access to only one user or share mode which allows read only access to other users In addition update locks exist that begin in share mode but are upgraded to exclusive mode when a row is changed Th
89. 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 TERM CAP The TERMCAP environment variable is used for terminal handling It tells DB Access to communicate with the termcap file instead of the terminfo directory TERMCAP pathname pathname specifies the location of the termcap file The termcap file contains a list of various types of terminals and their characteristics For example to provide DB Access terminal handling infor mation which is specified in the usr informix etc termcap file enter the following command setenv TERMCAP usr informix etc termcap Environment Variables 3 97 TERMINFO UNIX setenv You can use any of the following settings for TERMCAP Use them in the following order 1 The termcap file that you create 2 The termcap file that Informix 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 variabl
90. type regedt32 exe Registry Editor 3 14 region table in superstores_demo database columns in B 20 JK L MN OP QRS TU VW X Y Z Related reading Intro 15 Release notes Intro 14 Remote shell 3 49 rofferr utility Intro 13 Role granted to user described in sysroleauth table 1 68 separation environment variable for 3 76 Routine characteristics in sysprocedures table 1 61 DATETIME formatting 3 53 privileges on 1 59 privileges described in sysprocauth table 1 60 protected 1 64 query plan for in sysprocplan 1 65 SPL 2 61 user defined 2 35 user defined and syserrors 1 41 user defined and syslangauth 1 53 user defined and sysroutinelangs 1 68 user defined and systraceclasses 1 75 user defined and systracemsgs 1 76 Row type 2 61 casting permitted 2 70 defined 2 61 field information sysattrtypes 1 23 Named and equivalence 2 37 Named and inheritance 2 37 Named defining 2 36 Named description of 2 36 sysattrtypes information 1 23 sysxtddesc information 1 82 sysxtdtypeauth information 1 83 sysxtdtypes information 1 84 Unnamed defining 2 38 Unnamed description of 2 37 Unnamed inserting values into 2 39 Runtime program setting DBANSIWARN 3 30 S sales table in sales_demo database columns in B 6 sales_demo database customer table columns B 4 description of B 3 geography table columns B 4 introduced B 1 product table columns B 5 sales table columns B 6 time table columns B 7 sales_rep table in supe
91. types Glossary 55 user defined function user defined procedure user defined routine user ID user ID password user name user password user thread variable variant function view violations table A user defined routine that returns at least one value You can write a user defined function in SPL SPL function or in an external language that the database server supports external function A user defined routine that does not return a value You can write a user defined procedure in SPL SPL procedure or in an external language that the database server supports external procedure A routine that you write and register in the system catalog tables of a data base and that an SOL statement or another routine can invoke You can write a user defined routine in SPL SPL routine or in an external language external routine that the database server supports See Informix user ID See Informix user password See Informix user ID See Informix user password A database server thread that services requests from client applications User threads include session threads called sqlexec threads that are the primary threads that the database server runs to service client applications User threads also include a thread to service requests from the onmode utility threads for recovery and page cleaner threads See thread The identifier for a location in memory that stores the value of a program object who
92. value exceeds the numeric range the database server does not store the value INTEGER data types require 4 bytes 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 contiguous sequence of values that represents a component of time The following example defines an INTERVAL data type INTERVAL Targest_qualifier n TO smallest_qualifier n In this example the largest_qualifier and smallest_qualifier fields are taken from one of the two INTERVAL classes as Figure 2 8 shows and n optionally specifies the precision of the largest field and smallest field if it is a FRACTION 2 26 Informix Guide to SQL Reference INTERVAL Figure 2 8 Interval Classes Interval Class Qualifier Field 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 of precision The default precision is 3 digits thousandth of a second To indicate explicitly other precisions write FRACTION n wher
93. variable specifies the name of a dbserver group To specify a coserver name use the following format dbservername coserver_number In the coserver name dbservername is the value that you assigned to the DBSERVERNAME configuration parameter when you prepared the ONCONHIG 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 However if INFORMIXSERVER is not set Extended Parallel Server does not build the sysmaster tables Informix Guide to SQL Reference UNIX setenv INFORMIXSHMBASE INFORM IXSHM BASE The INFORMIXSHMBASE environment variable affects only client applications connected to Informix databases that use the interprocess communications IPC shared memory ipcshm protocol Important Resetting INFORMIXSHMBASE requires a thorough understanding of how the application uses memory Normally you do not reset INFORMIXSHMBASE Use INFORMIXSHMBASE to specify where shared memory communication segments are attached to the client process so that client applications can avoid collisions with other memory segments that the application uses If you do not set INFORMIXSHMBASE the memory address of the communi cation segments defaults to an implementation specific value such as 0x800000 INFORMIXSHMBASE value
94. variables see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality 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 all DECIMAL numbers are fixed point DECIMAL 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 do not specify the precision p DECIMAL is treated as DECIMAL 16 a floating decimal with a precision of 16 pus DECIMAL p has an absolute exponent range between 109 and 1012 If you use an ANSI compliant database and specify DECIMAL p the value defaults to DECIMAL p 0 For more information about fixed point decimal values see the following discussion DECIMAL 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 write its precision p as the total number of digits that it can store from 1 to 32 You write its scale s as the total number of digits that fall to the right of the decimal point DataTypes 2 21 DECIMAL All numbers with an absolute value less than 0 5 10 have the value zero The largest absolute value of a variable of this type that you can store without an error is 10
95. which each row describes a single entity and each column contains the values for each category of description For exam ple a table can contain the names and addresses of customers Each row corresponds to a different customer and the columns correspond to the name and address items A table is sometimes referred to as a base table to distin guish it from the views indexes and other objects defined on the underlying table or associated with it Zero or more rows that are grouped together and stored in a dbspace that you specify when you create the fragment A virtual table fragment might reside in an sbspace or an extspace A method of separating a table into potentially balanced fragments to distrib ute the workload and optimize the efficiency of the database operations Also known as data partitioning Table fragmentation methods also known as distribution schemes include expression based hybrid range round robin and system defined hash A relationship you can define among typed tables in which subtables inherit the behavior constraints triggers storage options from supertables Subtables can add additional constraint definitions storage options and triggers The property that allows a typed table to inherit the behavior constraints storage options triggers from a typed table above it in the table hierarchy The underlying base table that a violations table and diagnostics table are associated with You use the START VIO
96. you set the DBCENTURY environment variable For example if you enter the year value as 99 whether that year value is interpreted as 1999 or 2099 depends on the setting of your DBCENTURY environment variable If you do not set the DBCENTURY environment variable then your Informix products consider the present century as the default For information on how to set the DBCENTURY environment variable refer to page 3 33 If you specify a locale other than the default locale you can display culture specific formats for dates The locales and the GL_DATE and DBDATE environment variables affect the display formatting of DATE values They do not affect the internal format used in a DATE column of a database To change the default DATE format set the DBDATE or GL_DATE environment variable GLS functionality permits the display of international DATE formats For more information see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality 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 The DATETIME data type is composed of a contiguous sequence of fields that represents each component of time that you want to record and uses the following syntax DATETIME Jargest_qualifier TO smallest_qualifier The largest_qualifier and smallest_qualifier can be any one of the fields that Figure 2 4 on pag
97. 0 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 1 of 3 The stores_demo Database A 23 Data in the stores_ demo Database item_num order_num stock_num manu_code quantity total_price 5 1007 7 HRO 1 600 00 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 T 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 of 3 A 24 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Data in the stores_ demo Database item_num order_num stock_num manu_code quantity total_price 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 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
98. 0 1998 loudly 1 of 2 asege eg OWP Se10 S ay ul BJeg 82 90u8Jejey FOS 01 8pIne XILWOJUI order_num order_date customer_num ship_instruct backlog po_num ship_date ship_weight ship_charge paid_date 1015 06 27 1998 110 closed Mondays n MA003 07 16 1998 20 60 6 30 08 31 1998 1016 06 29 1998 119 delivery entrance off n PC6782 07 12 1998 35 00 11 80 Camp St 1017 07 09 1998 120 North side of n DM354331 07 13 1998 60 00 18 00 clubhouse 1018 07 10 1998 121 oe of Biltmore n 22942 07 13 1998 70 50 20 00 08 06 1998 a 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 after 3 n KF2961 07 30 1998 60 00 18 00 08 22 1998 p m 2 of 2 asege eg Owe sa o s y ul ejeg stock Table stock_num manu_code 1 1 101 101 102 102 103 104 105 HRO HSK SMT HRO HSK SHM HSK HRO NRG SMT Q gt 56 description baseball gloves baseball gloves baseball gloves baseball baseball bat baseball bat football football tennis racquet tennis racquet tennis racquet tennis ball tennis ball basketball volleyball volleyball net bicycle tires bicycle tires bicycle brakes bicycle brakes front derailleur rear derailleur bicycl
99. 00 670 00 45 00 312 00 312 00 unit pair each pair each case case case case case case case each each each case each each each case case case each case case unit_descr pair each pair each 6 pairs case 4 pairs case 4 case 4 case 4 case 4 case 4 case each each each 10 pairs case each each each 2 sets case 2 sets case 2 sets case each 24 case 24 case 2 of 4 stock_num manu_code 205 301 301 301 301 301 301 302 302 303 303 304 304 305 306 306 307 308 309 309 310 310 31 312 HRO NKL HRO SHM PRC KAR ANZ HRO KAR PRC KAR ANZ HRO HRO PRC SHM PRC PRC HRO SHM SHM ANZ SHM SHM description 3 golf balls running shoes running shoes running shoes running shoes running shoes running shoes ice pack ice pack socks socks watch watch first aid kit tandem adapter tandem adapter infant jogger twin jogger ear drops ear drops kick board kick board water gloves racer goggles Data in the stores_ demo Database unit_price 312 00 97 00 42 50 102 00 75 00 87 00 95 00 4 50 5 00 48 00 36 00 170 00 280 00 48 00 160 00 190 00 250 00 280 00 40 00 40 00 80 00 89 00 48 00 96 00 unit case each each each each each each each each box box box box case each each each each case case case case box box unit_descr 24 case each each each each each each each each 24 p
100. 1 idxtype U D clustered part part part part part part part part part part part part part part part part levels leaves unique clust pay OONDOFW PS CEA OO O ODO A oe OO O OO OO Ore OO O O 00 DaRrwnrmro System Catalog 1 11 Accessing the System Catalog lt In this table the idxtype column identifies whether the created index is unique or a duplicate For example the index c_num_ix that is placed on the customer_num column of the customer table 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 system catalog They can however access data in the system catalog tables on a read only basis using standard SELECT statements For example the following SELECT statement displays all the table names and corresponding table ID numbers of user created tables in the database SELECT tabname tabid FROM systables WHERE tabid gt 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 lt 100 You can use SUBSTR or SUBSTRING function to select only part of a source string To display the list of database tables in columns enter the following statement SELECT SUBSTR tabname 1 18 tabid FROM systables Warning Although user informix a
101. 1 Jason Wallack City Sports Lake Biltmore Mall 350 W 23rd Street Wilmington DE 19898 302 366 7511 122 Cathy O Brian The Sporting 543 Nassau Street Princeton NJ 08540 609 342 0054 Life 123 Marvin Hanlon Bay Sports 10100 Bay Suite 1020 Jacksonville FL 32256 904 823 4239 Meadows Road 2 of 3 asege eg op Sa oJs ay ul BJeg cov 9oueJejey FOS 01 8pIng XILWOJUI customer_num fname Iname company address1 address2 city state zipcode phone 124 Chris Putnum Putnum s 4715 S E Adams Suite 909C Bartlesville OK 74006 918 355 2074 Putters Blvd 125 James Henry Total Fitness 1450 Brighton MA 02135 617 232 4159 Sports Commonwealth Avenue 126 Eileen Neelie Neelie s 2539 South Utica Denver CO 80219 303 936 7731 Discount Sports Street 127 Kim Satifer Big Blue Bike Blue Island Square 12222 Gregory Blue Island NY 60406 312 944 5691 Shop Street 128 Frank Lessor Phoenix Athletic 1817 N Thomas Phoenix AZ 85008 602 533 1817 University Department Road 3 of 3 asege eg Owe sa o s y ul ejeg Data in the stores_ demo Database 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 0
102. 3 40 3 69 GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide 5 of 12 Index of Environment Variables Topic Environment Variable Page Files map for C INFORMIXCPPMAP 3 69 Files message DBLANG 3 43 Files temporary DBSPACETEMP 3 51 Files temporary for Gateways DBTEMP 3 53 Files temporary sorting PSORT_DBTEMP 3 93 Files termcap terminfo INFORMIXTERM 3 76 TERM 3 97 TERMCAP 3 97 TERMINFO 3 98 Gateways DBTEMP 3 53 High Performance Loader DBONPLOAD 3 46 PLCONFIG 3 91 PLOAD_LO_PATH 3 92 PLOAD_SHMBASE 3 92 Identifiers delimited DELIMIDENT 3 58 Identifiers long IFX_LONGID 3 63 Identifiers multibyte characters CLIENT_LOCALE GLS guide ESQLMF GLS guide Informix Storage Manager ISM_COMPRESSION 3 78 ISM_DEBUG_FILE 3 78 ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL 3 79 ISM_ENCRYPTION 3 80 ISM_MAXLOGSIZE 3 80 ISM_MAXLOGVERS 3 81 6 of 12 Environment Variables 3 105 Index of Environment Variables Topic Installation Language environment Libraries Locale Long Identifiers Map file for C Message chaining Message files Money values Multibyte characters Multibyte filter Multithreaded applications Network Informix Guide to SQL Reference Environment Variable INFORMIXDIR PATH DBLANG LD_LIBRARY_PATH LIBPATH SHLIB_PATH CLIENT_LOCALE DB_LOCALE SERVER_LOCALE IFX_LONGID INFORMIXCPPMAP OPTMSG DBLANG DBMONEY CLIENT_LOCALE DB_LOCALE SERVER_LOCALE ESQLMF THREADLIB DBPATH Page 3 69 3 88 3 43 GLS gu
103. 3 82 3 83 3 84 3 85 3 86 Environment Variables 3 3 PAT Eas ua ss Oh BP A e a A A O PDQPRIORITY 2 2 2 ee a 39 88 PLCONFIG 2 2 ww we eee 3 90 PLOAD_LO_ PATH 3 91 PLOAD_SHMBASE 2 1 39 91 PSORT_DBTEMP a ee e o 39 92 PSORT_NPROCS o 39 93 SHEIBERLATA o a e e e 994 STMT_CACHE oa goua doa vou Doakoa u ge 3 95 TERM e arias ee BE A a e a ote ey 90 TERMCAP saaa ew 39 96 TERMINEO cocer a a a a D7 THREADLIB ee 3 98 XFER_CONFIG 2 2 we a 3 98 Index of Environment Variables 2 3 99 3 4 Informix Guide to SQL Reference In This Chapter Various environment variables affect the functionality of your 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 For example you must either set or accept the default setting for certain UNIX environment variables This chapter describes how to use the environment variables that apply to one or more Informix products and shows how to set them For specific infor mation see the following pages m The environment variables that this chapter discusses are listed alphabetically beginning on page 3 19 m The environment variables are described beginning on page
104. 304 ANZ 1 170 00 6 1023 306 SHM 1 190 00 3 of 3 The stores_demo Database A 25 Data in the stores_ demo Database call_type Table call_code code_descr B billing error D damaged goods I incorrect merchandise sent L late shipment O other A 26 Informix Guide to SQL Reference L W aseqejeq owap sejo s ay orders Table order_num order_date customer_num ship_instruct backlog po_num ship_date ship_weight ship_charge paid_date 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 deliver n 9270 05 26 1998 50 60 15 30 06 03 1998 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 delivery n 2865 06 09 1998 80 80 16 20 06 21 1998 1006 05 30 1998 112 after 10AM y Q13557 70 80 14 20 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 grocery n 4745 06 21 1998 20 40 10 00 08 21 1998 1010 06 17 1998 115 deliver 776 King St if n 4290 06 29 1998 40 60 12 30 08 22 1998 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 door n 8052 07 03 1998 40 60 12 30 07 1
105. 5 7 tabid description of 1 9 Table changing the data type of a column 2 63 dependencies in sysdepend 1 38 description in systables 1 73 inheritance sysinherits information 1 53 separate from large object storage 2 49 structure in stores_demo database A 2 structure in superstores_demo database B 9 synonyms in syssyntable 1 69 system catalog tables 1 16 to 1 84 typed and named row type 2 37 untyped and unnamed row 2 39 Table level privilege shown in tabauth table 1 10 Tape management setting ARC_DEFAULT 3 25 setting ARC_KEYPAD 3 26 setting DBREMOTECMD 3 49 Temporary files in database server setting DBSPACETEMP 3 50 setting PSORT_DBTEMP 3 92 Temporary tables directory location DBTEMP 3 52 specifying dbspace with DBSPACETEMP 3 50 TERM environment variable 3 96 TERMCAP environment variable 3 96 12 Informix Guide to SQL Reference JKLMNOPQRSTUVV xv Z termcap file and TERMCAP environment variable 3 91 3 96 3 98 Terminal handling and TERM environment variable 3 96 and TERMCAP environment variable 3 96 and TERMINFO environment variable 3 97 setting INFORMIXTERM 3 75 terminfo directory 3 97 TERMINFO environment variable 3 97 TEXT data type casting to CLOB data type 2 45 collation 2 46 description of 2 44 increasing buffer size 3 31 inserting values 2 45 length syscolumns 1 34 location shown in sysblobs table 1 24 nonprintable characters with 2 46 restrictions with aggregate functions 2 45 wit
106. 8 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 Dynamic Server supports three kinds of collection types LIST SET and MULTISET The keywords used to construct these collections are called type constructors or just constructors For a description of each of these collection data types see its entry in this chapter For the syntax of collection types see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax Using Complex Data Types in Table Columns When you specify element values for a collection list the element values after the constructor and between curly brackets For example suppose you have a collection column with the following type CREATE TABLE tablel mset_col MULTISETCINTEGER NOT NULL Informix Guide to SQL Reference Complex Data Types The following INSERT statement adds one group of element values to this MULTISET column The word MULTISET in the two examples is the MULTISET constructor INSERT INTO tablel VALUES MULTISET 5 9 7 5 Leave the brackets empty to indicate an empty set INSERT INTO tablel 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
107. A character data type available in ESQL C programs in which the character string is fixed in length padded with trailing blanks if necessary and not null terminated A number where the decimal point is fixed at a specific place regardless of the value of the number A command line option usually indicated by a minus sign in UNIX systems For example in DB Access the e flag echoes input to the screen An explicit temporary table that Extended Parallel Server automatically frag ments using a round robin distribution scheme A number with fixed precision total number of digits and undefined scale number of digits to the left of the decimal point The decimal point floats as appropriate to represent an assigned value A column or set of columns that references a unique or primary key in a table For every entry in a foreign key column there must exist a matching entry in the unique or primary column if all foreign key columns contain non null values A description of the organization of a data file See also component A percent sign followed by a letter c n o or r When used in a com mand line Extended Parallel Server expands the formatting character to des ignate multiple coserver numbers c multiple nodes n multiple ordinal numbers designating dbspaces d or a range of dbspaces r See index fragment and table fragment The process of applying a filter predicate to the fragmentation strategy of a
108. ABASE and DROP DATABASE statements use DBPATH to locate the database under two conditions m If the location of a database is not explicitly stated m 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 11 servername is the name of an Informix database server on which databases are stored You cannot reference database files with a servername DBPATH can contain up to 16 entries Each entry full_pathname servername or servername and full_pathname 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 and or database server specified in the statement If no database server is specified the default database server as set in 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 or directories in DBPATH are searched for in the indicated database The entries to DBPATH are considered in order Environment Variables 3 47 DBPATH Using DBPATH with DB Access If you use DB Access and select the Choose option from the SQL menu wit
109. AR 15 SMALLINT CHAR 15 Figure B 4 The product Table Description product code product name vendor code vendor name product line code name of product line The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 5 Structure of the sales_ demo Tables B 6 The sales Table 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 Figure B 5 shows the columns of the Figure B 5 The sales Table Informix Guide to SQL Reference 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 MONE Y 8 2 cost of sale net_profit MONEY 8 2 net profit of sale The time Table Structure of the sales_demo Tables The time table contains time information about the sale Figure B 6 shows the columns of the time table Name time_code order_date month_code month_name quarter_code quarter_name year Type INTEGER DATE SMALLINT CHAR 10 SMALLINT CHAR 10 IN
110. ATE 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 37 and DBTIME on page 3 54 For more information on all these environment variables see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality 2 56 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Time Data Types You can also subtract one DATE value from another DATE value but the result is a positive or negative INTEGER value rather than an INTERVAL value If an INTERVAL value is required you can either convert the INTEGER value into an INTERVAL value or one of the DATE values into a DATETIME value before subtracting For example the following expression uses the DATK 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 DATE 5 2 1994 DATE 4 6 1955 UNITS DAY Result INTERVAL 12810 DAY 5 TO DAY 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 M
111. BSPACETEMP DBSPACETEM P You can set your DBSPACETEMP environment variable to specify the dbspaces in which temporary tables are to be built You can specify multiple dbspaces to spread temporary space across any number of disks setenv DBSPACETEMP oo aa punct can be either colons or commas temp_dbspace is a valid existing temporary dbspace The DBSPACETEMP environment variable overrides the default dbspaces that the DBSPACETEMP configuration parameter specifies in the configu ration file for your database server Important The dbspaces that you list in DBSPACETEMP must be composed of chunks that are allocated as raw UNIX devices For example you might set the DBSPACETEMP environment variable with the following command setenv DBSPACETEMP sorttmpl 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 the DBSPACETEMP environment variable to specify the dbspaces for both types of temporary tables If you create an explicit temporary table with the CREATE TEMP TABLE statement and
112. BYTE value gt Enjoy Bicycling With Your Child ona adult child bike User tested assembly Tandem Make Your Family Outing instructions Safer 10062 306 SHM Converts a standard tandem bike into an lt BYTE value gt Consider a Touring Vacation for the adult child bike Lightweight model Entire Family A Lightweight Touring Tandem for Parent and Child 10063 307 PRC Allows mom or dad to take the baby out too lt BYTE value gt Infant Jogger Keeps A Running Fits children up to 21 pounds Navy blue with Family Together black trim 10064 308 PRC Allows mom or dad to take both children lt BYTE value gt As Your Family Grows Infant Jogger Rated for children up to 18 pounds Grows With You 10065 309 HRO Prevents swimmer s ear lt BYTE value gt Swimmers Can Prevent Ear Infection All Season Long 10066 309 SHM Extra gentle formula Can be used every day lt BYTEvalue gt Swimmer s Ear Drops Specially for prevention or treatment of swimmer s ear Formulated for Children 10067 310 SHM Blue heavy duty foam board with Shimara or lt BYTE value gt Exceptionally Durable Compact team logo Kickboard for Team Practice 10068 310 ANZ White Standard size lt BYTE value gt High Quality Kickboard 10069 311 SHM Swim gloves Webbing between fingers lt BYTE value gt Hot Training Tool Webbed Swim promotes strengthening of arms Cannot be used in competition Gloves Build Arm Strength and Endurance 9 of 10 asege eg Owep seJ0 s ay ul BJe
113. CHAR 1 CHAR 19 DATE Figure B 11 The retail_customer Table Description unique customer identifier code to indicate type of customer m R retail m W wholesale name of customer location of customer dates of contact with customer customer discount customer credit status m D deadbeat m L lost m new m P preferred m R regular credit card number expiration data of credit card The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 13 Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables The whlsale_customer Table The whlsale_customer table contains general information about wholesale customers Figure B 12 shows the columns of the whlsale_customer table Figure B 12 The whisale_customer Table B 14 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Name Type Description customer_num SERIAL unique customer identifier customer_type CHAR 1 code to indicate type of customer m R retail a W wholesale customer_name name_t name of customer customer_loc INTEGER location of customer contact_dates LIST DATETIME dates of contact with customer YEAR TO DAY NOT NULL cust_discount percent customer discount credit_status CHAR 1 customer credit status m D deadbeat m lost a N new m P preferred m R regular resale_license CHAR 15 resale license number terms_net SMALLINT net term in days tf The items Table Structure of the superstores_demo Tables An order can include one or more items One row exists in the it
114. 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 1999 01 14 08 45 maryj D Order late placed 6 1 98 DataTypes 2 19 DATETIME GLS In this example the call_dtime column is defined as DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE This character string must include values for the year month day hour and minute fields If the character string does not contain information for all defined fields or adds additional fields 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 century digits are filled in and inter preted depends on the value that you assign to the DBCENTURY environment variable For example if you enter 99 as the year value whether the year is interpreted as 1999 or 2099 depends on the setting of the DBCENTURY environment variable If you do not set the DBCENTURY environment variable then your Informix products consider the present century to be the default For infor mation on how to set and use the DBCENTURY environment variable see page 3 33 The fraction field requires n digits where 1 lt n lt 5 rounded up to an even number You can use the following formula rounded up to
115. Data distribution information in sysdistrib table 1 39 DATE data type casting to integer 2 66 converting to DATETIME 2 66 DATETIME INTERVAL with 2 52 2 55 description of 2 16 international date formats 2 17 Index 3 A BC DEFGH source data 2 56 two digit year values and DBCENTURY variable 2 17 Date value setting DBDATE environment variable 3 36 DATETIME data type character string values 2 20 converting to DATE 2 66 converting to integer 2 66 DATE INTERVAL with 2 52 to 2 57 description of 2 17 EXTEND function with 2 54 extending fields in 2 53 field qualifiers 2 18 formats with DBTIME 3 53 international date and time formats 2 20 length syscolumns 1 34 precision and size 2 18 source data 2 56 specifying display format 3 53 two digit year values and DBDATE variable 2 20 using the DBTIME environment variable 3 53 year to fraction example 2 19 DAY keyword as DATETIME field qualifier 2 18 as INTERVAL field qualifier 2 27 DB Access utility Intro 5 DBACCNOIGN environment variable 3 29 DBANSIWARN environment variable 3 30 DBBLOBBUF environment variable 3 31 DBCENTURY environment variable 2 17 description of 3 32 effect on expressions with date values 3 34 effect on functionality of DBDATE 3 38 expanding date values examples 3 33 4 Informix Guide to SQL Reference JKLMNOPQRSTUVV xv Z DBDATE environment variable 2 17 3 36 effect on expressions with date values 3 38 DBDELIMITER environment variable 3 39
116. Deep cage for super small granny Front Derailleur Adds Finesse to gears Extra strong construction to resist off Your ATB road abuse 10022 104 PRC Floating trapezoid geometry with extra thick lt BYTEvalue gt Computer Aided Design Engineers parallelogram arms 100 tooth capacity 100 Tooth Capacity Into ProCycle s Optimum alignment with any freewheel Rear Derailleur 10023 105 PRC Front wheels laced with 15g spokesina3 lt BYTEvalue gt Durable Training Wheels That Hold cross pattern Rear wheels laced with 14g True Under Toughest Conditions spikes in a 3 cross pattern 10024 105 SHM Polished alloy Sealed bearing quick release lt BYTE value gt Extra Lightweight Wheels for hubs Double butted Front wheels are laced Training or High Performance 15g 2 cross Rear wheels are laced 15 3 Touring cross 10025 106 PRC Hard anodized alloy with pearl finish 6mm lt BYTEvalue gt ProCycle Stem with Pearl Finish hex bolt hardware Available in lengths of 90 140mm in 10mm increments 3 of 10 asege eg op Sa oJs ay ul BJeg 9 V 90ueJejey FOS 01 ping XILWOJUI catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10026 107 PRC Available in three styles Men s racing Men s touring and Women s Anatomical gel construction with lycra cover Black or black hot pink 10027 108 SHM Double or triple crankset with choice of chainrings For double crankset chainrings from 38 54 teeth For triple crankset
117. Design and Implementation Important If you try to return a TEXT column from a subquery you get an error message even when the TEXT column is not used in a comparison condition or with the IN predicate DataTypes 2 45 Unnamed Row GLS Nonprintable Characters with TEXT Both printable and nonprintable characters can be inserted in text columns Informix products do not do any checking of the data that is inserted in a column with the TEXT data type For detailed information on entering and displaying nonprintable characters refer to Nonprintable Characters with CHAR on page 2 14 Collating TEXT Data The TEXT data type is collated in code set order For more information on collation orders see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Multibyte Characters with TEXT The database locale must support multibyte TEXT characters For more infor mation see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Unnamed Row See Row Unnamed on page 2 36 VARCHAR m r The VARCHAR data type stores character sequences that contain single byte and multibyte character sequences of varying length where m is the maximum byte size of the column and r is the minimum amount of byte space reserved for that column The VARCHAR data type is the Informix implementation of a character varying data type The ANSI standard data type for varying character strings is CHARACTER VARYING and is described on page 2 15 You must specify the ma
118. ETEMP to place temporary files used in sorting in dbspaces rather than operating system files See the discussion of the DBSPACETEMP environment variable on page 3 51 For additional information about the PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable see your Administrator s Guide and your Performance Guide Environment Variables 3 93 PSORT_NPROCS XPS setenv 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 PSORT_NPROCS threads _________ threads specifies the maximum number of threads to be used to sort a query The maximum value of threads is10 The following command sets the PSORT_NPROCS environment variable to 4 setenv PSORT_NPROCS 4 To disable parallel sorting enter the following command unsetenv PSORT_NPROCS Informix recommends 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 se
119. ETIME 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 1999 becomes 1999 08 15 00 00 00 m If you convert DATETIME YEAR TO SECOND to DATE the database server converts existing DATETIME to DATE values but drops fields more precise than DAY For example 1999 08 15 12 15 37 becomes 08 15 1999 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 create and use implicit and explicit casts see the CREATE CAST statement in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax and the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Implicit Casts 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 Implicit casts allow you to convert a user defined data type to a built in type or vice versa Users can explicitly invoke an implicit cast using the CAST AS keywords or the double colon cast operator Data Types 2 67 Determinin
120. Environment Variables 3 75 INFORMIXTERM UNIX setenv INFORMIXTERM The INFORMIXTERM environment variable specifies whether DB Access should use the information in the termcap file or the terminfo directory 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 INFORMIXTERM J termcap gt 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 You can use the termcap file that Informix 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 97 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 3 76 Informix Guide to SQL Reference setenv INF_ROLE_ SEP INF_ROLE_SEP The INF_ROLE_SEP environment variable configures the security feature
121. Great durability Specify Who Need Motion Control men s women s size 10051 301 SHM For runners who log heavy miles and need a lt BYTEvalue gt The Training Shoe Engineered for durable supportive stable platform Marathoners and Ultra Distance Mesh synthetic upper gives excellent Runners 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 Plenty of lt BYTE value gt A Woman s Racing Flat That forefoot cushioning with added motion Combines Extra Forefoot Protection control Women s only D widths available With a Slender Heel Specify size 7 of 10 asege eg op Sa oJs ay ul BJeg or v 9oueJejey FOS 01 8ping XILWWOJUI catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10053 301 KAR Anatomical last holds your foot firmly in lt BYTE value gt Durable Training Flat That Can Carry place Feather weight cushioning delivers You Through Marathon Miles the responsiveness of a racing flat Specify men s women s size 10054 301 ANZ Cantilever sole provides shock absorption lt BYTE value gt Motion Control Protection and and energy rebound Positive traction shoe Extra 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 wit
122. H environment variable tells the shell on HP UX 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 SHLIB_PATH PATH ae A pathname specifies the search path for the libraries On Solaris set LD_LIBRARY_PATH On AIX set LIBPATH Environment Variables 3 95 STMT_CACHE os STMT_CACHE 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 speed query processing among different user sessions Valid STMT_CACHE values are 1 and 0 setenv STMT_CACHE ia of 1 enables the SOL statement cache 0 disables the SOL 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 SOL statement cache This environment variable has no effect if the SOL statement cache is disabled through the configuration setting The SET STMT_CACHE statement in the application overrides the STMT_CACHE environment variable setting 3 96 Informix Guide to SQL Reference UNIX setenv UNIX setenv TERM TERM The TERM environment variable is used for terminal handling It lets DB Access recognize and communicate with the terminal that you are using TERM type A type specifies the terminal
123. HAR 15 name_t definition first VARCHAR 15 last VARCHAR 15 The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 25 User Defined Routines and Extended Data Types B 26 custo custo custo custo credi retail_t def credi Informix Guide to SQL Reference expiration customer_t definition er_num er_type er_name er_loc contact_dates cust_discount t_status inition whlsale_t definition SERIAL CHAR 1 name_t INTEGER LIST DATETIME YEAR TO DAY NOT NULL percent CHAR 1 t_num CHAR 19 DATE resale_license CHAR 15 terms_net SMALLINT ship_t definition date DATE weight DECIMAL 8 2 charge MONEY 6 2 instruct VARCHAR 40 retail_customer whlsale_customer credit_num expiration Table Hierarchies Table Hierarchies Figure B 25 shows how the hierarchical tables of the superstores_demo database are related customer i customer num location _ customer_type location_id customer_name loc_type customer_loc company contact_dates street_addr cust_discount city credit_status country location_us location_non_us state_code province_code zip Zipcode phone phone resale_license terms_net Referential Relationships references the primary key in another table The customer and orders Tables the customer_num column in the customer table Figure B 25 Hierarchies of superstores_demo Tables The tables of the superstores_demo database are linked by the
124. How a database server or a user determines into which fragment rows are placed The database server determines the rule for round robin fragmentation and system defined hash fragmentation The user determines the rule for expression based fragmentation and hybrid fragmentation See also arbitrary rule and range rule The hardware and operating system services available at the time a program runs An error that occurs during program execution Compare with compile time error Not for Extended Parallel Server A logical storage area that contains one or more chunks that store only BLOB and CLOB data The number of digits to the right of the decimal place in DECIMAL notation The number 14 2350 has a scale of 4 four digits to the right of the decimal point See also precision The ability to compensate for an increase in query size by adding a corre sponding amount of computer resources so that processing time does not also increase A database server thread that is assigned the task of reading rows from a table When a query is executed in parallel the database server allocates mul tiple scan threads to perform the query in parallel The structure of a database or a table The schema for a table lists the names of the columns their data types and where applicable the lengths indexing and other information about the structure of the table The portion of a routine or application program in which a variable or identifier can be
125. IANT or not t is variant f is not variant Null handling indicator t handles nulls f does not handle nulls Amount of CPU per call integer cost to execute UDR cost call 0 2431 1 Field commutator Negator function name Function used to estimate function selectivity Iterator routine Whether the routine can be called from SQL t routine is internal not callable from SQL f routine is external can be called from SQL CPU class in which the routine should be executed Stack size in bytes required per invocation Name of cost function for UDR Selectivity constant for UDR 2 of 3 System Catalog 1 63 SYSPROCEDURES 1 64 Column Name Type Explanation parallelizable BOOLEAN Parallelization indicator for UDR t Parallelizable f Not parallelizable 3 of 3 4 A unique index on the procid column indexes the routine id A composite index on the procname isproc numargs and owner columns maintains the uniqueness of the routines in the database This index allows duplicate values The index on the specificname and owner columns maintains the uniqueness of the routines with specific names It allows duplicate values For the sysprocedures system catalog table 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 that is different from the routine creator If routine state ments involving a remote database
126. INT8 The INT8 data type stores whole numbers that range from 9 223 372 036 854 775 807 to 9 223 372 036 854 775 807 or 2 1 to 263 1 The maximum negative number 9 223 372 036 854 775 808 is a reserved value and cannot be used The INT8 data type is typically used to store large counts quantities and so on The way that the database server stores the INT8 data is platform dependent On 64 bit platforms INT8 is stored as a signed binary integer the data type requires 8 bytes per value On 32 bit platforms the database server uses an internal format that consists of several integer values the data type can require 10 bytes Arithmetic operations and sort comparisons are performed more efficiently on integer data than on float or decimal data However INT8 columns can store only a limited range of values If the data value exceeds the numeric range the database server does not store the value DataTypes 2 25 INTEGER INTEGER The INTEGER data type stores whole numbers that range from 2 147 483 647 to 2 147 483 647 The maximum negative number 2 147 483 648 is a reserved value and cannot be used The INTEGER data type 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 However INTEGER columns can store only a limited range of values If the data
127. If the access method is built in such as a b tree it also supports dbspaces m DS means the access method supports dbspaces and sbspaces m sx means the access method supports sbspaces and extspaces For information about access method functions refer to the documentation for your custom access method 1 22 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSATTRTYPES 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 The sysattrtypes system catalog table has the following columns Column Name extended_id seqno levelno parent_no fieldname fieldno type length xtd_type_id Type INTEGER SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT NVARCHAR 128 SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT INTEGER SYSATTRTYPES Explanation Identifier for extended data types same as in sysxtdtypes Value to order and identify entries for specific values of extended_id Position of member in collection hierarchy Value in the seqno column of the complex type that contains this member Name of the field in a row type Null for other complex types Field number sequentially assigned by the system from left to right within each row type Identifier of the data type For a complete list of values associated with different data types see the coltype column entries in the sysco
128. LANG environment variable to the new directory If this directory is a subdirectory of INFORMIXDIR or INFORMIXDIR msg 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 Environment Variables 3 43 DBLANG GLS 3 44 1 2 N Oo A A Informix products that use the default U S ASCII English search for message files in the following order In DBLANG if DBLANG is set to a full pathname In INFORMIXDIR msg DBLANG if DBLANG is set to a relative pathname In INFORMIXDIR DBLANG if DBLANG is set to a relative pathname In SINFORMIXDIR msg en_us 0333 In SINFORMIXDIR msg en_us 8859 1 In INFORMIXDIR msg In INFORMIXDIR msg english For more information on access paths for messages see the description of DBLANG in the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBMONEY DBM ONEY The DBMONEY environment variable specifies the display format of monetary values with FLOAT DECIMAL or MONEY data types setenv DBMONEY ee e lt lt F back front is the default symbol that precedes the MONEY value is an optional symbol comma that separates the integral from the fractional p
129. LATIONS TABLE statement to create the association between the target table and the violations and diagnostics tables The logical collection of extents that are assigned to a table It contains all the disk space that is allocated to a given table or table fragment and includes pages allocated to data and to indexes pages that store TEXT or BYTE data in the dbspace and bitmap pages that track page use within the extents The specific name of a particular standard transport layer protocol TCP and network layer protocol IP A popular network protocol used in DOS UNIX and other environments A logging temporary table that support indexes constraints and rollback An attribute of any file index or table that is used only during a single session Temporary files or resources are typically removed or freed when program execution terminates or an on line session ends 52 Informix Guide to SQL Reference TEXT thread TU trace transaction transaction lock transaction logging transaction mode trigger tuple two phase commit A data type for a simple large object that stores text and can be as large as 2 bytes See also BYTE A piece of work or task for a virtual processor in the same way that a virtual processor is a task for a CPU A virtual processor is a task that the operating system schedules for execution on the CPU a database server thread is a task that a virtual processor schedules internally for
130. LOB and BLOB data types The CLOB data type includes special operations for character strings that are inappropriate for BLOB values A CLOB column can be up to 4 terabytes in length Use the BLOB data type see page 2 9 for random access to binary data For general information about the CLOB and BLOB data types see Smart Large Objects on page 2 49 You can use the following SQL functions to perform some operations on a CLOB column m FILETOCLOB copies a file into a CLOB column m LOTOFILE copies a CLOB or BLOB value into an operating system file m LOCOPY copies an existing smart large object to a new smart large object For more information on these SQL functions see the 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 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 Data Types 2 15 DATE GLS Multibyte Characters with CLOB You can insert data into CLOB columns in the following ways m With the dbload or onload utilities m With the LOAD statement DB Access m From CLOB ifx_lo_t host variables Informix ESQL C For more information and examples for using the CLOB data type see the Informix Guide to SQL Tutorial and the Informix Guide to Da
131. LTMASK 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 However if you set DBFLTMASK to a value greater than can fit into the 14 character buffer DB Access rounds the value to the number of digits that can fit Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBLANG 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 Informix product uses setenv DBLANG eae full_path relative_path is the subdirectory of INFORMIXDIR full_path is the full pathname of the directory that contains the compiled message files By default Informix products put compiled messages in a locale specific subdirectory of the INFORMIXDIR msg directory These compiled message files have the suffix iem If you want to use a message directory other than INFORMIXDIR msg where for example you can store message files that you create perform the following steps 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 DB
132. M are characters that represent the day and the month Y2 Y4 are characters that represent the year and the number of digits in the year For the U S ASCII English locale the default setting for DBDATE is MDY4 where M represents the month D represents the day Y 4 represents a four digit year and slash is a separator for example 01 08 1999 Other acceptable characters for the separator are a hyphen a period or a zero 0 To indicate no separator use the zero The slash appears if you attempt to use a character other than a hyphen period or zero as a separator or if you do not include a separator character in the DBDATE definition 3 38 Informix Guide to SQL Reference GLS DBDATE The following table shows some variations for setting the DBDATE environment variable Variation January 8 1999 appears as MDY4 01 08 1999 DMY2 08 01 99 MDY4 01 08 1999 Y2DM 99 08 01 MDY20 010899 Y4MD 1999 01 08 The formats Y4MD the asterisk is an unacceptable separator and MDY4 no separator is defined both display the default slash as a separator Important If you use the Y2 format the setting of the DBCENTURY environment variable affects how the DATE values are expanded Also certain routines that Informix ESQL C calls can use the DBTIME variable rather than DBDATE to set DATETIME formats to international specifications For more information see the discuss
133. M only ISM only SQL APIs UNIX only SQL APIs UNIX only None None None Page 3 69 3 70 3 71 3 71 3 73 3 74 3 79 376 3 77 3 78 3 76 379 380 3 80 3 81 3 81 3 82 3 82 3 83 3 84 4 of 5 List of Environment Variables Environment Variable XPS IDS Restrictions Page OPTMSG ESQL C only 3 85 OPTOFC ESQL C only 3 86 OPT_GOAL Y Y UNIX only 3 87 PATH Y Y None 3 88 PDOPRIORITY Vv Vv None 3 89 PLCONFIG Y HPL only 3 91 PLOAD_LO_PATH Y HPL only 3 92 PLOAD_SHMBASE V HPL only 3 92 PSORT_DBTEMP Vv Vv None 3 93 PSORT_NPROCS Y Y None 3 94 SERVER_LOCALE Vv Y None GLS guide SHLIB_PATH Vv Vv UNIX only 3 95 STMT_CACHE Vv None 3 96 TERM Vv Vv UNIX only 3 97 TERMCAP Vv Y UNIX only 3 97 TERMINFO Vv Vv UNIX only 3 98 THREADLIB ESQL C 3 99 UNIX only XFER_CONFIG Vv None 3 99 5 of 5 Tip You might encounter references to environment variables that are not listed in Figure 3 1 Most likely these environment variables are not supported in Version 8 3 Version 9 2 or are used to maintain backward compatibility with certain earlier product versions For information refer to an earlier version of your Informix documentation Environment Variables 3 23 Environment Variables 3 24 setenv Environment Variables The following sections discuss the environment variables that Informix products use Important The descriptions of the following environment varia
134. MALLINT 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 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 1 of 2 System Catalog 1 57 SYSOPCLSTR 1 58 Column Name clstrkey1 clstrkey2 clstrkey3 clstrkey4 clstrkey5 clstrkey6 clstrkey7 clstrkey8 clstrkey9 clstrkey10 clstrkey11 clstrkey12 clstrkey13 clstrkey14 clstrkey15 clstrkey16 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Type SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT Explanation Cluster key number 1 Cluster key number 2 Cluster key number 3 Cluster key number 4 Cluster key number 5 Cluster key number 6 Cluster key number 7 Cluster key number 8 Cluster key number 9 Cluster key number 10 Cluster key number 11 Cluster key number 12 Cluster key number 13 Cluster key number 14 Cluster key number 15 Cluster key number 16 2 of 2 A composite index for both the clstrname and owner columns allows only unique values The tabid col
135. ME values for a set of SQL API library functions Standard setenv DBTIME DBTIME Formats Era Based DBTIME Formats see the Informix Guide to GLS You can set the DBTIME environment variable to manipulate DATETIME formats so that the formats conform more closely to various international or local TIME conventions DBTIME takes effect only when you call certain Informix ESQL C DATETIME routines otherwise use the DBDATE environment variable For details see the Informix ESQL C Programmer s Manual You can set DBTIME to specify the exact format of an input output I O DATETIME string field with the formatting directives described in the following list Otherwise the behavior of the DATETIME formatting routine is undefined Standard DBTIME Formats tring _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ gt string the formatting directives that you can use as the following list describes b is replaced by the abbreviated month name B is replaced by the full month name 3 54 Informix Guide to SQL Reference d Fn H l M m Yop S y Y DBTIME is replaced by the day of the month as a decimal number 01 31 is replaced by the value of the fraction with precision that the integer n specifies The default value of n is 2 the range of nisO lt n lt 5 is replaced by the hour 24 hour clock is replaced by the hour 12 hour clock is replaced by the
136. MITER DBSPACETEMP PDQPRIORITY STMT_CACHE DBBLOBBUF DBUPSPACE INFORMIXSTACKSIZE DBSPACETEMP PSORT_DBTEMP Page GLS guide 3 73 3 92 3 50 3 88 3 93 3 94 3 51 3 96 3 67 3 71 3 51 3 65 3 41 3 40 3 51 3 89 3 96 3 31 3 37 3 75 3 51 3 93 10 of 12 Environment Variables 3 109 Index of Environment Variables 3 110 Topic Tables temporary for Gateways Temporary tables Terminal handling Utilities archecker Utilities DB Access Utilities dbexport Utilities ON Archive Informix Guide to SQL Reference Environment Variable DBTEMP DBSPACETEMP DBTEMP PSORT_DBTEMP INFORMIXTERM TERM TERMCAP TERMINFO AC_CONFIG DBANSIWARN DBDELIMITER DBEDIT DBFLTMASK DBPATH FET_BUF_SIZE INFORMIXSERVER INFORMIXTERM TERM TERMCAP TERMINFO DBDELIMITER ARC_DEFAULT ARC_KEYPAD DBREMOTECMD Page 3 53 3 51 3 53 3 93 3 76 3 97 3 97 3 98 3 24 3 31 3 40 3 41 3 42 3 46 3 60 3 71 3 76 3 97 3 97 3 98 3 40 3 25 3 26 3 50 11 of 12 Topic Utilities ON Bar Values date and time Values money Variables overriding Year 2000 Index of Environment Variables Environment Variable ISM_COMPRESSION ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL ISM_ENCRYPTION DBDATE DBTIME DBMONEY ENVIGNORE DBCENTURY Page 3 78 3 79 3 80 3 37 GLS guide 3 54 GLS guide 3 45 GLS guide 3 59 3 33 12 of 12 Environment Variables 3 111 The stores_demo Database The stores_dem
137. NTERVAL Field Qualifier in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax LIST e The LIST data type is a collection type that stores ordered nonunique elements that is it allows duplicate element values The elements of a LIST have ordinal positions with a first second and third element in a LIST For a collection type with no ordinal positions see the MULTISET data type on page 2 32 and the SET data type on page 2 41 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 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 The element_type of a collection can be any of the following types A built in type except SERIAL SERIAL8 BYTE and TEXT A distinct type An unnamed or named row type Another collection type 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 collection type see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax 2 30 Informix Guide to SQL Reference LVARCHAR You can use LIST anywhere that you would use any other da
138. ONCONFIG configuration parameter OPTCOMPIND see the Administrator s Reference For more information on the different join methods for your database server that the optimizer uses see your Performance Guide 3 84 Informix Guide to SQL Reference OPTMSG OPTMSG Set the OPTMSG environment variable at runtime before you start an Informix ESQL C application to enable optimized message transfers message chaining for all SQL statements in an application You also can 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 exits setenv _ __ OPTMSG TA 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 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 Informix ESQL C Programmer s Manual Environment Variables 3 85 OPTOFC OPTOFC Set the OPTOFC environment variable to enable optimize OPEN FETCH CLOSE functionality in an Informi
139. OPCACHE FORMIXSERVER FORMIXSHMBASE FORMIXSOLHOSTS NFORMIXSTACKSIZE INFORMIXTERM INF_ROLE_SEP ISM_COMPRESSION Za Ae DL 3 32 3 36 3 39 3 40 3 41 3 42 3 44 3 45 3 46 3 48 3 49 3 50 3 52 3 53 3 56 3 57 3 58 3 59 3 60 3 61 3 62 3 63 3 63 3 64 3 64 3 65 3 66 3 66 3 68 3 68 3 69 3 70 3 70 3 72 3 73 3 74 3 75 3 76 3 77 ISM_DEBUG FILE 2 3 77 ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL 3 78 ISM_ENCRYPTION eee 3 79 ISM_MAXLOGSIZE o ee ee 3 79 ISM_MAXLOGVERS 2 eee 3 80 LD_LIBRARY_PATH e e o a 3 80 LIBRADA inci as atl gh ok are wie hy oat oh LS 3 81 NODEFDAC die eet a a Se O A 3 81 ONCONFIG ratuh a we ee a A a da 3 82 OPTCOMPIND s 2 08 eye hoe a o i A Ga 3 83 ORTMSG I lt 6 bir ca da n as a dl cole dk ad 3 84 OPTOFG lt lt be bk a A a a SO 3 85 OPT GOAL a em a eR Sd a ee E 3 86 PATH S20 ep a eee we ee GP Be Ee 3 87 PDQPRIORITY o 3 88 PELCONFIG oc 22 0 e Re a TA 3 90 PLOAD LO PATH oo mdp oaia de a a a 3 91 PLOAD_SHMBASE 4 4 3 91 PSORT_DBTEMP 2 3 92 PSORTZNPROCS 2 2 2 20 8 0 8 0 do e a 3 93 SHETIB PATHO ee neoe ew a te 3 94 STMT_CACHE o s 6 s oao ao a ee s ee 3 95 TERM 3 2 owe eo OE a a a a E 3 96 TERMCAP A oa a a Os 3 96 TERMINEPO 2 0 ee ee 3 97 THREADEIB 2 8 eioi ce ee ix By od es Ge Te Ga 3 98 XFER_CONFIG 2 a 3 98 Index of Environment Variables
140. P TFX_DIRECTIVES Page 3 75 GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide 3 70 3 66 3 99 GLS guide 3 65 3 83 3 59 3 25 3 25 3 25 3 99 3 71 3 71 3 51 3 62 2 of 12 Environment Variables 3 101 Index of Environment Variables Topic Configuration parameter OPCACHEMAX Configuration parameter OPTCOMPIND Configuration parameter OPT_GOAL Configuration parameter PDOPRIORITY Configuration parameter STACKSIZE Connecting Data distributions Database locale Database server Database server archiving Database server configuration file Database server parallel sorting Database server parallelism Database server role separation Informix Guide to SQL Reference Environment Variable INFORMIXOPCACHE OPTCOMPIND OPT_GOAL PDQPRIORITY INFORMIXSTACKSIZE INFORMIXCONRETRY INFORMIXCONTIME INFORMIXSERVER INFORMIXSQLHOSTS DBUPSPACE DB_LOCALE INFORMIXSERVER SERVER_LOCALE ARC_CONFIG ARC_DEFAULT ARC_KEYPAD DBREMOTECMD ONCONFIG PSORT_DBTEMP PSORT_NPROCS PDQPRIORITY INF_ROLE_SEP Page 3 71 3 84 3 87 3 89 3 75 3 67 3 67 3 71 3 74 3 57 GLS 371 GLS 3 25 3 25 3 26 3 50 3 83 299 3 94 3 89 3 77 guide guide 3 of 12 Index of Environment Variables Topic Environment Variable Page Database server shared memory INFORMIXSHMBASE 3 73 Database server stacksize INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 3 75 Database server tape management ARC
141. QL code Intro 12 SQL Communications Area SQLCA effect of setting DBANSIWARN 3 30 Stacksize setting INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 3 74 state table in stores_demo database columns in A 10 state table in superstores_demo database columns in B 21 Statement SQL ANSI compliance and DBANSIWARN 3 30 CONNECT and INFORMIXSERVER 3 71 editing and DBEDIT 3 40 3 45 LOAD and DBDELIMITER 3 39 3 57 printing and DBPRINT 3 48 10 Informix Guide to SQL Reference J K L MN OP QRS TU VW X Y Z UNLOAD and DBDELIMITER 3 39 3 57 UPDATE STATISTICS and DBUPSPACE 3 56 STMT_CACHE environment variable 3 95 stock table in stores_demo database columns in A 6 stock table in superstores_demo database columns in B 22 stock_discount table in superstores_demo database columns in B 23 stores_demo database call_type table columns A 9 catalog table columns A 7 customer table columns A 3 cust_calls table columns A 8 data values A 19 description of A 1 items table columns A 5 manufact table columns A 9 map of A 11 primary foreign key relationships A 12 to A 19 stock table columns A 6 structure of tables A 2 Summary of environment variables 3 19 of environment variables by topic 3 99 of system catalog tables 1 14 superstores_demo database call_type table columns B 10 catalog table columns B 10 customer table columns B 12 B 13 B 14 cust_calls table columns B 11 description of B 8 introduced B 1 items table columns B 15 manufact table columns B 19
142. SET on page 2 32 The elements in a SET have no ordinal position That is no concept of a first second or third element in a SET exists For a collection type with ordinal positions for elements see the LIST data type on page 2 29 All elements in a SET have the same element type To specify the element type use the following syntax SET element_type NOT NULL The element_type of a collection can be any of the following types A built in type except SERIAL SERIAL8 BYTE and TEXT A named or unnamed row type Another collection type 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 Informix Guide to SQL Syntax You can use SET anywhere that you use any other data type unless otherwise indicated For example m After the IN predicate in the WHERE clause of a SELECT statement to search for matching SET values m As an argument to the SOL CARDINALITY function to determine the number of elements in a SET column For more information see the Condition and Expression segments in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax You cannot use the SET column with an aggregate function such as AVG MAX MIN or SUM 2 42 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SMALLFLOAT The following examples declare two sets The first example declares a set of integers and the second declares a set of character el
143. Server environment See simple join The information that is received from an external source for example from the keyboard a file or another program and processed by a program A placeholder within a prepared SQL statement that indicates a value is to be provided at the time the statement is executed A cursor for insert operations associated with an INSERT statement Allows bulk insert data to be buffered in memory and written to disk The loading of software from some magnetic medium tape cartridge or floppy disk or CD onto a computer and preparing it for use Refers to a program that accepts input from the user processes the input and then produces output on the screen in a file or on a printer Glossary 27 international ization 118n interquery parallelization interrupt interrupt key intraquery parallelization IPX SPX ISAM ISAM error ISO 1508859 1 The process of making Informix products easily adaptable to any culture and language Among other features internationalized software provides support for culturally specific sorting and for adaptable date time and money formats For more information see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality The ability to process multiple queries simultaneously to avoid a perfor mance delay when multiple independent queries access the same table See also intraquery parallelization A signal from a user or another process that can stop the current p
144. TEGER INTEGER Explanation Table identifier Column number SYSCOLATTRIBS Pages in smart large object extent expressed in kilobytes An integer representation of the combination addition of hexadecimal values of the following parameters LO_NOLOG LO_LOG LO_KEEP_LASTACCESS_TIME LO_NOKEEP_LASTACCESS_TIME The smart large object is not logged Logging of smart large object data is done in accor dance with the current database log mode A record is kept of the most recent access of this smart large object column by a user No record is kept of the most recent access of this smart large object column by a user 1 of 2 System Catalog 1 27 SYSCOLAUTH Column Name grantor grantee tabid colno colauth 1 28 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Column Name Type flags1 INTEGER sbspace NVARCHAR 128 SYSCOLAUTH Type NCHAR 32 NCHAR 32 INTEGER SMALLINT NCHAR 3 Explanation HI_INTEG MODERATE_INTEG Not available at this time Reserved for future use Name of sbspace Explanation Grantor of privilege Grantee of privilege Table identifier Column number Data pages have headers and footers to detect incomplete writes and data corruption Data pages do not have headers and footers 2 of 2 The syscolauth system catalog table describes each set of privileges granted on a column It contains one row for each set of column privileges grant
145. TEGER Figure B 6 The time Table Description time code order date month code name of month quarter code name of quarter year The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 7 The superstores_ demo Database The superstores_demo Database SOL 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 is not ANSI compliant This section provides the following superstores_demo information The structure of all the tables in the superstores_demo database A list and definition of the extended data types that superstores_demo uses m A map of table hierarchies m 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 DB Access User s Manual For information on how to work with object relational databases see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation For information on the stores_demo database on which superstores_demo is based see Appendix A B 8 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables 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
146. Table The distributor carries 41 types of sporting goods from various manufac turers More than one manufacturer can supply an item For example the distributor offers racing goggles from two manufacturers and running shoes from six manufacturers Data Type SMALLINT CHAR 3 CHAR 15 MONEY 6 2 CHAR 4 CHAR 15 The stock table is a catalog of the items sold by the distributor Figure A 4 shows the columns of the stock table Figure A 4 The stock Table Description stock number that identifies type of item manufacturer code foreign key to manufact table description of item unit price unit by which item is ordered m each m pair m case m box description of unit The catalog Table The catalog Table The catalog table describes each item in stock Retail stores use this table when placing orders with the distributor Figure A 5 shows the columns of the catalog table Figure 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 stores_demo Database A 7 The cust_calls Table A 8 The cust_calls Table All customer calls for information on orders shipment
147. The database server uses the keytab file to find the key to register the server and to acquire a credential for it A client application uses the key if the user did not do dce_login with the current operating system user name which is the same as the DCE principle name or did not explicitly provide a credential 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 Administrator s Guide 3 70 Informix Guide to SQL Reference setenv setenv INFORMIXOPCACHE INFORM IXOPCACHE The INFORMIXOPCACHE environment variable lets you specify the size of the memory cache for the staging area blobspace of the client application 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 the INFORMIXOPCACHE environment variable the default cache size is 128 kilobytes or the size specified in the configuration parameter OPCACHEMAX The default for OPCACHEMAX is 128
148. Type Explanation name NVARCHAR 128 The name of the message msgid SERIAL The message template identifier locale NCHAR 36 The locale with which this version of the message is associated for example en_us 8859 1 seqno Reserved for future use message NVARCHAR 255 The message text A unique index defined on columns name and locale A unique index is also on the msgid column 1 76 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSTRIGBODY SYSTRIGBODY The systrigbody system catalog table contains the English 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 Warning The database server uses the linearized code that is stored in systrigbody You must not alter the content of rows that contain linearized code The systrigbody system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation trigid INT Trigger identifier datakey NCHAR Type of data D English text for the header trigger definition A English text for the body triggered actions H Linearized code for the header S Linearized code for the symbol table B Linearized code for the body seqno INT Sequence number data NCHAR 256 English text or linearized code A composite index for the trigid datakey and seqno columns allows only unique values System Catalog 1 77 SYSTRIGGERS 1 78 SYSTRIGGERS The systriggers system catalog table contain
149. UBLIC 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 when the routine is created in owner mode no allows default table privileges to be granted to PUBLIC Also allows the Execute privilege on a new user defined routine to be granted to PUBLIC when the user defined routine is created in owner mode 3 82 Informix Guide to SQL Reference XPS setenv ONCONFIG 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 input during the initialization procedure After you prepare the ONCONFIG configuration file set the ONCONFIG environment variable to the name of the 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 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 Informix recommends 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 prepar
150. 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 searching 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 values for all other noninteger column types are the initial 4 bytes of the maximum or minimum value which are treated as an integer The database server does not calculate colmin and colmax values for user defined data types However these columns have values for user defined data types if a user defined secondary access method supplies them System Catalog 1 35 SYSCONSTRAINTS 1 36 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 sysindices for Dynamic Server system catalog table for each unique primary key or referential constraint that you create if the constraint does not already have a corresponding entry in the sysindexes or sysindices system catalog table Because i
151. _CONFIG 3 25 ARC_DEFAULT 3 25 ARC_KEYPAD 3 26 DBREMOTECMD 3 50 Database server temporary tables DBSPACETEMP 3 51 sort files Date and time values DBCENTURY 3 33 DBDATE 3 37 GLS guide DBTIME 3 54 GLS guide GL_DATE GLS guide GL_DATETIME GLS guide DB Access utility DBACCNOIGN 3 29 DBANSIWARN 3 31 DBDELIMITER 3 40 DBEDIT 3 41 DBFLTMASK 3 42 DBPATH 3 46 FET_BUF_SIZE 3 60 INFORMIXSERVER 3 71 INFORMIXTERM 3 76 TERM 3 97 4 of 12 Environment Variables 3 103 Index of Environment Variables Topic DB Cockpit graphic tool dbexport utility Delimited identifiers Disk space Editor ESQL C ANSI compliance ESQL C C compiler ESQL C DATETIME formatting ESOL C delimited identifiers ESQL C multibyte filter ESQL C multibyte identifiers ESQL C multithreaded applications ESQL C running C preprocessor before the ESQL C preprocessor Executable programs Fetch buffer size Filenames multibyte Files field delimiter Files installation Files locale Informix Guide to SQL Reference Environment Variable TERMCAP TERMINFO COCKPITSERVICE DBDELIMITER DELIMIDENT DBUPSPACE DBEDIT DBANSIWARN INFORMIXC DBTIME DELIMIDENT ESQLMF CLIENT_LOCALE THREADLIB CPFIRST PATH FET_BUF_SIZE GLS8BITSYS DBDELIMITER INFORMIXDIR CLIENT_LOCALE DB_LOCALE SERVER_LOCALE Page 3 97 3 98 3 27 3 40 3 58 3 57 3 41 3 31 3 65 3 54 GLS guide 3 58 GLS guide GLS guide 3 99 3 28 3 88 3 60 GLS guide
152. a database object in the system catalog tables of a database Most SQL data definition statements per form some type of registration For example the CREATE FUNCTION and CREATE PROCEDURE statements register a user defined routine in a database See table A database that uses table structures to store data Data in a relational database is divided across tables in such a way that additions and modifica tions to the data can be made easily without loss of information A database server that manages data that is stored in rows and columns Glossary 41 remainder page remote Repeatable Read reserved pages reserved word restore a database role role separation roll back root dbspace root node root supertype A page that accommodates subsequent bytes of a long data row If the trailing portion of a data row is less than a full page itis stored on a remainder page After the database server creates a remainder page for a long row it can use the remaining space in the page to store other rows Each full page that follows the home page is referred to as a big remainder page See also home page A connection that requires a network An Informix and ANSI level of isolation available with the Informix SET ISOLATION statement or the ANSI SET TRANSACTION statement which ensures that all data read during a transaction is not modified during the entire transaction Transactions under ANSI Repeatable Read are also known a
153. able This column is blank until the UPDATE STATISTICS statement is run on the table Estimated number of rows in the table zero until UPDATE STATISTICS is run on the table 1 of 2 System Catalog 1 51 SYSINDICES Column Name Type Explanation indexkeys INDEXKEYARRAY This column has a maximum of three fields displayed in the following form lt function id gt col1 coln operator class id The function id shows only if the index is on return values of a function defined over the columns of the table that is if it is a functional index The function id is the same as the procid of the function showing in the sysprocedures system catalog table The list of the columns col1 coln in the second field gives columns over which the index is defined The operator class id signifies the particular secondary access method used to build and search the index amid INTEGER Identifier of the access method used to implement this index It is the value of the am_id for that access method in the sysams system catalog table amparam LVARCHAR List of parameters used to customize the behavior of this access method 2 of 2 Tip This system catalog table is changed from the system catalog table in the 7 2 ver sion of the Informix database server The previous version of this system catalog table is still available as a view and can be accessed under its original name sysindexes The columns part1 through part16 in sysin
154. able has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation fragtype NCHAR 1 Fragment type I Index T Table B TEXT or BYTE data Extended Parallel Server i Index fragments of a duplicated table Extended Parallel Server d data fragments of a duplicated table Extended Parallel Server tabid INTEGER Table identifier indexname NVARCHAR 128 Index identifier 1 of 3 1 46 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Column Name colno partn strategy location servername evalpos exprtext exprbin exprarr Type INTEGER INTEGER NCHAR 1 NCHAR 1 NVARCHAR 128 INTEGER TEXT BYTE BYTE SYSFRAGMENTS Explanation TEXT or BYTE column identifier Replica identifier Extended Parallel Server Physical location identifier Distribution scheme type R Round robin strategy was used to distribute the fragments E Expression based strategy was used to distribute the fragments T Table based strategy was used to distribute the fragments I IN DBSPACE clause specified a specific location as part of the fragmentation strategy H hash based strategy was used to distribute the fragments Extended Parallel Server Reserved for future use shows L for local Reserved for future use Position of fragment in the fragmentation list Expression that was entered for fragmentation strategy For Extended Parallel Server contains the names of the columns that are hashed Contains co
155. accessed Three possible scopes exist local applies only in a single program block modular applies throughout a single module and global applies throughout the entire program See also local variable and global variable 44 Informix Guide to SQL Reference scratch table scroll cursor secondary access method secure auditing select select cursor selection selective index selectivity self join semaphore sequential cursor Serializable A nonlogging temporary table A cursor created with the SCROLL keyword that allows you to fetch rows of the active set in any sequence An access method whose routines access an index with such operations as inserting deleting updating and scanning See also operator class and primary access method Not for Extended Parallel Server A facility of Informix database servers that lets a database server administrator keep track of unusual or potentially harmful user activity Use the onaudit utility to enable auditing of events and create audit masks and the onshowaudit utility to extract the audit event information for analysis See query A cursor that is associated with a SELECT statement which lets you scan multiple rows of data moving data row by row into a set of receiving variables Taking a horizontal subset of the rows of a single table that satisfies a particular condition Selection is implemented through the WHERE clause of a SELECT statement and re
156. ain instances of that row type A typed table can be used as part of a table hierarchy The columns of a typed table correspond to the fields of the named row type See user defined aggregate See user defined routine See user defined data type Disk I O that is controlled directly by the database server instead of the operating system This direct control helps improve performance and reliability for updates to database data Unbuffered I O is supported by character special files on UNIX and by both unbuffered files and the raw disk interface on Windows NT See Read Uncommitted See independent subquery Specifies that each entry in a column or set of columns has a unique value An index that prevents duplicate values in the indexed column See primary key 54 Informix Guide to SQL Reference UNIX real user ID unload job unlock unnamed row type untyped collection variable update update lock user defined aggregate user defined base type user defined cast user defined data type See Informix user ID The information required to unload data from a relational database using the HPL This information includes format map query device array project and special options To free an object database table page or row that has been locked For example a locked table prevents others from adding removing updating or in the case of an exclusive lock viewing rows in that table as long as it is
157. airs box 24 pair box 10 box 10 box 4 case each each each each 20 case 20 case 10 case 12 case 4 pairs box 12 box 3 of 4 The stores_demo Database A 31 Data in the stores_ demo Database A 32 312 313 313 Informix Guide to SQL Reference stock_num manu_code HRO SHM ANZ description racer goggles swim cap swim cap unit_price 72 00 72 00 60 00 unit box box box unit_descr 12 box 12 box 12 box 4 of 4 y aseqejeq owap sejo s ay catalog Table catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10001 1 HRO Brown leather Specify first baseman s or lt BYTE value gt Your First Season s Baseball Glove infield outfield style Specify right or left handed 10002 1 HSK Babe Ruth signature glove Black leather lt BYTE value gt All Leather Hand Stitched Deep Infield outfield style Specify right or Pockets Sturdy Webbing that Won t left handed Let Go 10003 1 SMT Catcher s mitt Brown leather Specify lt BYTE value gt A Sturdy Catcher s Mitt With the right or left handed Perfect Pocket 10004 2 HRO Jackie Robinson signature glove Highest lt BYTE value gt Highest Quality Ball Available from Professional quality used by National the Hand Stitching to the Robinson League Signature 10005 3 HSK Pro style wood Available in sizes 31 32 33 lt BYTE value gt High Technology Design Expands 34 35 the Sweet Spot 10006 3 SHM Alumi
158. ality of the database server 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 of a built in type does not inherit the built in casts that are provided for the built in type However a distinct type does inherit any user defined casts that have been defined on the source type A distinct type and a source type cannot be compared directly To compare a distinct type and its source type you must explicitly cast one type to the other You must define a distinct type in the database Definitions for distinct types are stored in the sysxtdtypes system catalog table Data Types 2 23 DOUBLE PRECISION 2 24 The following SQL statements maintain the definitions of distinct types in the database m The CREATE DISTINCT TYPE statement adds a distinct type to the database m The DROP TYPE statement removes a previously defined distinct type from the database For more information on the SQL statements mentioned above see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax For information about casting distinct data types see Casts for Distinct Types on page 2 68 For examples that show how to create and register cast functions for a distinct type see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation DOUBLE PRECISION Columns defined as DOUBLE PRECISION behave the s
159. alog table describes each check constraint defined in the database Because the syschecks system catalog 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 system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation constrid INTEGER Constraint identifier type NCHAR 1 Form in which the check constraint is stored B Binary encoded T ASCII text seqno SMALLINT Line number of the check constraint checktext NCHAR 32 Text of the check constraint A composite index for the constrid type and seqno columns allows only unique values 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 constraint ID SELECT FROM syschecks WHERE constrid 10 AND type T Each check constraint described in the syschecks system catalog table also has its own row in the sysconstraints system catalog table 1 26 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSCOLATTRIBS The syscolattribs system catalog table describes the characteristics of smart large objects namely CLOB and BLOB data types It contains one row for each characteristic The syscolattribs system catalog table has the following columns Column Name tabid colno extentsize flags Type INTEGER SMALLINT IN
160. ame as those defined as FLOAT FLOAT n The FLOAT data type stores double precision floating point numbers with up to 16 significant digits FLOAT corresponds to the double data type in C The range of values for the FLOAT data type is the same as the range of values for 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference 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 SOL statement the database server might display this value as 1 1 This situation 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 FLOAT data types usually require 8 bytes 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
161. an Environment Variable Setting Viewing Your Environment Variable Settings Checking Environment Variables with the chkenv Utility Rules of Precedence Using Environment Variables in Windows NT Setting Environment Variables for Native Windows Applications Setting Environment Variables for nd Fone Utilities 4 Using the System opie to o Worle with Environment Variables 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 7 3 8 3 8 3 10 3 10 3 11 3 12 3 12 3 13 3 14 3 14 Using the Command Prompt to Work with Environment Variables 3 16 Using dbservername cmd to Initialize a Command Prompt Environment 3 18 Rules of Precedence 39 18 List of Environment Variables 3 19 Environment Variables ee ee 39 24 AC CONFIG e a e co ea e aa rs ZA ARC CONFIG es eo a Gee Go E a A ZO ARC DEFAULT 2 2 2 oe 2 ee ee ee we eee e 32 ARC KEYPAD gt arcad p e Boe Bed p e e ao 9526 COCKPITSERVICE ee ee BHT EPEIRST ss ke ge ee GP Beek oP wage BP ate Eo bo 8 28 DBACCNOIGN a s a so s s oaos e soros 3 29 DBANSIWARN aa o 3930 DBBLOBBUF entu de 3 31 DBCENTURY ee te ee E Behavior of DBCENTURY with Expressions ea Contain Date Values oe ee ee 3 34 DBDATE 3 36 Standard Formats fr DBDATE O og Se oe Se 7386 Behavior of DBDATE with O that Contain Date Values pa a BAG 3538
162. 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 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 59 Rules of Precedence When an 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 shell by explicitly setting the value at the shell prompt 2 The second highest precedence goes to the value that is defined in the private environment configuration file in the user s home directory 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 For precedence information about GLS environment variables see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Important Ifyou set one or more environment
163. and leaves the column values as characters You receive an error message and the statement is rolled back whether you are in a trans action or not Converting Between INTEGER and DATE or DATETIME You can convert an integer column SMALLINT INTEGER or INT8 to a DATE or DATETIME value The database server interprets the integer as a value in the internal format of the DATE or DATETIME column You can also convert a DATE or DATETIME column to an integer column The database server stores the internal format of the DATE or DATETIME column as an integer For a DATE column the internal format is a Julian date For a DATETIME column the internal format stores the date and time in a condensed integer format Converting Between DATE and DATETIME You can convert DATE columns to DATETIME columns However if the DATETIME column contains more fields than the DATE column 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 m 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 1999 becomes 1999 08 15 m Ifyou convert DATETIME YEAR TO DAY to the DATE format the value 1999 08 15 becomes 08 15 1999 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Using User Defined Casts m If you convert DATE to DAT
164. anipulating INTERVAL Values You can add or subtract INTERVAL values as long as both values are from the same class that is 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 Data Types 2 57 Extended Data Types 2 58 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 a number that can be an integer or a fraction However any remainder from the calculation is ignored and the result is truncated The following expression multiplies an INTERVAL by a fraction INTERVAL 15 30 0002 MINUTE TO FRACTION 4 2 5 Result INTERVAL 38 45 0005 MINUTE TO FRACTION 4 In this example 15 2 5 37 5
165. applet 3 15 set on command line 3 16 user environment variables 3 16 variable scope 3 15 GL_DATE 2 17 GL_DATETIME 2 20 how to set in Bourne shell 3 10 how to set in C shell 3 10 how to set in Korn shell 3 10 IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST_S IZE 3 60 IFX_DIRECTIVES 3 61 IFX_LONGID 3 62 IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE 3 63 IFX_NETBUF_SIZE 3 63 IFX_UPDDESC 3 64 INFORMIXC 3 64 INFORMIXCONCSMCFG 3 65 INFORMIXCONRETRY 3 66 INFORMIXCONTIME 3 66 INFORMIXCPPMAP 3 68 INFORMIXDIR 3 68 INFORMIXKEYTAB 3 69 INFORMIXOPCACHE 3 70 INFORMIXSERVER 3 70 INFORMIXSHMBASE 3 72 3 73 INFORMIXSQLHOSTS 3 73 INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 3 74 INFORMIXTERM 3 75 INF_ROLE_SEP 3 76 ISM_COMPRESSION 3 77 ISM_DEBUG_FILE 3 77 ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL 3 78 ISM_ENCRYPTION 3 79 ISM_MAXLOGSIZE 3 79 ISM_MAXLOGVERS 3 80 LD_LIBRARY_PATH 3 80 LIBPATH 3 81 listed alphabetically 3 19 JK L MN OP QRS TU VW X Y Z listed by topic 3 99 manipulating in Windows environments 3 14 modifying 3 11 NODEFDAC 3 81 ONCONFIG 3 82 OPTCOMPIND 3 83 OPTMSG 3 84 OPTOFC 3 85 OPT_GOAL 3 86 overriding a setting 3 9 3 58 PATH 3 87 PDOPRIORITY 3 88 PLCONFIG 3 90 PLOAD_LO_PATH 3 91 PLOAD_SHMBASE 3 91 PSORT_DBTEMP 3 92 PSORT_NPROCS 3 93 rules of precedence in UNIX 3 13 rules of precedence in Windows NT 3 18 setting at the command line 3 7 for command prompt utilities 3 15 for native Windows NT applications 3 14 in a login file 3 7 in a shell file 3 9 in an environment configuration file 3 7 in a
166. art of the MONEY value is the default symbol that separates the integral from the fractional part of the MONEY value back is the optional symbol that follows the MONEY value The back symbol can be up to seven characters and can contain any character except an integer a comma or a period If back contains a dollar sign you must enclose the whole string in single quotes front is the optional symbol that precedes the MONEY value The front symbol can be up to seven characters and can contain any character except an integer a comma or a period If front contains a dollar sign you must enclose the whole string in single quotes If you use any character except an alphabetic character for front or back you must enclose the character in quotes When you display MONEY values Informix products use the DBMONEY environment variable to format the output Tip The setting of DBMONEY does not affect the internal format of the MONEY column in the database If you do not set DBMONEY then MONEY values for the default locale U S ASCII 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 10050 is formatted as 100 50 Environment Variables 3 45 DBONPLOAD GLS 3 46 setenv Suppose you want to represent MONEY values in DM Deutsche Mark which uses the currency symb
167. at the C compiler can scale are short integer short int integer int or long integer long int Glossary 57 wildcard window WORM X Open X Open Portability Guide zoned decimal A special symbol that represents any sequence of zero or more characters or any single character In SQL for example you can use the asterisk question mark brackets percent sign and underscore _ as wild card characters The asterisk question mark and brackets are also wildcards in UNIX A rectangular area on the screen in which you can take actions without leaving the context of the background program Acronym for Write Once Read Many optical media When a bit of data is written toa WORM platter a permanent mark is made on the platter An independent consortium that produces and develops specifications and standards for open systems products and technology such as dynamic SQL A set of specifications that vendors and users can use to build portable software Any vendor that carries the XPG brand on any particular software product is guaranteeing that the software correctly implements the X Open Common Applications Environment CAE specifications There are CAE specifications for SQL XA ISAM RDA and so on A data representation that uses the low order four bits of each byte to designate a decimal digit 0 through 9 and the high order four bits to designate the sign of the digit 58 Informix Guide to SQL Re
168. ate 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 arejoined 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 stock table the manu_code column is a foreign key that references the manu_code column in the manufact table Informix Guide to SQL Reference Referential Relationships 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 colu
169. ation relational database relational database server A nonlogged permanent table that uses light appends An ANSI level of isolation available through Dynamic Server and set with the SET TRANSACTION statement in which a user can view only rows that are currently committed at the moment of the query request That is a user cannot view rows that were changed as a part of a currently uncommitted transaction It is the default level of isolation for databases that are not ANSI compliant See also isolation and Committed Read An ANSI level of isolation set with the SET TRANSACTION statement that does not account for locks and allows viewing of any existing rows even rows that currently can be altered from inside an uncommitted transaction Read Uncommitted is the lowest level of isolation no isolation at all and is thus the most efficient See also isolation and Dirty Read See Informix user ID See row A four byte RSAM entity also known as RID that describes the logical position of the record within a fragment Not the same as rowid To restore a database to a former condition after a system failure or other destructive event The recovery restores the database as it existed immedi ately before the failure The relationship between columns within a table or between tables also known as a parent child relationship Referencing columns are also known as foreign keys In a database the process of storing information about
170. ation 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 The first DATETIME value determines the field precision of the result If the second DATETIME value has fewer fields than the first the shorter value is extended automatically to match the longer one See the discussion of the EXTEND function in the Expression segment in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax 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 value the database server sets the minutes for the result to 0 DATETIME 1999 9 30 12 30 YEAR TO MINUTE DATETIME 1999 8 1 11 YEAR TO HOUR Result INTERVAL 60 01 30 DAY TO MINUTE If the second DATETIME value has more fields than the first regardless of whether the precision of the extra fields is larger or smaller than those in the first value the additional fields in the second value are ignored in the calculation DataTypes 2 53 Time Data Types In the following expression and result the year is n
171. be 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 Additional Documentation For additional information you might want to refer to the following types of documentation On line manuals Printed manuals Error message documentation Documentation notes release notes and machine notes Related reading Informix Guide to SQL Reference UNIX WIN NT On Line Manuals On Line Manuals An Answers OnLine CD that contains Informix manuals in electronic format is provided with your Informix products You can install the documentation or access it directly from the CD For information about how to install read and print on line manuals see the installation insert that accompanies Answers OnLine Informix on line manuals are also available on the following Web site www informix com answers Printed Manuals To order printed manuals call 1 800 331 1763 or send email to moreinfo informix com Please provide the following information when you place your order m The documentation that you need m The quantity that you need m Your name address and telephone number Error Message Documentation Informix software products provide ASCII files that contain all of the Informix error messages and their corrective actions To read error messages and corrective actions on UNIX use one of the following
172. bjects Smart large objects BYTE TEXT BLOB CLOB os Only Dynamic Server supports BLOB and CLOB data types For the relative advantages and disadvantages of simple and smart large objects see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Data Types 2 49 Large Object Data Types 2 50 Simple Large Objects Simple large objects are a category of large objects that have a theoretical limit of 2 bytes and a practical limit that your disk capacity determines Informix database servers support the following simple large object data types BYTE Stores binary data For more detailed information about this data type see the description on page 2 12 TEXT Stores text data For more detailed information about this data type see the description on page 2 43 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 appli cation and the database server you must transfer the entire BYTE or TEXT value If the data does not fit into memory you must store it 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 Administrator s Guide Smart Large Objects
173. ble 1 55 sysopclasses system catalog table 1 56 sysopclstr system catalog table 1 57 sysprocauth system catalog table 1 59 sysprocbody system catalog table 1 60 sysprocedures system catalog table 1 61 sysprocplan system catalog table 1 65 sysreferences system catalog table 1 66 sysrepository system catalog table 1 67 sysroleauth system catalog table 1 68 sysroutinelangs system catalog table 1 68 syssynonyms system catalog table 1 69 syssyntable system catalog table 1 70 systabamdata system catalog table 1 71 systabauth system catalog table 1 72 systables system catalog table 1 73 System catalog accessing 1 12 altering contents 1 12 character variable length 1 33 collection data type elements 1 23 complex data type members 1 23 data type privileges 1 83 description of 1 5 example syscolauth 1 10 syscolumns 1 9 sysindexes 1 11 systabauth 1 10 systables 1 8 sysviews 1 10 how used by database server 1 7 list of tables 1 14 messages 1 41 operator class table sysopclasses 1 56 privilege information for user defined data type 1 83 programming languages supported 1 53 1 68 smart large object attributes syscolattribs 1 27 sysaggregates 1 16 sysams 1 17 sysattrtypes 1 23 sysblobs 1 24 syscasts 1 25 syschecks 1 26 syscolattribs 1 27 syscolauth 1 28 syscoldepend 1 29 syscolumns 1 30 sysconstraints 1 36 sysdefaults 1 37 sysdepend 1 38 sysdistrib 1 39 syserrors 1 41 sysextcols 1 42 sysextdfiles 1 43 s
174. bles include the syn tax for setting the environment variable in the UNIX environment For a general description of how to set these environment variables in Windows NT environments see Setting Environment Variables for Native Windows Applications on page 3 14 and Setting Environment Variables for Command Prompt Utilities on page 3 15 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 The archecker utility checks the validity and completeness of an ON Bar storage space backup The ac_config std file contains default archecker configuration parameters 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 Backup and Restore Guide Informix Guide to SQL Reference ARC_CONFIG ARC_CONFIG UNIX If you use the ON Archive archive and tape management system for your database server you can set the ARC_CONFIG environment variable to specify the name of a nondefault configuration file setenv ARC_CONFIG filename filename is the name of the configuration file in INFORMIXDIR etc The default configuration file for ON Archive is config arc located in the INFORMIXDIR etc directory When you want to create and use a different configuration file for ON Archive set ARC_CONFIG to th
175. built in type or an extended type What distinguishes a distinct type from the source type are the functions defined on this type For more information see the description on page 2 23 Opaque Data Types An opaque data type is a user defined data type that is fully encapsulated that is whose internal structure is unknown to the database server For more information see the description on page 2 33 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Data Type Casting and Conversion Data Type Casting and Conversion Occasionally the data type that was assigned to a column with the CREATE TABLE statement is inappropriate You might want 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 m 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 m Use the CAST AS keywords or the double colon cast operator to cast a value to a different data type
176. c Server OpenCase Orca PaVER Red Brick and Design Red Brick Data Mine Red Brick Mine Builder Red Brick Decisionscape Red Brick Ready Red Brick Systems Regency Support Rely on Red Brick RISQL Solution Design STARindex STARjoin M SuperView TARGETindex TARGETjoin The Data Warehouse Company The one with the smartest data wins The world is being digitized We re indexing it Universal Data Warehouse Blueprint Universal Database Components Universal Web Connect ViewPoint Visionary Web Integration Suite The Informix logo is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office The DataBlade logo is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office Documentation Team Brian Deutscher Mary Kraemer Jennifer Leland GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS Software and documentation acquired by or for the US Government are provided with rights as follows 1 if for civilian agency use with rights as restricted by vendor s standard license as prescribed in FAR 12 212 2 if for Dept of Defense use with rights as restricted by vendor s standard license unless superseded by a negotiated vendor license as prescribed in DFARS 227 7202 Any whole or partial reproduction of software or documentation marked with this legend must reproduce this legend Informix Guide to SQL Reference Table of Contents Introduction In This Introduction Ab
177. cifies that each entry in a column or set of columns contains a non null unique value A character that can be displayed on a terminal screen or printer Printable characters include A Z a z 0 9 and punctuation marks Compare with control character The right to use or change the contents of a database table table fragment or column See also access privileges A routine that does not return values See also user defined procedure See routine overloading A discrete task generally a program that the operating system executes Glossary 39 project projection promotable lock protocol query query optimization information statements query unnesting R tree index range fragmentation range rule raw device raw disk A group of related components that the High Performance Loader HPL uses See also component Taking a subset from the columns of a single table Projection is implemented through the select list in the SELECT clause of a SELECT statement and returns some of the columns and all the rows in a table See also selection and join A lock that can be changed from a shared lock to an exclusive lock See also update lock A set of rules that govern communication among computers These rules govern format timing sequencing and error control A request to the database to retrieve data that meets certain criteria usually made with the SELECT statement When used with the High Performanc
178. ctivity information On Windows NT by default this environment variable points to the computer whose registry contains the SQLHOSTS subkey To specify that the client or database server look for connectivity information on a computer named arizona enter the following command set INFORMIXSQLHOSTS arizona For a description of the SqlHosts information see your Administrator s Guide 3 74 Informix Guide to SQL Reference INFORMIXSTACKSIZE INFORM IXSTACKSIZE INFORMIXSTACKSIZE specifies the stack size in kilobytes that the database server uses for a particular client session Use INFORMIXSTACKSIZE to override the value of the ONCONFIG parameter STACKSIZE for a particular application or user setenv INFORMIXSTACKSIZE value value is the stack size for SQL client threads in kilobytes For example to decrease the INFORMIXSTACKSIZE to 20 kilobytes enter the following command setenv INFORMIXSTACKSIZE 20 If INFORMIXSTACKSIZE is not set the stack size is taken from the database server configuration parameter STACKSIZE or it defaults to a platform specific value The default stack size value for the primary thread for an SQL client is 32 kilobytes for nonrecursive database activity Warning For specific instructions on setting this value see the Administrator s Reference If you incorrectly set the value of INFORMIXSTACKSIZE it can cause the database server to fail
179. customer WHERE state CA E INDEX c_num_ix ON customer customer_num X state_ix ON customer state To process this CREATE SCHEMA block the database server first accesses the system catalog to verify the following information 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 table and view names do not already exist for the specified owners The user has permission to create the tables and grant user privileges 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 syst ables syscolumns sysviews systabauth System Catalog 1 7 Using the System Catalog XPS m sysindexes shows tabname owner partnum tabid rowsize cols indexes rows created version tabtype ocklevel pused fextsize extsize flags site dbname fextsize extsize Flags site dbname m syscolauth m sysindices The following two new rows of information are added to the systables system catalog table after the CREATE SCHEMA block is run as page 1 7 customer mary 16778361 101 134 10 2 0 01 26 1999 1 I P 0 16 16 0 california mary 0 102 134 4 0 0 01 26 1999 0 oooou 1 8
180. d columns on the current database server to which you have access In addition Information Schema views provide information about SQL dialects such as Informix Oracle or Sybase and SOL standards This version of the Information Schema views are X Open CAE standards Informix provides them so that applications developed on other database systems can obtain Informix system catalog information without having to use the Informix system catalogs directly Important Because the X Open CAE standards Information Schema views differ from ANSI compliant Information Schema views Informix recommends that you do not install the X Open CAE Information Schema views on ANSI compliant databases The following Information Schema views are available tables columns sql_languages server_info The following sections 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 Data in the Informix system catalog tables populates the views If tables views or routines exist with any of the same names as the Information Schema views you need to either rename the database objects or rename the views in the script before you can install the views You can drop the views with the DROP
181. d disk I O and disk I O A type of logging that holds transactions in a memory buffer until the buffer is full regardless of when the transaction is committed or rolled back Informix database servers provide this option to speed up operations by reducing the number of disk writes Provided by the database server usually in the system catalog not defined by the user A fundamental data type that the database server defines for example INTEGER CHAR or SERIAL The smallest physical computer storage unit A byte is not necessarily one character In multibyte code sets a character is more than one byte A data type for a simple large object that stores any type of binary data and can be as large as 2 bytes See also TEXT The set that results when you pair each and every member of one set with each and every member of another set A Cartesian product results from a multiple table query when you do not specify the joining conditions among tables See also join 6 Informix Guide to SQL Reference cascading deletes case sensitivity cast cast function character character set characterspecial device check constraint checkpoint child table chunk A feature that causes deletion of rows from a child table that were associated by foreign key to a row that is deleted from the parent table When any rows are deleted from the primary key column of a table cascading deletes if enabled eliminate identical inf
182. d for future use password NCHAR 16 Reserved for future use The username column is indexed and allows only unique values The username can be the name of a role System Catalog 1 79 SYSVIEWS SYSVIEWS The sysviews system catalog table describes each view that is defined in the database Because the sysviews system catalog table stores the SELECT statement that you use to create the view it can contain multiple rows for each view in the database The sysviews system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation tabid INTEGER Table identifier seqno SMALLINT Line number of the SELECT statement viewtext NCHAR 64 Actual SELECT statement used to create the view A composite index for the tabid and seqno columns allows only unique values 1 80 Informix Guide to SQL Reference XPS SYSVIOLATIONS SYSVIOLATIONS The sysviolations system catalog table stores information about the con straint 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 The sysviolations system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation targettid INTEGER Table identifier of the target table The target table is the base table on which the violations table and the diagnostic table are defined viotid INTEGER Table identifier of the violations table diatid INTEGER Tabl
183. d from a variable length opaque type A value of 41 indicates a distinct type created from a fixed length opaque type 1 of 2 Column Name source maxlen length byvalue cannothash align locator Type INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER NCHAR 1 NCHAR 1 SMALLINT INTEGER SYSXTDTYPES Explanation The sysxtdtypes reference for this type if it is a distinct type A value of 0 indicates that the distinct type was created from a built in data type The maximum length for variable length data types A value of 0 indicates a fixed length data type The length in bytes for fixed length data types A value of 0 indicates a variable length data type If the data type is passed by value T type is passed by value F type is not passed by value Is data type hashable using the default bit hashing function T type is hashable F type is not hashable Alignment for this data type One of the following values 1 2 4 8 Locator key for unnamed row types 2 of 2 The index on the extended_id column allows only unique values Similarly the index on columns name and type columns also allows only unique values The index on the source and maxlen columns allow duplicate values System Catalog 1 85 Information Schema Information Schema The Information Schema consists of read only views that provide infor mation about all the tables views an
184. d sysopclasses system catalog tables am_type NCHAR 1 Type of access method P Primary S Secondary 1 of 6 System Catalog 1 17 SYSAMS 1 18 Column Name am_sptype am_defopclass am_keyscan am_unique Informix Guide to SQL Reference Type NCHAR 3 INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER Explanation Type s of space s in which the access method can live D or d dbspaces only X or x extspaces only S or s sbspaces only smart large object space A or a all types extspaces dbspaces or 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 Default operator class identifier The opclassid from the entry for this operator class in the sysopclasses system catalog table 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 Non Zero access method supports key scan Zero access method does not support key scan Whether a secondary access method can support unique keys Non Zero access method supports unique keys Zero access method does not support unique keys 2 of 6 Column Name am_cluster am_rowids am_readwrite am_parallel am_costfactor am_create Type INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER SMALLFLOAT INTEGER SYSAMS
185. d user specific variables Environment variables that are set with the System applet are visible to all command prompt sessions Environment Variables 3 15 Setting Environment Variables for Commana Prompt Utilities 1 To change environment variables with the System applet in the control panel 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 gt Important In order to use the System applet to change System environment vari ables 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
186. dary access method One of the operator class support functions or operator class strategy functions that constitute an operator class For user defined operator classes the operator class functions are user defined functions An operator class function that can appear as a filter in a query The query optimizer uses the strategy functions to determine if an index of a particular secondary access method can be used to process the filter You register operator class strategy functions in the STRATEGIES clause of the CREATE OPCLASS statement An operator class function that a secondary access method uses to build or search an index You register operator class support functions in the SUPPORT clause of the CREATE OPCLASS statement A function that processes one or more arguments its operands and returns a value Many operator functions have corresponding operators suchas plus and You can overload an operator function so that it handles a user defined data type See also routine overloading An amount of space on an optical disc that is reserved for storing a group of logically related simple large objects or smart large objects A group of optical discs theoretically unlimited in number The removable optical discs that store data in an optical storage subsystem The SQL statements that you use to control optical clustering One side of a removable Write Once Read Many WORM optical disc 36 Informix Guide to SQL Reference
187. dditional actions See row A protocol that ensures that transactions are uniformly committed or rolled back across multiple database servers It governs the order in which commit transactions are performed and provides a recovery mechanism in case a transaction does not execute See also heterogeneous commit Glossary 53 type constructor type hierarchy type inheritance type substitutability typed collection variable typed table UDA UDR UDT unbuffered disk 1 0 Uncommitted Read uncorrelated subquery unique constraint unique index unique key An SOL keyword that indicates to the database server the type of complex data to create for example LIST MULTISET ROW SET A relationship that you define among named row types in which subtypes inherit representation data fields and behavior routines from supertypes and can add more fields and routines The property that allows a named row type or typed table to inherit representation data fields columns and behavior routines operators rules from a named row type above it in the type hierarchy The ability to use an instance of a subtype when an instance of its supertype is expected An ESOL C collection variable or SPL variable that has a defined collection data type associated with it and can only hold a collection of its defined type See also untyped collection variable A table that is constructed from a named row type and whose rows cont
188. derdate lt 06 25 98 regardless of the value of DBDATE during inserts or updates on the orderdate column Suppose DBDATE is set 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 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 by the dbexport utility and with the LOAD and UNLOAD statements DBDELIMITER delimiter delimiter is the field delimiter for unloaded data files The delimiter can be any single character except the characters in the following list m Hexadecimal numbers 0 through 9 a through f A through F m Newline or CTRL J m The backslash symbol Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBEDIT The vertical bar ASCIT 124 is the default To change the field delimiter to a plus set the DBDELIMITER environment variable as the following example shows setenv DBDELIMITER DBEDIT The DBEDIT environment variable lets you name the text editor that you want to use to work with SOL statements and command files in DB Access If DBEDIT is set the specified text editor is called directly If DBEDIT is not set you are prompted to specify a text editor as the default for the rest of the
189. dexes are filled in for B tree indexes that do not use user defined types or functional indexes For generic B trees and all other access methods the part1 to part16 columns contain zeros Changes that affect existing indexes are reflected in this system catalog table only after you run the UPDATE STATISTICS statement The tabid column is indexed and allows duplicate values A composite index for the idxname owner and tabid columns allows only unique values The system indexes tabid and idxname are used to index sysindices 1 52 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSINHERITS SYSINHERITS The sysinherits system catalog table stores information about table and type inheritance Every supertype subtype supertable and subtable in the data base has a corresponding row in the sysinherits table The sysinherits system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation child INTEGER Identifier of the subtable or subtype in an inheritance relationship parent INTEGER Identifier of the supertable or supertype in an inheritance relationship class NCHAR 1 Inheritance class t named row type T table SYSLANGAUTH The syslangauth system catalog table contains the authorization information on computer languages that are used to write user defined routines UDRs Column Name Type Explanation grantor NCHAR 32 The grantor of the language authorization grantee NCHAR 32 The grantee of the language author
190. dules 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 system catalog table By default all users can view this table but only users with the DBA privilege can modify it A unique index on the name column ensures that each trace class has a unique name The database server also assigns each class a sequential identifier Therefore the index on the classid column also allows only unique values System Catalog 1 75 SYSTRACEMSGS The systraceclasses system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation name NCHAR 18 Name of the class of trace messages classid SERIAL Trace class identifier SYSTRACEMSGS The systracemsgs system catalog table stores internationalized trace messages that you can use in debugging user defined routines DataBlade module developers create a trace message by inserting a row directly into the systracemsgs system catalog table Once a message is created the devel opment team can specify it either by name or by ID 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 systracemsgs system catalog table has the following columns Column Name
191. e Loader HPL selects records to unload from a relational database See also component The SQL statements that are used to optimize queries These statements include SET EXPLAIN SET OPTIMIZATION and UPDATE STATISTICS An execution strategy for nested SOL subqueries whereby Extended Parallel Server rewrites such subqueries to use modified joins rather than iteration mechanisms The sqexplain out file reflects the query plan that has been selected after subquery unnesting has occurred Not for Extended Parallel Server A type of index that uses a tree structure based on overlapping bounding rectangles to speed access to spatial and multidimensional data types See also bitmap index and B tree index A distribution scheme that distributes data in table fragments that contain a specified key range This method can eliminate scans of table fragments that do not contain the required rows making queries faster A user defined algorithm for expression based fragmentation It defines the boundaries of each fragment in a table using SQL relational and logical operators Expressions in a range rule can use the following restricted set of operators gt lt gt lt and the logical operator AND See unbuffered disk I O See unbuffered disk I O 40 Informix Guide to SQL Reference raw table Read Committed Read Uncommitted real user ID record Record 1D recover a database referential constraint registering rel
192. e the system file that is etc termcap is used by default TERM INFO 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 TERMINFO usr lib terminto 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 3 98 Informix Guide to SQL Reference UNIX setenv setenv THREADLIB THREADLIB Use the THREADLIB environment variable to compile multithreaded ESQL C applications A multithreaded ESOL 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 The THREADLIB environment variable indicates which thread package to use when you compile an application Currently only the Distributed Computing Environment DCE is supported THREADLIB DCE The THREADLIB environment variable is checked when the thread option is passed to the ESQL C script when you compile a m
193. e when placing orders with the distributor Figure B 8 shows the columns of the catalog table Figure B 8 The catalog Table Description system generated catalog number distributor stock number foreign key to stock table manufacturer code foreign key to stock table unit by which item is ordered foreign key to stock table picture of item and caption tag line underneath picture tf The cust_calls Table Structure of the superstores_demo Tables All customer calls for information on orders shipments or complaints are logged The cust_calls table contains information about these types of customer calls Figure B 9 shows the columns of the cust_calls table Name customer_num call_dtime user_id call_code call_descr res_dtime res_descr Type INTEGER DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE CHAR 18 CHAR 1 CHAR 240 DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE CHAR 240 Figure B 9 The cust_calls Table Description customer number foreign key to customer table date and time call received name of person logging call default is user login name type of call foreign key to call_type table description of call date and time call resolved description of how call was resolved The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 11 Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables shows table Name customer_num customer_type customer_name customer_loc contact_dates cust_discount c
194. e 2 18 lists Data Types 2 17 DATETIME Figure 2 4 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 precision The default precision is 3 digits a thousandth of a second To indicate explicitly other precisions write FRACTION n where n is the desired number of digits from 1 to 5 A DATETIME column does not need to include all fields from YEAR to FRACTION it can include a subset of fields or even a single field For example you can enter a value of MONTH TO HOUR in a column that is defined as YEAR TO MINUTE as long as each entered value contains information for a contiguous sequence of fields You cannot however define a column for just MONTH and HOUR this entry must also include a value for DAY If you use the DB Access TABLE menu and you do not specify the DATETIME qualifiers the 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 you enter can contain fewer fields than defined for that column Acceptable quali
195. e DATETIME value you must use the EXTEND function to explicitly extend the field qualifier of the DATETIME value For more information on the EXTEND function see the Expression segment in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax 2 54 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Time Data Types For example you cannot subtract a minute INTERVAL 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 calcu lation as the following example shows EXTEND DATETIME 1998 8 1 YEAR TO DAY YEAR TO MINUTE INTERVAL 720 MINUTE 3 TO MINUTE Result DATETIME 1998 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 values in arithmetic expressions with DATETIME or INTERVAL values by writing expressions that allow the manipulations that Figure 2 12 shows Figure 2 12 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 Figure 2 12 shows DATE values are first converted to their corresponding DATETIME equivalents and then the expression is
196. e SERIAL8 column in a table However a table can have one SERIAL8 and one SERIAL column m The SERIAL8 data type is not automatically a unique column You must apply a unique index to this column to prevent duplicate SERIAL8 numbers m The SERIALS data type does not allow a null value If you are using the interactive schema editor in DB Access to define the table a unique index is applied automatically to a SERIAL8 column 2 40 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SERIAL8 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 serial 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 serial column of the first row of the table The highest serial number you can assign is 2 1 9 223 372 036 854 775 807 If you assign a number greater than this value 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 Once a nonzero number is assigned it cannot be changed You can however insert a value into a SERIAL8 column using the INSERT statement or reset the serial value n using the ALTER TABLE statement as long as that value does not duplicate any existing values in the table When you insert a number
197. e database server returns or a state that a SPL statement initiates The code in a program that anticipates and reacts to runtime errors and warn ings Also referred to as error handling or error trapping Sole access to a database or table by a user Other users are prevented from using it A lock on an object row page table or database that is held by a single thread that prevents other processes from acquiring a lock of any kind on the same object A file that contains code that can be executed directly A C language object file can be an executable file it contains the machine level instructions that correspond to the C language source file To run a statement program routine or a set of instructions See also executable file A user defined cast that a user explicitly invokes with the CAST AS keyword or cast operator See also implicit cast A connection made to a database environment that uses the CONNECT statement See also implicit connection 20 Informix Guide to SQL Reference explicit select list explicit transaction exponent express mode expression expression based fragmentation extended data type extent external function external procedure external routine A SELECT statement in which the user explicitly specifies the columns that the query returns A transaction that begins with a BEGIN statement and ends with a COMMIT statement This type of transaction applies only
198. e ee 2 26 EISTE S dee ee eee A AA se a 12280 EVARCHAR 22 22 8 32 8 Soo ee 2 A Wea A ee ob ZO MONEY Dis Sees Sas wk we ee ee ca Ye ee 2282 MULTISET e 2 2 2 ee ee 283 Named Row 2 a o ee ee 2A NCHAR n 2 2 2 1 wee ee 234 NUMERIC ps 2 a ee 234 NVARCHAR mr 0 0 0 1 ee ee 234 Opaque ida dir bo ab nb leben Oe ee ee 2385 REA 4 08 o Bae Oh Mote o f Bh ee AS Me a 285 Row Named a 2 86 Row Unnamed a 2 37 SERIAL poco i eoa d a ee Ow ee a 2 89 SERIALS e 8 ace es Pe ei ee a ee ee ok eee ee Ge DAO SETEN A 2h koe a eae Be ee ce ee DR SMALLFLOAT 2 D adap soD a a 2 43 SMALEINT gt 28 a Boo oak ao a ete op ee DA TEXT eos al Bs ee he GE a ae a oe ad es cda Dede Unnamed Row a a a a ee 2 46 VARCHAR mr 2 2 2 0 2 ee e 246 Built In Data Types Bee aes he AA A A OG EO Large Object Data Types be we e ER ee ee te Be Me ee re AO Simple Large Objects 0 2 50 Smart Large Objects we ee ee we 2 50 Time Data Types E as Bao Gg E 2502 Manipulating DATETIME Values ae eon ew ee D538 Manipulating DATETIME with INTERVAL Values be de Mic Sas 24 Manipulating DATE with DATETIME and INTERVAL Values 2 55 Manipulating INTERVAL Values be ete Jie te us Crate ZO Multiplying or Dividing INTERVAL Values we te de Me te 258 Extended Data Types 2 2 2 1 0 2 98 Complex Data Types
199. e 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 3 14 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Setting Environment Variables for Command Prompt Utilities 5 Add new environment variables if needed a Choose Edit gt 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 gt Delete in the Registry Editor For more information on using the Registry Editor see your operating system documentation Important In order to use the Registry Editor to change database server environ ment variables you must belong to either the Administrators or Informix Admin groups For information on assigning users to groups see your operating system documentation Setting Environment Variables for Command Prompt Utilities You can set environment variables for command prompt utilities in the following ways m With the System applet in the Control Panel m Ina command prompt session Using the System Applet to Work with Environment Variables The System applet provides a graphical interface to create modify and delete system wide an
200. e identifier of the diagnostics table maxrows INTEGER Maximum number of rows that can be inserted in the diagnostics table during a single insert update or delete operation on a target table that has a filtering mode object defined on it 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 sets a disabled object to filtering mode provided that a diagnostics table exists for the target table For Extended Parallel Server indicates the maximum number of rows that are allowed in the violations table for each coserver If no maximum is specified for the diagnostics or violations table this column contains a null value The primary key of the sysviolations table is the targettid column Unique indexes are also defined on the viotid and diatid columns 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 System Catalog 1 81 SYSXTDDESC ls SYSXTDDESC The sysxtddesc system catalog table provides a text description of each user defined data type opaque distinct and complex named row types unnamed row types and collection types that you define in the database The sysxtddesc system catalog table has the foll
201. e n is the desired number of digits from 1 to 5 As with a DATETIME column you can define an INTERVAL column to include asubset of the fields that you need however because the INTERVAL data type represents a span of time that is independent of an actual date you cannot combine the two INTERVAL classes For example because the number of days in a month depends on which month it is a single INTERVAL data value cannot combine months and days A value entered into an INTERVAL column need not include all fields contained in the column For example you can enter a value of HOUR TO SECOND into a column defined as DAY TO SECOND However a value must always consist of a contiguous sequence of fields In the previous example you cannot enter just 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 the Literal Interval in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax When a value contains only one field the largest and smallest fields are the same Data Types 2 27 INTERVAL 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 use n optionally to specify the precision of the first field and the last field if it is a FRACTION If the largest and smallest field quali fiers are both FRACTIONS you can
202. e name of the file Dynamic Server looks for the specified file in the directory INFORMIXDIR etc The ARC_CONFIG environment variable lets you change configuration parameters while preserving the default config arc file It lets you create multiple configuration files and select the one you want For more information on archiving see your Archive and Backup Guide ARC_DEFAULT UNIX If you use the ON Archive archive and tape management system for your database server you can set the ARC_DEFAULT environment variable to indicate where a personal default qualifier file is located setenv ARC_DEFAULT pathname _ pathname is the full pathname of the personal default qualifier file Environment Variables 3 25 ARC_KEYPAD UNIX setenv For example to set the ARC_DEFAULT environment variable to specify the file usr jane arcdefault janeroe enter the following command setenv ARC_DEFAULT usr jane arcdefault janeroe For more information on archiving see your Archive and Backup Guide ARC_KEYPAD If you use the ON Archive archive and tape management system for your database server you can set your ARC_KEYPAD environment variable to point to a tctermcap file that is different from the default tctermcap file The default is the INFORMIXDIR etc tctermcap file and it contains instructions on how to modify the tctermcap file The tctermcap file serves the following purposes for the
203. e routine data NCHAR 256 Actual text of the routine Although the datakey column indicates the type of data that is stored the data column contains the actual data which can be one of the following types Encoded return values list Encoded symbol table Constant data Compiled code for the routine Text of the routine and its documentation A composite index for the procid datakey and seqno columns allows only unique values 1 60 Informix Guide to SQL Reference XPS SYSPROCEDURES The sysprocedures system catalog table lists the characteristics for each function and procedure in the database It contains one row for each routine SYSPROCEDURES For Extended Parallel Server the sysprocedures system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation procname NVARCHAR 128 Routine name owner NCHAR 32 Owner name procid SERIAL Routine identifier mode NCHAR 1 Mode type D d DBA O o Owner P p Protected R 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 constant data codesize INTEGER Compiled size in bytes of routine instruction code numargs INTEGER Number of routine arguments System Catalog 1 61 SYSPROCEDURES 1 62 Column Name procname owner procid mode retsize symsize datasize codesize numargs isproc specificname externalname
204. e series of characters or symbols Acronym for parallel database query Determines the amount of resources that a database server allocates to pro cess a query in parallel These resources include memory threads such as scan threads and sort space The level of parallelism is established by using the PDQPRIORITY environment variable or various database server configuration parameters including PDQPRIORITY and MAX_PDQPRIORITY or dynamically through the SET PDQPRIORITY statement On some operating systems the right to access files and directories A row ofa table that is initially modified or inserted during a transaction but is subsequently rolled back Another user can see a phantom row if the isolation level is Informix Dirty Read or ANSI Read Uncommitted No other isolation level allows the user to see a changed but uncommitted row A set of contiguous disk pages in shared memory where the database server stores an unmodified copy before image of pages before the changed pages are recorded The pages in the physical log can be any database server page except a blobspace blobpage A dbslice that contains the physical log See also dbslice logslice and rootslice A value that specifies the address in memory of the data or variable rather than the contents of the data or variable 38 Informix Guide to SQL Reference polymorphism precision predefined opaque data type predicate predicate lock prepared statement
205. e server is initialized The locale that a database server determines dynamically for a particular connection between a client application and a database See also locale The structure that is created for an application using the database server A collection data type created with the SET type constructor in which elements are not ordered and duplicate values can be inserted A shared object file on a UNIX system See also dynamic link library DLL A lock that more than one thread can acquire on the same object Shared locks allow for greater concurrency with multiple users if two users have shared locks on a row a third user cannot change the contents of that row until both users not just the first release the lock Shared locking strategies are used in all levels of isolation except Informix Dirty Read and ANSI Read Uncommitted A portion of main memory that is accessible to multiple processes Shared memory allows multiple processes to communicate and access a common data space in memory Common data does not have to be reread from disk for each process reducing disk I O and improving performance Also used as an Inter Process Communication IPC mechanism to communicate between two processes running on the same computer A library that is not linked to an application at compile time but instead is loaded into memory by the operating system as needed Several applications can share access to the loaded shared object file See al
206. e size of a locked object The size can be a database table page or row An allocation of disk space that the database server manages that contains records of all changes that were performed on a database during the period the log was active The logical log is used to roll back transactions recover from system failures and restore databases from archives See also physical log The process of identifying oneself to a computer See Informix user password See Informix user ID A dbslice whose contents are comprised solely of logical log files The logical log files in the logslice can be owned by multiple coservers one log file per dbspace See also dbslice rootslice and physslice A built in data type that stores varying length character data of up to 32 kilobytes A named set of instructions that the computer substitutes when it encounters the name in source code The significant digits in a floating point number A description of the relation between the records of a data file and the columns of a relational database See also component A system composed of multiple computers that are connected to a single high speed communication subsystem MPP computers can be partitioned into nodes Compare with symmetric multiprocessing system A unit of storage that equals 1024 kilobytes or 1024 bytes 32 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Memory Grant Manager MGM menu MGM mirroring MODE ANSI monochrome MPP mu
207. e specifies the number of additional connections that should be attempted for each server entry in DBPATH m The INFORMIXCONTIME value is divided among the number of 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 The default value for INFORMIXCONTIME is 15 seconds The setting for INFORMIXCONTIME takes precedence over the INFORMIXCONRETRY setting Retry efforts could end after the INFORMIXCONTIME value is exceeded but before the INFORMIXCONRETRY value is reached Informix Guide to SQL Reference setenv setenv INFORMIXCPPMAP INFORMIXCPP MAP 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 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 file name The INFORMIXCPPMAP setting can include several map files separated by colons on UNIX or semicolons on Windows NT
208. e stores_demo Database A 9 The state Table The state Table The state table contains the names and postal abbreviations for the 50 states of the United States Figure A 9 shows the columns of the state table Figure 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 10 displays the joins in the stores_demo database The grey shading that connects a column in one table to the same column in another table indicates the relationships or joins between tables A 10 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Figure A 10 Joins in the stores_demo Database orders catalog catalog_num cust_calls customer order_date manufact LL y eseqejeq owep salo s ay call_type code_descr call_dtime fname ship_instruct quantity description cat_descr manu_name user_id call_descr Iname backlog total_price unit_price cat_picture lead_time company po_num address1 ship_date res_dtime address2 ship_weight res_descr state city ship_charge paid_date unit cat_advert unit_descr dey esegejeg ouap seJojs ay Primary Foreign Key Relationships A 12 Primary Foreign Key Relationships The tables of the stores_demo database are linked by the primary foreign key relationship
209. e 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 configu ration You can use the onconfig std file for a multiple coserver configuration but you would have to add additional keywords and configuration param eters such as END NODE and COSERVER which are already provided for you in the onconfig xps file For more information on configuration parameters and the ONCONFIG file see the Administrator s Reference Environment Variables 3 83 OPTCOMPIND OPTCOM PIND You can set the OPTCOMPIND environment variable so that the optimizer can select the appropriate join method setenv _ OPT COMP IND 0 Anested loop join is preferred where possible over a sort merge join or a hash join 1 When the transaction isolation mode 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 When the OPTCOMPIND environment variable is not set the database server uses the value specified for the ONCONFIG configuration parameter OPTCOMPIND When neither the environment variable nor the configuration parameter is set the default value is 2 For more information on the
210. e to Set Environment Variables in UNIX You can set environment variables in UNIX in the following places m 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 For more information see Using Environment Variables in UNIX on page 3 8 m In an environment configuration file An environment configuration file is a common or private file where you can define all the environment variables that Informix products use Use of an environment configuration file reduces the number of environment variables that you must set at the command line or in a shell file m Ina login file When you set an environment variable in your login cshrc or profile file it is assigned automatically every time you log into the system In 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 Informix ESQL C Programmer s Manual and your C documentation Where to Set Environment Variables in Windows NT You might be able to set environment variables in several places in a Windows environment depending on which Informix application you use For native Windows Informix applications such as the database server environment variables can be
211. e wheels Data in the stores_ demo Database unit_price 250 00 800 00 450 00 126 00 240 00 280 00 960 00 480 00 28 00 25 00 19 80 36 00 48 00 600 00 840 00 20 00 88 00 68 00 220 00 480 00 20 00 58 00 53 00 unit case case case case case case case case each each each case case case case each box box case case each each pair unit_descr 10 gloves case 10 gloves case 10 gloves case 24 case 12 case 12 case 24 case 24 case each each each 24 cans case 24 cans case 24 case 24 case each 4 box 4 box 4 sets case 4 sets case each each pair 1 of 4 The stores_demo Database A 29 Data in the stores_ demo Database A 30 105 106 107 108 109 109 110 110 110 110 110 111 112 113 114 201 201 201 202 202 203 204 205 205 Informix Guide to SQL Reference stock_num manu_code SHM PRC PRC SHM PRC SHM PRC ANZ SHM HRO HSK SHM SHM SHM PRC NKL ANZ KAR description bicycle wheels bicycle stem bicycle saddle crankset pedal binding pedal binding helmet helmet helmet helmet helmet 10 spd assmbld 12 spd assmbld 18 spd assmbld bicycle gloves golf shoes golf shoes golf shoes metal woods std woods irons wedges putter 3 golf balls 3 golf balls unit_price 80 00 23 00 70 00 45 00 30 00 200 00 236 00 244 00 228 00 260 00 308 00 499 99 549 00 685 90 120 00 37 50 75 00 90 00 174 00 230
212. each part 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 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 SYSINDICES The tabid column is indexed and allows duplicate values A composite index for the idxname owner and tabid columns allows only unique values SYSINDICES The sysindices system catalog table describes the indexes in the database It contains one row for each index that is defined in the database The sysindices system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type idxname owner tabid idxtype clustered levels leaves nunique clust nrows NVARCHAR 128 NCHAR 32 INTEGER NCHAR 1 NCHAR 1 SMALLINT INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER INTEGER Explanation Index name Owner of index user informix for system catalog tables and user name for database tables Table identifier Index type U Unique D Duplicates Clustered or nonclustered index C Clustered Number of tree levels Number of leaves Number of unique keys in the first column Degree of clustering smaller numbers corre spond 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 t
213. eatures in Version 9 2 of Dynamic Server The features fall into the following areas m Year 2000 Compliance m Version 9 2 features from Version 7 30 of Dynamic Server Year 2000 Compliance This manual describes the DBCENTURY environment variable in Version 9 2 of Dynamic Server Version 9 2 Features from Dynamic Server 7 30 This manual also describes the IFX_UPDDESC environment variable which was first released in Version 7 30 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 Typographical conventions Icon conventions Command line conventions Sample code conventions Informix Guide to SQL Reference Typographical 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 italics to specify appear in italics boldface Names of program entities such as classes events and tables boldface environment variables file a
214. eball gloves catalog Table detail catalog _num stock_num manu_code 10001 HRO 10002 HSK 10003 SMT 10004 HRO The stores_demo Database A 15 The stock and manufact Tables 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 15 shows this relationship Figure A 15 stock Table detail Tables That the od manu_code Column stock_num manu_code description Joins HRO baseball gloves HSK baseball gloves SMT baseball gloves manufact Table detail manu_code manu_name NRG Norge HSK Husky HRO Hero A 16 Informix Guide to SQL Reference The cust_calls and customer Tables 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 16 shows this relationship customer Table detail customer_num fname 101 102 103 104 105 106 Ludwig Ca
215. ed in the same dbspace as the associated table fragment or in a separate dbspace An index fragment also might occupy an sbspace or an extspace A login user ID login user name that must be valid on all computer systems operating systems involved in the client s database access Often referred to as the client s user ID or user name The user ID does not need to refer to a fully functional user account on the computer system only the user identity components of the user account information are significant to Informix data base servers Any given user typically has the same Informix user ID on all networked computer systems involved in the database access A user ID password that must be valid on all computer systems operating systems involved in the client s database access When the client specifies an explicit user ID most computer systems require the Informix user password to validate the user ID The process that allows an object to acquire the properties of another object Inheritance allows for incremental modification so that an object can inherit a general set of properties and add properties that are specific to itself See also type inheritance and table inheritance To prepare for execution To initialize a variable you assign it a starting value To initialize the database server you start its operation The process by which Optical Subsystem migrates TEXT and BYTE data from the optical storage subsystem into the Dynamic
216. ed in the database The syscolauth system catalog table has the following columns 3 byte pattern that specifies column privileges s Select u Update r References SYSCOLDEPEND 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 composite index for the tabid grantor grantee and colno columns allows only unique values A composite index for 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 ina table the syscoldepend table can contain multiple rows for each check constraint One row is created in the syscoldepend table for each column involved in the constraint The syscoldepend system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation constrid INTEGER Constraint identifier tabid INTEGER Table identifier colno SMALLINT Column number A composite index for the constrid tabid and colno columns allows only unique values A composite index for the tabid and colno columns allows duplicate values System Catalog 1 29 SYSCOLUMNS SYSCOLUMNS The syscolumns system catalog table describes each column in t
217. ee 1271 SYSTABAUTE o o 30 o e 2 e w are 1 72 SYSTABLES sus Ge a ac a ce e te a EZ SYSTRACECLASSES 2 2 6 ww ee eB SYSTRACEMSGS 1 76 SYSTRIGBODY e esec e as as de a EZZ SYSTRIGGERS 0 ee 1 78 SYSUSERS 2 179 SYSVIEWS 2 2 ww we ee 1 80 SYSVIOLATIONS 2 2 2 2 2 e e e o 1 81 SYSXTDDESC o 1 82 SYSXTDTYPEAUTH 2 ee ee 1 83 SYSXEDEYPES amp cay ch ee thew ch ee Uh eek ee EA 1 2 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Information Schema Lo Bw 2 toe 86 Generating the Information Schema Views 186 Accessing the Information Schema Views 1 87 Structure of the Information Schema Views 1 87 The tables Information Schema View 1 88 The columns Information Schema View 1 88 The sql_languages Information Schema View 1 90 The server_info Information Schema View 1 90 System Catalog 1 3 1 4 Informix Guide to SQL Reference In This Chapter The system catalog consists of tables that describe the structure of the database Each system catalog table contains specific information about an element in the database This chapter details the following material Objects that the system catalog tables track Using the system catalog page 1 6 Structure of the system catalog page 1 13 Informa
218. efine actions that use the CTRL key with another key to execute some programming action for example entering CTRL W to obtain on line Help in Informix products A control character is sometimes referred to as a control key Compare with print able character See buffered disk I O A subquery or inner SELECT that depends on a value produced by the outer SELECT statement that contains it Also a nested subquery whose WHERE clause refers to an attribute of a relation that is declared in an outer SELECT Correlated subqueries reference one or more columns from one or more tables of a parent query and need to be evaluated once for each row in the parent query See also independent subquery and subquery The prefix that you can use with a column name in a triggered action to refer to an old before triggering statement or a new after triggering statement column value The associated column name must belong to the triggering table A database whose tables or indexes contain incomplete or invalid data An index that does not correspond exactly to its table 12 Informix Guide to SQL Reference coserver current row cursor cursor function cursor manipulation statements Cursor Stability data access statements data definition statements data dictionary The functional equivalent of a database server that operates on a single node See also connection coserver and participating coserver The most recently retrieved
219. ements SETCINTEGER NOT NULL SET CHAR 20 NOT NULL The following examples construct the same sets from value lists SETI 55 4183 SET Oakland Menlo Park Portland Lenexa In the following example a SET constructor is part of a CREATE TABLE statement CREATE TABLE tab c CHAR 5 s SETCINTEGER NOT NULL Me The following sets are equal SET blue green yellow SET yellow blue green SM ALLFLOAT The SMALLFLOAT data type stores single precision floating point numbers with approximately eight significant digits SMALLFLOAT corresponds to the 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 SOL statement the application development tool 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 di
220. ems table for each item in an order Figure B 13 shows the columns of the items table Name item_num order_num stock_num manu_code unit quantity item_subtotal Type SMALLINT INT8 SMALLINT CHAR 3 CHAR 4 SMALLINT MONEY 8 2 Figure B 13 The items Table Description sequentially assigned item number for an order order number foreign key to orders table stock number for item foreign key to stock table manufacturer code for item ordered foreign key to stock table unit by which item is ordered foreign key to stock table quantity ordered value must be gt 1 quantity ordered unit price total price of item The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 15 Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables 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 on page B 27 For information about table hierarchies see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation The location Table The location table contains general information about the locations addresses that the database tracks Figure B 14 shows the columns of the location table Figure B 14 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 co
221. entifiers that contain nonalpha characters Database identifiers are names for database objects such as tables and columns and storage identifiers are names for storage objects such as dbspaces and partition simple large objects Delimited identifiers are case sensitive To use delimited identifiers applications in ESQL C must set the DELIMIDENT environment variable at compile time and execute time 3 58 Informix Guide to SQL Reference ENVIGNORE ENVIGNORE Use the ENVIGNORE environment variable to deactivate specified environment variable entries in the common shared and private environment configuration files informix rc and informix respectively setenv ENVIGNORE e variable y variable is the list of environment variables that you want to deactivate For example to ignore the DBPATH and DBMONEY entries in the environment configuration files enter the following command setenv ENVIGNORE DBPATH DBMONEY 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 an Environment Configuration File on page 3 8 ENVIGNORE cannot be set in an environment configuration file Environment Variables 3 59 FET_BUF_SIZE FET_BUF_SIZE The FET_BUF_SIZE environ
222. er monitors and prevents potential deadlock situations by sending an error message to the application whose request for a lock might result in a deadlock A file that receives output used for debugging purposes An application that provides information that is used for strategic planning decision making and reporting It typically executes in a batch environment in a sequential scan fashion and returns a large fraction of the rows scanned Decision support queries typically scan the entire database See also online transaction processing application A query that a decision support application generates It often requires oper ations such as multiple joins temporary tables and extensive calculations and can benefit significantly from PDO See also online transaction processing queries A programming language statement that describes or defines objects for example defining a program variable Compare with procedure See also data definition statements How a program acts or the values that are assumed if the user does not explicitly specify an action The locale that a product uses unless you specify a different nondefault locale For Informix products U S English is the default locale See also locale A value inserted in a column or variable when an explicit value is not specified You can assign default values to columns with the ALTER TABLE and CREATE TABLE statements and to variables in SPL routines 16 Informix Guide to
223. er 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 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 table the order_num column is a foreign key that references the order_num column in the orders table Figure A 12 shows this relationship Figure A 12 orders Table detail Tables That the order_num Column order_num order_date customer_num Jo ns 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 The stores_demo Database A 13 The tems and stock Tables A 14 table the reference 1 1 2 1 2 3 1 Informix Guide to SQL Reference 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
224. er digits of the current year in its four digit form are used to expand the year value To override the default specify all four digits Tip Setting DBCENTURY does not affect Informix products when the locale specifies a non Gregorian calendar such as Hebrew or Islamic A default century is used for alternate calendar systems when the century is not specified Examples of How the DBCENTURY Environment Variable Expands Date Values The following examples illustrate how the DBCENTURY environment variable expands DATE and DATETIME year formats Behavior of DBCENTURY P Example data type DATE Current date 4 6 1999 User enters 1 1 1 DBCENTURY P Past century algorithm Previous century expansion 1 1 1801 Present century expansion 1 1 1901 Analysis Both results are prior to the current date but 1 1 1901 is closer to the current date 1 1 1901 is chosen Behavior of DBCENTURY F Example data type DATETIME year to month Current date 5 7 2005 User enters 1 1 DBCENTURY F Future century algorithm Present century expansion 2001 1 Next century expansion 2101 1 Analysis Only date 2101 1 is after the current date so it is chosen as the expansion of the year value Behavior of DBCENTURY C Example data type DATE Current date 4 6 1999 User enters 1 1 1 DBCENTURY C Closest century algorithm Previous century expansion 1 1 1801 Present century expansion 1 1 1901 Next century expansion 1 1 2001
225. es to identify the type of privilege In this example the user nhowe has column level privileges on the customer table If the tabauth privilege code is uppercase for example S for select the user who is granted this privilege can also grant it to others If the tabauth privilege code is lowercase for example s for select the user who has this privilege cannot grant it to others Informix Guide to SQL Reference Using the System Catalog 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 mary nhowe 101 2 mary nhowe 101 3 u mary 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 system catalog table for Informix Dynamic Server 2000 These rows correspond to the indexes created on the customer table as the following example shows idxname c_num_1x state_ix owner mary mary tabid 101 10
226. es This database includes the following tables customer page A 3 orders page A 4 items page A 5 stock page A 6 catalog page A 7 cust_calls page A 8 call_type page A 9 manufact page A 9 state page A 10 The following sections describe each table The unique identifier for each table primary key is shaded and indicated by a key symbol A 2 Informix Guide to SQL Reference The customer Table The customer Table The customer table contains information about the retail stores that place orders from the distributor Figure A 1 shows the columns of the customer table The zipcode column in Figure A 1 is indexed and allows duplicate values Column Name customer_num fname Iname company address1 address2 city state zipcode phone Data Type SERIAL 101 CHAR 15 CHAR 15 CHAR 20 CHAR 20 CHAR 20 CHAR 15 CHAR 2 CHAR 5 CHAR 18 Figure A 1 The customer Table Description system generated customer number first name of store representative last name of store representative name of store first line of store address second line of store address city state foreign key to state table zipcode telephone number The stores_demo Database A 3 The orders Table A 4 The orders Table The orders table contains information about orders placed by the customers of the distributor Figure A 2 shows the columns of the orders table Figure A 2 The orders Table
227. es system catalog table is assigned a tabid which is a system assigned sequential number that uniquely identifies each table in the database The first tabid numbers up to 99 are reserved for system catalog tables The user created tabid numbers begin with 100 The tabid column is indexed and must contain unique values A composite index for the tabname and owner columns allows only unique values The version column contains an encoded number that is put in the systables system catalog table when the table is created Portions of the encoded value are incremented when data definition statements such as ALTER INDEX ALTER TABLE DROP INDEX and CREATE INDEX are performed When a prepared statement is executed the version number is checked to make sure that nothing has changed since the statement was prepared If the version number has changed your statement does not execute and you must prepare your statement again The npused column does not reflect BYTE or TEXT data used The systables system catalog table has two additional rows to store 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 tabname tabid FROM systables SYSTRACECLASSES The systraceclasses system catalog table contains the names and identifiers of trace classes A trace class is a category of trace messages that you can use in the development and testing of new DataBlade mo
228. esign and Implementation For information about how to create user defined data types see Extending Informix Dynamic Server 2000 All Informix database servers support the data types that Figure 2 2 lists This chapter describes each of these data types Figure 2 2 Data Types That All Informix Database Servers Support Data Type Explanation Page BYTE Stores any kind of binary data 2 12 CHAR n Stores single byte or multibyte sequences of 2 13 characters including letters numbers and symbols collation is code set dependent CHARACTER n Is a synonym for CHAR 2 14 1 of 3 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Data Type CHARACTER VARYING m r DATE DATETIME DEC DECIMAL DOUBLE PRECISION FLOAT 1 INT INTEGER INTERVAL MONEY p s MULTISET e NCHAR n NUMERIC p s NVARCHAR m r REAL Row Named SERIAL Summary of Data Types Explanation Stores single byte and multibyte sequences of Characters including letters nambers and symbols of varying length ANSI compliant collation is code set dependent Stores calendar date Stores calendar date combined with time of day Is a synonym for DECIMAL Stores numbers with definable scale and precision Behaves the same way as FLOAT Stores double precision floating point numbers corresponding to the double data type in C Is a synonym for INTEGER Stores whole numbers from 2 147 483 647 to 2 147 483 647 Stores a span of time Store
229. et for an Informix database server and SOL API products Most of these environment variables are described in this chapter on the pages listed in the last column Although the GLS environment variables that let you work in a nondefault locale are listed in Figure 3 1 they are described in the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Figure 3 1 Alphabetical List Of Environment Variables Environment Variable XPS IDS Restrictions Page AC_CONFIG Y Y None 3 24 ARC_CONFIG Y UNIX only 3 25 ARC_DEFAULT Y UNIX only 3 25 ARC_KEYPAD Y UNIX only 3 25 CC8BITLEVEL ESQL C only GLS guide CLIENT_LOCALE Y Y None GLS guide COCKPITSERVICE Vv Vv DB Cockpit 3 27 only 1 of 5 Environment Variables 3 19 List of Environment Variables 3 20 Environment Variable CPFIRST DBACCNOIGN DBANSIWARN DBBLOBBUF DBCENTURY DBDATE DBDELIMITER DBEDIT DBFLTMASK DBLANG DBMONEY DBONPLOAD DBPATH DBPRINT DBREMOTECMD DBSPACETEMP DBTEMP DBTIME DBUPSPACE Informix Guide to SQL Reference XPS SUS 8 IDS SK SSNS Restrictions None DB Access only None None SQL APIs only None None None DB Access only None None HPL only None UNIX only UNIX only None Gateways only SOL APIs only None Page 3 28 3 29 3 31 3 31 3 33 3 37 GLS guide 3 40 3 41 3 42 3 43 GLS guide 3 45 GLS guide 3 46 3 46 3 49 3 50 3 51 3 53 3 54 GLS guide 3 57 2 of 5 Environ
230. etail in Appendix A Informix products include the following demonstration databases m The sales_demo database illustrates a dimensional schema for data warehousing applications m The superstores_demo database illustrates an object relational schema This appendix discusses the contents of these two demonstration databases For information on how to create and populate the demonstration databases including relevant SQL files see the DB Access User s Manual For conceptual information about demonstration databases see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation The sales_ demo Database XPS B 2 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Product Dimension product code product name vendor vendor name product line product line name Fact Table Sales product code time code Geography Dimension district code district code customer code revenue cost units sold net profit district state state name region The sales_demo Database Time Dimension time code order date month code month name quarter code quarter name year Customer Dimension customer code customer name company name 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 conju
231. everal 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 18 shows this relationship Figure A 18 customer Table detail Tables That the state code Column customer_num fname Iname Joins 101 Ludwig Pauli 102 Carole Sadler 103 Philip Currie state Table detail code sname AK Alaska AL Alabama AR Arkansas AZ Arizona CA California Data in the stores_demo Database The following tables display the data in the stores_demo database The stores_demo Database A 19 07 90u8Jejey FOS 01 8pIng XILWOJUI customer_num fname 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 11 Ludwig Carole Philip Anthony Raymond George Charles Donald Jane Roy Frances Iname Pauli Sadler Currie Higgins Vector Watson Ream Quinn Miller Jaeger Keyes customer Table company All Sports Supplies Sports Spot Phil s Sports Play Ball Los Altos Sports Watson amp Son Athletic Supplies Quinn s Sports Sport Stuff AA Athletics Sports Center address1 address2 213 Erstwild Court 785 Geary Street 654 Poplar P O Box 3498 East Shopping Center 422 Bay Road 1899 La Loma Drive 1143 Carver Place 41 Jordan Avenue 587 Alvarado Mayfair Mart 520 Topaz Way 3199 Ste
232. ey for the district_code column of the geography table However the primary and foreign key relationships that exist between the fact sales table and its dimension tables are not defined because data loading performance improves dramatically when the database server does not enforce constraint checking The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 3 Structure of the sales_demo Tables The customer Table The customer table contains information about sales customers Figure B 2 shows the columns of the customer table Name Type district_code SERIAL district_name CHAR 15 state_code CHAR 2 state_name CHAR 18 region SMALLINT B 4 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Figure B 2 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 Figure B 3 shows the columns of the geography table Figure B 3 The geography Table Description district code district name state code state name region name The product Table Structure of the sales_demo Tables The product table contains information about the products sold through the data warehouse Figure B 4 shows the columns of the product table Name product_code product_name vendor_code vendor_name product_line_code product_line_name Type INTEGER CHAR 31 CHAR 3 CH
233. f the operating system access privileges active set aggregate function aggregate support function alias ALS ANSI ANSI compliant API application development tool application process application productivity tools application program The collection of rows that satisfies a query associated with a cursor An SOL function that returns one value for a group of queried rows for example the total number sum average and maximum or minimum of an expression in a query or report See also user defined aggregate One of a group of user defined functions that the database server uses to calculate a user defined aggregate A temporary alternative name for a table in a query usually used in complex subqueries and required for self joins In a form specification file or any SQL query alias refers to a single word alternative name used in place of a more complex table name for example t1 as an alias for owner table_name Legacy acronym for the Asian Language Support feature for working with Asian multibyte data Supplanted by Global Language Support GLS Acronym for the American National Standards Institute This group sets standards in many areas including the computer industry and standards for SQL languages A database that conforms to certain ANSI standards Informix databases can be created either as ANSI compliant or not ANSI compliant An ANSI compliant database enforces certain ANSI require
234. ference SYSTABAMDATA SYSTABAM DATA The systabamdata system catalog table stores the parameterization option choices table specific hashing parameters that you make when you create a table using a primary access method It stores configuration parameters that determine how a primary access method accesses a particular table The table might reside in a cooked file a different database or an sbspace within the database server The systabamdata system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation tabid INTEGER Table identifier am_param NCHAR 256 Access method parameterization option choices am_space NVARCHAR 128 The name of the space where the table data is stored The tabid column the key to the systables system catalog table is indexed and must contain unique values Each configuration parameter in the am_param list has the format keyword value or keyword System Catalog 1 71 SYSTABAUTH 1 72 SYSTABAUTH Column Name grantor grantee tabid tabauth grant it to others Informix Guide to SQL Reference Type NCHAR 32 NCHAR 32 INTEGER NCHAR 9 The systabauth system catalog table describes each set of privileges that are granted in a table It contains one row for each set of table privileges that are granted in the database The systabauth system catalog table has the following columns Explanation Grantor of privilege Grantee of privilege Table identifier 9 byte
235. ference ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWWXxYze Index A Access method sysams information about 1 17 sysindices information about 1 52 sysopclasses information about 1 56 systabamdata information about 1 71 AC_CONFIG environment variable 3 24 ac_config std file 3 24 ALTER TABLE statement and SERIAL 2 40 and SERIAL8 2 41 casting effects 2 64 changing data types 2 6 MODIFY NEXT SIZE clause 1 12 ANSI compliance ansi flag 3 30 DBANSIWARN environment variable 3 30 level Intro 15 archecker utility 3 24 Archiving setting a different tctermcap file 3 26 setting DBREMOTECMD to override default remote shell 3 49 setting personal default qualifier file 3 25 ARC_CONFIG environment variable 3 25 ARC_DEFAULT environment variable 3 25 ARC_KEYPAD environment variable 3 26 BLOB data type attributes in syscolattribs 1 27 casting not available 2 10 coltype code for 1 32 description of 2 9 inserting data 2 11 Blobspace defined 2 50 staging memory cache for 3 70 Boldface type Intro 7 BOOLEAN data type coltype code for 1 32 description of 2 11 Boolean expression with BYTE data type 2 12 with TEXT data type 2 45 Bourne shell profile file 3 9 Buffer setting size of fetch buffer 3 59 Built in data type casting built in 2 64 2 70 kinds of 2 48 BYTE data type casting to BLOB data type 2 13 description of 2 12 increasing buffer size 3 31 inserting data 2 12 length syscolumns 1 34 ABCDEFGH I location shown
236. ference DBDATE DBDATE The DBDATE environment variable specifies the end user formats of DATE values End user formats affect the following situations m When you input DATE values Informix products use the DBDATE environment variable to interpret the input For example if you specify a literal DATE value in an INSERT statement Informix database servers expect this literal value to be compatible with the format that DBDATE specifies Similarly the database server interprets the date that you specify as input to the DATE function in the format that the DBDATE environment variable specifies m When you display DATE values Informix products use the DBDATE environment variable to format the output Standard setenv DBDATE DBDATE Formats Era Based DBDATE Formats see Guide to GLS Standard Formats for DBDATE This section describes standard DBDATE formats GLS For a description of era based formats see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Environment Variables 3 37 DBDATE With standard formats you can specify the following attributes m The order of the month day and year in a date m Whether the year should be printed with two digits Y2 or four digits Y4 m The separator between the month day and year Standard DBDATE Formats p M D M Wao M D aso D M el are characters that can be used as separators in a date format 0 indicates that no separator is displayed D
237. fiers for the first and last fields are identical to the list of valid DATETIME fields that Figure 2 4 lists Write values for the field qualifiers as integers and separate them with delimiters Figure 2 5 lists the delimiters that are used with DATETIME values in the U S ASCII English locale 2 18 Informix Guide to SQL Reference DATETIME Figure 2 5 Delimiters Used with DATETIME Delimiter Placement in DATETIME Expression Hyphen Between the YEAR MONTH and DAY portions of the value Space Between the DAY and HOUR portions of the value Colon Between the HOUR and MINUTE and the MINUTE and SECOND portions of the value Decimal point Between the SECOND and FRACTION portions of the value Figure 2 6 shows a DATETIME YEAR TO FRACTION 3 value with delimiters Figure 2 6 99 01 16 12 42 06 001 ra A A 4 4 Delimiters Year Day Minute Fraction When you enter a value with fewer fields than the defined column the value that you enter is expanded automatically to fill all the defined fields If you leave out any more significant fields that is fields of larger magnitude than any value that you supply those fields are filled automatically with the current date If you leave out any less significant fields those fields are filled with zeros or a 1 for MONTH and DAY in your entry You can also enter DATETIME values as character strings However the character string must include information for each field defined in the
238. g crv 90u8Jejey FOS 01 ping XILWOJUI catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10070 312 SHM Hydrodynamic egg shaped lens Ground in lt BYTE value gt Anti Fog Swimmer s Goggles anti fog elements Available in blue or smoke Quantity Discount 10071 312 HRO Durable competition style goggles Available lt BYTE value gt Swim Goggles Traditional Rounded in blue grey or white Lens For Greater Comfort 10072 313 SHM Silicone swim cap One size Available in lt BYTE value gt Team Logo Silicone Swim Cap white silver or navy Team Logo Imprinting Available 10073 314 ANZ Silicone swim cap Squared off top One size lt BYTEvalue gt Durable Squared off Silicone Swim White Cap 10074 315 HRO Re usable ice pack Store in the freezer lt BYTE value gt Water Compartment Combines With for instant first aid Extra capacity to accommodate water and ice Ice to Provide Optimal Orthopedic Treatment 10 of 10 asege eg Owe sa o s y ul ejeg b y aseqejeq owap sejo s ay customer_num call_dtime cust_calls Table userid call_code call_descr res_dtime res_descr 106 110 119 121 1998 06 12 8 20 1998 07 07 10 24 1998 07 01 15 00 1998 07 10 14 05 maryj D Order was received but two of the cans of ANZ tennis balls within the case were empty riche L Order placed one month ago 6 7 not received riche B Bill does not reflect credit from previous order
239. g 1 13 User privileges described in sysusers table 1 79 User defined casts using 2 67 A BC DEFGH User defined data type casting 2 67 casting into built in type 2 63 kinds of 2 58 opaque 2 62 privileges in sysxtdtypeauth 1 83 sysxtddesc extended type information 1 82 sysxtdtypes information about 1 84 User defined name for unnamed row 2 37 User defined routine casts syscasts 1 25 error messages syserrors 1 41 for opaque type 2 35 language authorization syslangauth 1 53 Users types of Intro 3 Utility archecker 3 24 chkenv 3 12 command line 3 14 command prompt 3 15 DB Access 3 30 3 41 3 70 dbexport 3 39 ON Archive 3 25 3 26 ON Bar 3 77 3 78 3 79 onpload 3 45 Setnet32 3 8 setting environment variables for DB Access 3 8 J K L MN OP QRS TU VW X Y Z View dependencies in sysdepend table 1 38 described in sysviews table 1 80 synonyms in syssynonyms table 1 69 Violations for base tables described in sysviolations table 1 81 W Warning icons Intro 8 Warning creating a new message 1 41 Windows environments manipulating environment variables 3 14 setting environment variables 3 7 Windows NT default locale for Intro 4 X XFER_CONFIG environment variable 3 98 X Open and server_info view 1 91 compliant databases 1 91 Information Schema views 1 86 X Open compliance level Intro 15 V VARCHAR data type collation 2 48 description of 2 46 length in syscolumns 1 33 multibyte characte
240. g Which Cast to Apply 2 68 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 the double colon cast operator Explicit casts do not allow you to convert a user defined data type to a built in data type or vice versa Determining Which Cast to Apply The database server uses the following rules to determine which cast to apply in a particular situation m To compare two built in types the database server automatically invokes the appropriate built in casts m 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 m To compare a distinct type to its source type the user must explicitly cast one type to the other m 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 Ifthis castis not regis tered 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 m Tocompare an opaque type to a built in type the user must explicitly cast the o
241. ge DS O When the PDQPRIORITY environment variable is XPS 3 90 m not set the default value is OFF m setto HIGH the database server determines an appropriate value to use for PDOPRIORITY based on several criteria These include the number of available processors the fragmentation of tables queried the complexity of the query and so on When the PDOPRIORITY environment variable is m notset the default value is the value of the PDOPRIORITY configu ration parameter m setto 0 the database 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 so on PDQPRIORITY does not affect the degree of parallelism in Extended Parallel Server Informix Guide to SQL Reference setenv PLCONFIG Usually the more resources a database server uses the better its performance for a given query However if the database server uses too many resources contention among the resources can result and take resources away from other queries which results in degraded performance For more information on performance considerations for PDOPRIORITY refer to your Performance Guide An application can override the setting of the environment variable when it issues the SOL statement SET PDOPRIORITY which the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax describes PLCONFIG The PLCONFIG environment variable specifies the name of the configura
242. gits treated as Zeros DataTypes 2 43 SMALLINT SMALLFLOAT data types usually require 4 bytes per value Conversion of a SMALLFLOAT value to a DECIMAL value results in 9 digits of precision SM ALLINT 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 takes up only 2 bytes per value arithmetic operations are performed efficiently However this data type stores a limited range of values If the values exceed the range between the minimum and maximum numbers the database server does not store the value and provides you with an error message TEXT The TEXT data type stores any kind of text data It can contain both single and multibyte characters The TEXT data type has no maximum size A TEXT column has a theoretical limit of 29 bytes and a practical limit that your available disk storage determines The term simple large object is used to refer to TEXT and BYTE data types TEXT columns typically store memos manual chapters business documents program source files and so on In the default locale U S ASCII English data object of type TEXT can contain a combination of printable ASCII characters and the following control characters m Tabs CTRL I m New li
243. grammer s Manual After you set DBANSIWARN Informix extension checking is automatic until you log out or unset DBANSIWARN To turn off Informix extension checking unset the DBANSIWARN environment variable by entering the following command unsetenv DBANSIWARN Environment Variables 3 31 DBBLOBBUF DBBLOBBUF The DBBLOBBUF environment variable controls whether TEXT or BYTE data is stored temporarily in memory or in a file while being unloaded with the UNLOAD statement setenv DBBLOBBUF n represents the maximum size of TEXT or BYTE data in kilobytes If TEXT or BYTE simple large object data is smaller than the default of 10 kilobytes or the setting of the DBBLOBBUF environment variable it is tempo rarily stored in memory If the TEXT or BYTE data is larger than the default or the setting of the environment variable it is written to a temporary file This environment variable applies to the UNLOAD command only For instance to set a buffer size of 15 kilobytes set the DBBLOBBUF environment variable as the following example shows setenv DBBLOBBUF 15 In the example any TEXT or BYTE data that is smaller than 15 kilobytes is stored temporarily in memory TEXT or BYTE data larger than 15 kilobytes is stored temporarily in a file 3 32 Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBCENTURY DBCENTURY The DBCENTURY environment variable lets you choose the appropriate expansion for DATE and DATETIME values
244. h GROUP BY 2 45 with IN clause 2 45 with LIKE or MATCHES 2 45 with ORDER BY 2 45 selecting a column 2 45 setting buffer size 3 31 use in Boolean expression 2 45 with control characters 2 44 Text editor specifying with DBEDIT 3 40 THREADLIB environment variable 3 98 Time data type length syscolumns 1 34 list of 2 48 time table in sales_demo database columns in B 7 Time value setting DBTIME environment variable 3 53 Tip icons Intro 8 Trigger information in sysobjstate 1 55 information in systrigbody 1 77 information in systriggers 1 78 U UDR See User defined routine Unnamed row data type See also Row type Unique numeric code with SERIAL data type 2 40 with SERIALS data type 2 40 units table in superstores_demo database columns in B 24 UNIX BSD default print capability 3 48 environment variables 3 6 PATH environment variable 3 87 specifying directories for intermediate writes 3 92 System V default print capability 3 48 terminfo library support 3 75 TERM environment variable 3 96 TERMCAP environment variable 3 96 TERMINFO environment variable 3 97 UNIX operating system default locale for Intro 4 UNLOAD statement specifying field delimiter with DBDELIMITER 3 40 Unnamed row data type defining 2 38 description of 2 37 inserting values into columns 2 39 UPDATE STATISTICS statement and DBUPSPACE environment variable 3 56 effect on sysdistrib table 1 39 sysindices index statistics 1 52 update system catalo
245. h velcro strap For lt BYTE value gt Finally an Ice Pack for Achilles general use Velcro strap allows easy Injuries and Shin Splints that You application to arms or legs Can Take to the Office 10056 303 PRC Neon nylon Perfect for running or aerobics lt BYTEvalue gt Knock Their Socks Off With YOUR Indicate color Fluorescent pink yellow Socks green and orange 10057 303 KAR 100 nylon blend for optimal wicking and lt BYTE value gt 100 Nylon Blend Socks No Cotton comfort We ve taken out the cotton to eliminate the risk of blisters and reduce the opportunity for infection Specify men s or women s 10058 304 ANZ Provides time date dual display of lt BYTE value gt Athletic Watch w 4 Lap Memory lap cumulative 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 Indicate color lt BYTE value gt Waterproof Triathlete Watch In Hot pink mint green space black Competition Colors 8 of 10 asege eg Owe sa o s y ul ejeg Lb Y_ aseqejeq owap salo s ay catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10060 305 HRO Contains ace bandage anti bacterial cream lt BYTEvalue gt Comprehensive First Aid Kit alcohol cleansing pads adhesive bandages of Essential for Team Practices Team assorted sizes and instant cold pack Traveling 10061 306 PRC Converts a standard tandem bike into an lt
246. hat stores large text items such as PostScript or HTML files It can be stored and retrieved in pieces and has database properties such as recovery and transaction rollback See also BLOB To drop the association between a cursor and active set of rows that results from a query To deactivate the connection between a client and a database Only one database can be active at a time To release the association between a file and a program To rearrange the physical data of a table according to a specific index The column in a table that logically relates a group of simple large objects or smart large objects that are stored in an optical cluster The amount of space specified in kilobytes that is allocated to an optical cluster on an optical volume A bit pattern that represents one character in a code set For example in the ASCII code set the A character has a code point of 0x00 8 Informix Guide to SQL Reference code set code set conversion code set order cogroup collating sequence collation collation order collection collection cursor collection data type collection derived table A computer representation of a character set that specifies how to map each character in a character set to a unique code point For example ASCII 1SO8859 1 Microsoft 1252 and EBCDIC are code sets that can represent the English language A locale name specifies a code set See also code point and character set T
247. hat Informix database servers support BLOB 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 on the contents of a BLOB column A BLOB column can be up to 4 terabytes in length The term smart large object refers to BLOB and CLOB data types Use the CLOB data type see page 2 15 for random access to text data For general infor mation about BLOB and CLOB data types see Smart Large Objects on page 2 49 Data Types 2 9 BLOB You can use the following SOL functions to perform some operations on a BLOB column m FILETOBLOB copies a file into a BLOB column m LOTOFILE copies a BLOB or CLOB value into an operating system file m LOCOPY copies an existing smart large object to a new smart large object For more information on these SQL functions see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax No casts exist for BLOB data Therefore the database server cannot convert data of type BLOB to any other data type Within SQL you are limited to the equality comparison operation for BLOB data To perform additional operations you must use one of the application programming interfaces APIs from within your client application 2 10 Informix Guide to SQL Reference BOOLEAN You can insert data into BLOB columns in the follow
248. he INSERT statement in the following example shows an INTERVAL value entered as a character string 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 more infor mation on entering INTERVAL values as character strings see the 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 lt n lt 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 a YEAR TO MONTH qualifier requires a total of six digits four for year and two for month This data value requires 4 or 6 2 1 bytes of storage Data Types 2 29 LIST e For information on using INTERVAL data in arithmetic and relational operations see Manipulating DATE with DATETIME and INTERVAL Values on page 2 53 For information on using INTERVAL as a constant expression see the description of the I
249. he command and so forth Each diagram displays the sequences of required and optional elements that are valid in a command A diagram begins at the upper left corner with a command It ends at the upper right corner with a vertical line Between these points you can trace any path that does not stop or back up Each path describes a valid form of the command You must supply a value for words that are in italics Introduction 9 Command Line Conventions 10 You might encounter one or more of the following elements on a command line path Element command Description This required element is usually the product name or other short word that invokes the product or calls the compiler or preprocessor script for a compiled Informix product It might appear alone or precede one or more options You must spell a command exactly as shown and use lowercase letters variable A word in italics represents a value that you must supply such as a database file or program name A table following the diagram explains the value flag A flag is usually an abbreviation for a function menu or option name or for a compiler or preprocessor argument You must enter a flag exactly as shown including the preceding hyphen ext A filename extension such as sql or cob might follow a variable that represents a filename Type this extension exactly as shown immediately after the name of the file The extension migh
250. he database One row exists for each column that is defined in a table or view Column Name Type colname tabid INTEGER colno SMALLINT coltype SMALLINT 1 30 Informix Guide to SQL Reference NVARCHAR 128 Explanation Column name Table identifier Column number that the system sequentially assigns from left to right within each table Code for column data type 0 CHAR 1 SMALLINT 2 INTEGER 3 FLOAT 4 SMALLFLOAT 5 DECIMAL 6 SERIAL 7 DATE 8 MONEY 9 NULL 10 DATETIME 11 BYTE 12 TEXT 13 VARCHAR 14 INTERVAL 15 NCHAR 16 NVARCHAR 17 INT8 18 SERIAL 8 19 SET 20 MULTISET 21 LIST 22 rOW unnamed 23 COLLECTION 24 ROWREF 40 Variable length opaque type 41 Fixed length opaque type 4118 Named row type 1 of 2 SYSCOLUMNS Column Name Type Explanation collength SMALLINT Column length in bytes colmin INTEGER Second minimum value colmax INTEGER Second maximum value minlen INTEGER Minimum column length in bytes maxlen INTEGER Maximum column length in bytes extended_id INTEGER Type identifier from the sysxtdtypes system catalog table of the data type named in the coltype column An offset value of 256 is added to these columns to indicate that they do not allow null values 2 of 2 A composite index for the tabid and colno columns allows only unique values The coltype 4118 for named row types is
251. he database server to the SQLCA is used for error handling by Informix SQL APIs 48 Informix Guide to SQL Reference sqlda sqlhosts stack operator staging area blobspace statement statement block statement identifier static table status variable storage space stored procedure Stored Procedure Language SPL strategy function Acronym for SQL descriptor area A dynamic SQL management structure that can be used with the DESCRIBE statement to store information about database columns or host variables used in dynamic SQL statements The structure contains an sqlvar_struct structure for each column each sqlvar_struct structure provides information such as the name data type and length of the column The sqlda structure is an Informix specific structure for handling dynamic columns It is available only within an Informix ESOL C program See also descriptor and system descriptor area A file that identifies the types of connections the database server supports Operators that allow programs to manipulate values that are on the stack Not for Extended Parallel Server The blobspace where a database server temporarily stores TEXT or BYTE data that is being outmigrated to an optical storage subsystem A line or set of lines of program code that describes a single action for example a SELECT statement or an UPDATE statement A unit of SPL program code that performs a particular task and is usually marked by the key
252. he process of converting character data from one code set the source code set to another the target code set Code set conversion is useful when the client and server computers use different code sets to represent the same character data The order of characters within a code set based on their code points For example in the ASCII code set uppercase characters A through Z are ordered before lowercase characters a through z See also collation order and localized order Anamed group of coservers At initialization the database server creates a cogroup that is named cogroup_all from all configured coservers The sequence of values that specifies some logical order in which the character fields in a database are sorted and indexed A collation sequence depends on either the order of the code set or the locale Collating sequence is also known as collation order The process of sorting characters based on a collation order See collating sequence and code set order An instance of a collection data type a group of elements of the same data type stored in a SET MULTISET or LIST A database cursor that has an Informix ESQL C collection variable associated with it and provides access to the individual elements of a column whose data type is a collection data type A complex data type whose instances are groups of elements of the same data type which can be any opaque data type distinct data type built in data type collection da
253. hortcuts for the functionality that is being described Feature Product and Platform Icons Feature product and platform icons identify paragraphs that contain feature specific product specific or platform specific information Icon Description Identifies information that relates to the Informix Global GLS Language Support GLS feature Ss Identifies information that is specific to Informix Dynamic Server 2000 1 of 2 8 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Command Line Conventions Description Identifies information that is specific to UNIX platforms Identifies information that is specific to the Windows NT WIN NT El environment o i 5 Identifies information or syntax that is specific to Informix Extended Parallel Server 2 of 2 These icons can apply to an entire section or to one or more paragraphs within a section If an icon appears next to a section heading the information that applies to the indicated feature product or platform ends at the next heading at the same or higher level A symbol indicates the end of feature product or platform specific information that appears within one or more paragraphs within a section Command Line Conventions This section defines and illustrates the format of commands that are available in Informix products These commands have their own conventions which might include alternative forms of a command required and optional parts of t
254. hout 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 have the database server 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 Joachim s and Sonja s 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 environment variable specifies see page 3 71 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 Searching Networked Computers for Databases If you use more than one database server you can set DBPATH to explicitly contain the database server and or 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 databa
255. ib system catalog table stores data distribution information for the database server to use Data distributions provide detailed table column information to the optimizer to improve the choice of execution paths of SOL SELECT statements Information is stored in the sysdistrib system catalog table when an UPDATE STATISTICS statement with mode MEDIUM or HIGH is run for a table UPDATE STATISTICS LOW does not insert a value in the mode column of sysdistrib The sysdistrib system catalog table has the following columns Column Name tabid colno seqno constructed mode resolution confidence encdat type udtstat Type INTEGER SMALLINT INTEGER DATE NCHAR 1 FLOAT FLOAT STAT NCHAR 1 STAT Explanation Table identifier of the table where data was gathered Column number in the source table Sequence number for multiple entries Date when the data distribution was created Optimization level M Medium H High Specified in the UPDATE STATISTICS statement Specified in the UPDATE STATISTICS statement Statistics information Type of statistics A encdat has ASCII encoded histogram in fixed length character field S encdat has user defined statistics UDT statistics information System Catalog 1 39 SYSDISTRIB You can select any column from sysdistrib except encdat and udtstat Only user informix can select the encdat and udtstat columns Each row in the sysdistrib system catalog table
256. ibe for updates functionality You must set IFX_UPDDESC at execution time before you do a DESCRIBE of an UPDATE statement setenv IFX_UPDDESC You can set IFX_UPDDESC to any value A null value the environment variable is not set indicates that the feature is not being used Any nonnull value indicates that the feature is enabled INFORMIXC The INFORMIXC environment variable specifies the name or pathname of the C compiler to be used to compile files that Informix ESQL C generates If INFORMIXC is not set the default compiler is cc Tip On Windows NT you pass either mcc or bcc options to the esql preprocessor to use either the Microsoft or Borland C compilers setenv INFORMIXC as compiler pa pathname compiler is the name 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 The setting is required only during the C compilation stage Environment Variables 3 65 INFORMIXCONCSMCFG os INFORM IXCONCSM CFG 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 sample command specifies that the concsm cfg file is in usr m
257. ide 3 81 3 82 3 95 GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide 3 63 3 69 3 85 3 43 GLS guide 3 45 GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide 3 99 3 46 7 of 12 Topic Nondefault locale ON Archive utility ON Bar utility ONCONFIG parameters onprobe and oncockpit programs Optical Subsystem Optimization directives setting in the query Optimization message transfers Optimization selecting join method Optimization specifying query performance goal OPTOFC feature Parameters Pathname for archecker configuration file Pathname for C COMPILER Pathname for database files Index of Environment Variables Environment Variable CLIENT_LOCALE DB_LOCALE SERVER_LOCALE ARC_DEFAULT ARC_KEYPAD DBREMOTECMD ISM_COMPRESSION ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL ISM_ENCRYPTION See the Configuration parameter entries COCKPITSERVICE INFORMIXOPCACHE TFX_DIRECTIVES OPTMSG OPTCOMPIND OPT_GOAL OPTOFC See the Configuration parameter entries AC_CONFIG INFORMIXC DBPATH Page GLS GLS GLS 3 25 3 26 3 50 3 78 3 79 3 80 3 27 3 71 3 62 3 85 3 84 3 87 3 86 3 24 3 65 3 46 guide guide guide 8 of 12 Environment Variables 3 107 Index of Environment Variables Topic Pathname for executable programs Pathname for HPL smart large object handles Pathname for installation Pathname for libraries Pathname for message files Pathname for paral
258. ifying for DATETIME value with DBTIME 3 53 specifying for MONEY value with DBMONEY 3 44 FRACTION keyword as DATETIME field qualifier 2 18 as INTERVAL field qualifier 2 27 Fragmentation information in sysfragauth table 1 45 information in sysfragments table 1 46 PDQPRIORITY environment variable 3 89 setting priority levels for PDQ 3 88 Function support for complex types 2 60 used with BLOB columns 2 10 used with CLOB columns 2 15 used with LIST 2 31 used with MULTISET 2 33 used with SET 2 42 G Generalized key index sysnewdepend information 1 54 sysrepository information 1 67 geography table in sales_demo database columns in B 4 Global Language Support GLS Intro 4 GL_DATE environment variable 2 17 GL_DATETIME environment variable 2 20 H High Performance Loader environment variable for 3 45 3 90 HOUR keyword as DATETIME field qualifier 2 18 as INTERVAL field qualifier 2 27 Hyphen as delimiter in DATETIME 2 19 as delimiter in INTERVAL 2 29 Icons feature Intro 8 Important Intro 8 platform Intro 8 product Intro 8 Tip Intro 8 Warning Intro 8 IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST_SIZ E environment variable 3 60 IFX_DIRECTIVES environment variable 3 61 IFX_LONGID environment variable 3 62 IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE environment variable 3 63 IFX_NETBUF_SIZE environment variable 3 63 IFX_UPDDESC environment variable 3 64 Implicit cast 2 67 Important paragraphs icon for Intro 8 Index default values for attached
259. imit of 4 gigabytes 4Gb The LVARCHAR data type supports only a subset of the string operations that you can perform on CHAR and VARCHAR data types For more information about LVARCHAR see Extending Informix Dynamic Server 2000 DataTypes 2 31 MONEY p s GLS MONEY p The MONEY data type stores currency amounts As with the DECIMAL data type the MONEY data type stores 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 Client applications format values in MONEY columns with the following currency notation A currency symbol a dollar sign at the front of the value A thousands separator a comma that separates every three digits of the va
260. in sysblobs table 1 24 restrictions in Boolean expression 2 12 with GROUP BY 2 12 with LIKE or MATCHES 2 12 with ORDER BY 2 12 selecting a BYTE column 2 12 setting buffer size 3 31 C C compiler setting INFORMIXC environment variable 3 64 C shell cshre file 3 9 login file 3 9 call_type table in stores_demo database columns in A 9 call_type table in superstores_demo database columns in B 10 Cast 2 63 to 2 70 built in 2 64 to 2 67 2 68 distinct data type 2 69 explicit 2 68 from BYTE to BLOB data type 2 13 from TEXT to CLOB data type 2 45 implicit 2 67 2 68 precedence of 2 68 syscasts information 1 25 CHAR data type casts for 2 65 collation 2 14 description of 2 13 multibyte values 2 14 nonprintable characters with 2 14 with numeric values 2 13 Character data types collength column length information 1 33 list of 2 48 CHARACTER data type See CHAR data type Character string as DATETIME values 2 20 2 56 as INTERVAL values 2 29 2 Informix Guide to SQL Reference JK L MN OP QRS TU VW X Y ze CHARACTER VARYING data type description of 2 15 length 1 33 See also VARCHAR data type Check constraint described in syschecks table 1 26 described in syscoldepend table 1 29 Checking contents of environment configuration file 3 12 chkenv utility description of 3 12 error message for 3 13 Client server INFORMIXSQLHOSTS environment variable 3 73 shared memory communication segments 3 72 3 73 specifying defau
261. in the database The sysroleauth system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation rolename NCHAR 32 Name of the role grantee NCHAR 32 Grantee of role is_grantable NCHAR 1 Specifies whether the role is grantable Y Grantable N Not grantable The rolename and grantee columns are indexed and allow only unique values The is_grantable column indicates whether the role was granted with the WITH GRANT OPTION on the GRANT statement SYSROUTINELANGS The sysroutinelangs system catalog table contains the supported languages for writing user defined routines UDRs Column Name Type Explanation langid SERIAL Identifies the supported language langname NCHAR 30 The name of the language such as C or SPL langinitfunc NVARCHAR 128 The name of the initialization function for the language langpath NCHAR 255 The path for the UDR language langclass NCHAR 18 The class of the UDR language 1 68 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSSYNONYMS SYSSYNONYMS Important Version 4 0 or later Informix products no longer use this table however any syssynonyms entries made before Version 4 0 remain in this table See the discussion of syssyntable The syssynonyms system catalog table lists the synonyms for each table or view It contains a row for every synonym defined in the database The syssynonyms system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Exp
262. index is balanced when the leaf nodes are all at the same level from the root node B tree indexes store a list of rowids for any duplicate key value data in ascending or descending order See also bitmap index and R tree index A duplicate of a computer file on another device or tape to preserve existing work in case of a computer failure or other mishap A backup refers to dupli cating logical log files while archiving refers to duplicating data See table See opaque data type The image of a row page or other item before any changes are made to it A hardware determined storage method in which the most significant byte of a multibyte number has the lowest address See also little endian A type of index that stores a bitmap for any highly duplicate key value The bitmap indicates which rows have the duplicate key value You create a bitmap index with the USING BITMAP keywords in the CREATE INDEX statement See also B tree index A legacy term for binary large object that is now known as and includes TEXT or BYTE data types These data objects effectively have no maximum size theoretically as large as 2 bytes See also simple large object Acronym for binary large object A data type for a smart large object that stores any type of binary data including images It can be stored and retrieved in pieces and has database properties such as recovery and transaction rollback See also CLOB Not for Extended Parallel Server The un
263. ines with softer inner lt BYTE value gt Mountain Bike Helmet Smooth layer to eliminate the mesh cover no Cover Eliminates the Worry of Brush snagging on brush Meets both ANSI and Snags But Delivers Maximum Snell standards for impact protection 8 0 oz Protection 10033 110 HRO Newest ultralight helmet uses plastic shell lt BYTEvalue gt Lightweight Plastic with Vents Largest ventilation channels of any helmet on the market 8 5 oz 10034 110 HSK Aerodynamic teardrop helmet covered with anti drag fabric Credited with shaving 2 seconds mile from winner s time in Tour de France time trial 7 5 oz 10035 111 SHM Light action shifting 10 speed Designed for the city commuter with shock absorbing front fork and drilled eyelets for carry all racks or bicycle trailers Internal wiring for generator lights 33 lbs 10036 112 SHM Created for the beginner enthusiast Ideal for club rides and light touring Sophisticated triple butted frame construction Precise index shifting 28 lbs 10037 113 SHM _ Ultra lightweight Racing frame geometry built for aerodynamic handlebars Cantilever brakes Index shifting High performance gearing Quick release hubs Disk wheels Bladed spokes lt BYTE value gt lt BYTE value gt lt BYTE value gt lt BYTE value gt Assures Cool Comfort Without Sacrificing Protection Teardrop Design Used by Yellow Jerseys You Can Time the Difference Fully Equipped Bicycle Designed for the Ser
264. ing execution of UDRs and triggers and during evaluation of date values within check constraints and fragment expressions For example suppose a user creates a table and defines the following check constraint on a column named birthdate birthdate lt 01 25 50 Environment Variables 3 35 DBCENTURY The preceding expression is interpreted according to the value of DBCENTURY when the constraint is defined If the table that contains the birthdate column is created on 06 29 98 and DBCENTURY C the check constraint expression is consistently interpreted as birthdate lt 01 25 1950 regardless of the value of DBCENTURY when inserts or updates are performed on the birthdate column In other words even if different values of DBCENTURY are set when users perform inserts or updates on the birthdate column the check constraint expression is inter preted according to the DBCENTURY setting at the time the check constraint is defined The value of DBCENTURY and the current date are not the only factors that determine how the database server interprets a date expression The DBDATE DBTIME GL_DATE and GL_DATETIME environment variables also influence how dates are interpreted For information about GL_DATE and GL_DATETIME see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Important The behavior of DBCENTURY for Dynamic Server and Extended Paral lel Server is not backwards compatible 3 36 Informix Guide to SQL Re
265. ing session If a terminal cannot display highlighting the current option often appears in angle brackets and the current character is underlined Glossary 25 hold cursor home page host variable HPL hybrid fragmentation identifier implicit ANSI transaction implicit cast implicit connection implicit select list incremental archiving independent subquery index A cursor that is created using the WITH HOLD keywords A hold cursor remains open past the end of a transaction It allows uninterrupted access to a set of rows across multiple transactions 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 the home page does not change The home page contains a forward pointer to the new location of the data row See also remainder page An SQL API program variable that you use in an embedded statement to transfer information between the SQL API program and the database See High Performance Loader A distribution scheme that lets the user specify two fragmentation methods Usually one method is used globally and one method is used locally A sequence of letters digits and underscores _ that represents the unqual ified name of a database or program object A transaction that begins implicitly after a COMMIT statement and ends with the next COMMIT statement This type of transaction applies only to ANSI databases See
266. ing ways With the dbload or onload utilities With the LOAD statement DB Access With the FILETOBLOB function From BLOB ifx_lo_t host variables Informix ESQL C If you select a BLOB column using DB Access only the phrase SBlob value is returned no actual value is displayed BOOLEAN The BOOLEAN data type stores single byte true false type data The following table gives internal and literal representations of the BOOLEAN data type BOOLEAN Value Internal Literal Representation Representation TRUE NO t FALSE 1 f NULL Internal Use Only NULL You can compare two BOOLEAN values to determine whether they are equal or not equal 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 capture the results of an expression In the following example the value of boolean_column is t if columnl is less than column f if columnl 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 columnl lt column2 DataTypes 2 11 BYTE 2 12 BYTE The BYTE data type stores any kind of binary data in an undifferentiated byte stream Binary data typically consists of saved spreadsheets program load modules digitized voice patterns and so on The term simple large object is used to refer to BYTE and TEXT data ty
267. ins 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 3 30 Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBANSIWARN DBANSIWARN Setting the DBANSIWARN environment variable indicates that you want to check for Informix extensions to ANSI standard 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 setenv DBANSIWARN If you set the DBANSIWARN environment variable for DB Access it is functionally equivalent to including the ansi flag when you invoke the utility from the command line If you set DBANSIWARN before you run DB Access warnings are displayed on the screen within the SQL menu Set the DBANSIWARN environment variable before you compile an Informix ESQL C program to check for Informix extensions to ANSI standard syntax When Informix extensions to ANSI standard syntax are encountered in your program at compile time warning messages are written to the screen At run time the DBANSIWARN environment variable causes the sixth character of the sqlwarn array in the SOL Communication Area SQLCA to be set to W when a statement is executed that includes any Informix extension to the ANSI standard for SQL syntax For more information on SQLCA see the Informix ESQL C Pro
268. ins one or more values encapsulated with an internal length and input and output functions that convert text to and from an internal storage format Opaque types need user defined routines and user defined operators that work on them Synonym for base type and user defined base type One of a group of user defined functions that the database server uses to per form operations on opaque data types such as converting between the internal and external representations of the type The process of making a resource available such as preparing a file for access activating a cursor or initiating a window A logging permanent table that uses light appends for fast update opera tions Operational tables do not perform record by record logging Glossary 35 operator operator binding operator class operator class function operator class strategy function operator class support function operator function optical cluster optical family optical platters optical statements optical volume In an SOL statement a symbol such as gt lt and that invokes an operator function The operands to the operator are arguments to the operator function The implicit invocation of an operator function when an operator is used in an SQL statement An association of operator class functions with a secondary access method The database server uses an operator class to optimize queries and build an index of that secon
269. 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 However if you reset the next value of a SERIAL8 column to a value that is less than the values already in that column the next value is computed using the following formula maximum existing value in SERIAL8 column 1 For example if you reset the serial value of the customer_num column in the customer table to 50 and the highest assigned customer number is 128 the next customer number assigned is 129 Using SERIAL8 with INT8 The database server treats the SERIALS data type as a special case of the INT8 data type Therefore all the arithmetic operators that are legal for INT8 such as and and all the SQL functions that are legal for INT8 such as ABS MOD POW and so on are also legal for SERIAL8 values All data conversion rules that apply to INT8 also apply to SERIALS The value of a SERIAL8 column of a table can be stored in the columns of another table However when the values of the SERIAL8 column are put into the second table their values lose the constraints imposed by their original SERIAL8 column and they are stored as INT8 values Data Types 2 41 SET e SET e The SET data type is a collection type that stores unique elements it does not allow duplicate element values For a collection type that does allow duplicate values see the description of MULTI
270. ion connection coserver A data type that is built from a combination of other data types using an SQL type constructor and whose components can be accessed through SQL state ments See also row type and collection data type In the High Performance Loader HPL the information required to load or unload data is organized in several components The components are format map filter query project device array load job and unload job See row type An index constructed on two or more columns of a table The ordering imposed by the composite index varies least frequently on the first named column and most frequently on the last named column A join between two or more tables based on the relationship among two or more columns in each table See also join and simple join An indexing method that identifies records through a fragment identifier and a record identifier To append a second string to the end of a first string A symbolic notation composed of two pipe symbols used in expressions to indicate the joining of two strings The ability of two or more processes to access the same database simultaneously A coserver that Informix designates to run CM software and store CM data A file read during database server disk or shared memory initialization that contains the parameters that specify values for configurable behavior Data base server and its archiving tool use configuration files A logical association be
271. ion databases m The stores_demo database illustrates a relational schema with infor mation about a fictitious wholesale sporting goods distributor Many examples in Informix manuals are based on the stores_demo database m The sales_demo database illustrates a dimensional schema for data warehousing applications For conceptual information about dimen sional data modeling see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation m The superstores_demo database illustrates an object relational schema The superstores_demo database includes examples of extended data types type and table inheritance and user defined routines For information about how to create and populate the demonstration databases see the DB Access User s Manual For descriptions of the databases and their contents see this manual 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 New Features For a comprehensive list of new database server features see the release notes This section lists new features relevant to this manual Introduction 5 New Features in Version 8 3 6 New Features in Version 8 3 This manual describes the DBCENTURY environment variable which is a Year 2000 compliance feature in Version 8 3 of Extended Parallel Server New Features in Version 9 2 This manual describes new f
272. ion of the DBTIME environment variable on page 3 54 and the Informix ESQLIC Programmer s Manual The setting of the DBDATE variable takes precedence over that of the GL_DATE environment variable as well as over the default DATE formats that CLIENT_LOCALE specifies For information about the GL_DATE and CLIENT_LOCALE environment variables see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Behavior of DBDATE with Expressions that Contain Date Values This section describes how the database server uses the DBDATE environment variable to interpret date values in UDRs triggers fragmen tation expressions and check constraints Environment Variables 3 39 DBDELIMITER 3 40 setenv When an expression UDR trigger check constraint or fragmentation expression contains a date value the database server uses the setting of DBDATE at the time the database object UDR trigger or table is created The value of DBDATE at creation time determines the format for date values during execution of UDRs and triggers and during evaluation of date values within check constraints and fragment expressions Suppose DBDATE is set to MDY2 anda user creates a table with the following check constraint on the column orderdate orderdate lt 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 or
273. ion of the external tables To query these system catalogs about an external table use the tabid as stored in systables with tabtype E System Catalog 1 43 SYSEXTERNAL XPS 1 44 SYSEXTERNAL 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 Description tabid INTEGER Table identifier fmttype NCHAR 1 D delimiter F fixed T Informix recdelim NCHAR 4 The record delimiter flddelim NCHAR 4 The field delimiter codeset NCHAR 18 ASCII EBCDIC datefmt NCHAR 8 Reserved for future use moneyfmt NCHAR 20 Reserved for future use maxerrors INTEGER Number of errors to allow per coserver relectfile NCHAR 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 catalogs about an external table use the tabid as stored in systables with tabtype E Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSFRAGAUTH SYSFRAGAUTH The sysfragauth system catalog table stores information about the privileges that are granted on table fragments The sysfragauth system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation grantor NCHAR 32 Grantor of privilege grantee NCHAR 32 Grantee of privilege
274. ious Commuter Who Mixes Business With Pleasure We Selected the Ideal Combination of Touring Bike Equipment then Turned It Into This Package Deal High Performance on the Roads Maximum Pleasure Everywhere Designed for the Serious Competitor The Complete Racing Machine 5 of 10 asege eg oup Sa oJs ay ul BJeg 8e V 9oueJejay FOS 01 8pIng XILWOJUI catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10038 114 PRC Padded leather palm and stretch mesh lt BYTE value gt Riding Gloves for Comfort and merged with terry back Available in tan Protection black and cream Sizes S M L XL 10039 201 NKL Designed for comfort and stability Available lt BYTE value gt Full Comfort Long Wearing Golf in white amp blue or white amp brown Specify Shoes for Men and Women size 10040 201 ANZ Guaranteed waterproof Full leather upper lt BYTEvalue gt Waterproof Protection Ensures Available in white bone brown green and Maximum Comfort and Durability In blue Specify size All Climates 10041 201 KAR Leather and leather mesh for maximum lt BYTE value gt Karsten s Top Quality Shoe ventilation Waterproof lining to keep feet Combines Leather and Leather Mesh dry Available in white amp gray or white amp ivory Specify size 10042 202 NKL Complete starter set utilizes gold shafts lt BYTE value gt Starter Set of Woods Ideal for High Balanced for power School and Collegiate Classes 10043 202 KAR Full
275. is respon sible for managing one or more database servers A class of SPL routines that only a user with DBA database privileges creates Acronym for database management system It is all the components necessary to create and maintain a database including the application development tools and the database server A collection of coservers defined and named by entries in the sqlhosts file Dbserver groups make multiple coservers into a single logical entity for establishing or changing client server connections Glossary 15 dbslice dbspace DDL deadlock debug file decision support application decision support query declaration statement default default locale default value A named set of dbspaces that can span multiple coservers A dbslice is man aged as a single storage object See also logslice physslice and rootslice A logical collection of one or more chunks Because chunks represent specific regions of disk space the creators of databases and tables can control where their data is physically located by placing databases or tables in specific dbspaces A dbspace provides a link between logical such as tables and physical such as chunks units of storage See also root dbspace Acronym for data definition language See also data definition statements A situation in which two or more threads cannot proceed because each is waiting for data locked by the other or another thread The database serv
276. it of disk allocation within a blobspace The database server administrator determines the size of a blobpage The size can vary depending on the size of the TEXT or BYTE data that the user inserts Not for Extended Parallel Server A logical collection of chunks that is used to store TEXT and BYTE data A variable or an expression that can take on the logical values TRUE 1 FALSE 0 or UNKNOWN if null values are involved Glossary 5 BOOLEAN Boolean function branch node buffer buffered disk 1 0 buffered logging built in built in data type byte BYTE Cartesian product A built in data type that supports single byte true false values TRUE is represented internally as 0 and externally as t FALSE is represented internally as 1 and externally as f A null value is represented as null A function that returns a Boolean value true or false A Boolean function can act as a filter An index page that contains pointers to leaf nodes and other branch nodes The database server creates branch nodes when the root node and subsequent leaf nodes become full A portion of computer memory where a program temporarily stores data Data typically is read into or written out from buffers to disk Disk I O that the operating system controls instead of an application With buffered disk I O the operating system stores data in the kernel portion of memory before periodically writing the data to disk See also unbuffere
277. ix general libraries You must specify the directory that contains your client libraries before you can use the product setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH PATH nae B pathname specifies the search path for the library The following example sets the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable to the desired directory setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH INFORMIXDIR 11b INFORMIXDIR 1ib esql LD_LIBRARY_PATH For INTERSOLV DataDirect ODBC Driver on AIX set LIBPATH For INTERSOLV DataDirect ODBC Driver on HP UX set SHLIB_PATH Environment Variables 3 81 LIBPATH LIBPATH 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 ee ne AA 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 in a database that is not ANSI compliant If you do not set the NODEFDAC variable it is by default set to no setenv NODEFDAC We ge no yes prevents default table privileges from being granted to P
278. ization langid INTEGER The language id reference to the sysroutinelangs system catalog table langauth NCHAR 1 The language authorization u Usage permission granted U Usage permission granted WITH GRANT OPTION System Catalog 1 53 SYSLOGMAP XPS A nonunique index on the langid and grantee columns is created for faster access to the syslangauth table SYSLOGM AP The syslogmap system catalog table is not implemented in this version Column Name Type Explanation tabloc Reserved for future use tabid Reserved for future use fragid Reserved for future use flags Reserved for future use SYSNEWDEPEND The sysnewdepend system catalog table contains information about gener alized key indexes that is not available in the sysindexes system catalog 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 system catalog table The sysnewdepend system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation scrid1 CHAR The name of the generalized key index scrid2 INTEGER The tableid of the indexed table type INTEGER The type of generalized key index destid1 INTEGER The tableid of the table that the generalized key index depends destid2 INTEGER The column name in the table that the generalized key index depends 1 54 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSOBJSTATE SYSOBJSTATE The sysobjstate system catalog table
279. kilobytes If you set INFORMIXOPCACHE to a value of 0 Optical Subsystem does not use the cache INFORM IXSERVER The INFORMIXSERVER environment variable specifies the default database server to which an explicit or implicit connection is made by an SOL API client or the DB Access utility The database server can be either local or remote You must always set INFORMIXSERVER before you use an Informix product INFORMIXSERVER dbservername dbservername is the name of the default database server Environment Variables 3 71 INFORMIXSERVER XPS 3 72 The value of INFORMIXSERVER must correspond to a valid dbservername entry in the INFORMIXDIR etc sqlhosts file on the computer running the application The dbservername must be specified using lowercase characters and cannot exceed 128 characters For example to specify the coral database server as the default for connection enter the following command 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
280. lanation owner NCHAR 32 User name of owner synname NVARCHAR 128 Synonym identifier created DATE Date synonym created tabid INTEGER Table identifier A composite index for the owner and synonym columns allows only unique values The tabid column is indexed and allows duplicate values System Catalog 1 69 SYSSYNTABLE SYSSYNTABLE The syssyntable system catalog table outlines the mapping between each synonym and the object that it represents It contains one row for each entry in the systables table that has a tabtype of S The syssyntable system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation tabid INTEGER Table identifier servername NVARCHAR 128 Server name dbname NVARCHAR 128 Database name owner NCHAR 32 User name of owner tabname NVARCHAR 128 Name of table btabid INTEGER Table identifier of base table or view If you define a synonym for a table 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 the tabid column in systables With the tabid information you can determine additional facts about the synonym from systables An index for the tabid column allows only unique values The btabid column is indexed to allow duplicate values 1 70 Informix Guide to SQL Re
281. lated items of information about a single entity across all col umns in a database table In a table of customer information for example a row contains information about a single customer A row is sometimes referred to as a record or tuple In an object relational model each row of a table stands for one instance of the subject of the table which is one particular example of that entity In a screen form a row can refer to a line of the screen See also column A complex data type that contains one or more related data fields of any data type that form a template for a record The data in a row type can be stored in a row or column See also named row type and unnamed row type An Informix ESQL C host variable or SPL variable that holds an entire row type and provides access to the individual fields of the row Glossary 43 rowid rule runtime environment runtime error sbspace scale scale up scan thread schema scope of reference In nonfragmented tables rowid refers to an integer that defines the physical location of a row Rowids must be explicitly created to be used in fragmented tables and they do not define a physical location for a row Rowids in fragmented tables are accessed by an index that is created when the rowid is created this access method is slow Informix recommends that users creating new applications move toward using primary keys as a method of row identification instead of using rowids
282. lel sorting Pathname for remote shell Pathname for xfer_config file Printing Privileges Program printing Query optimization Query prioritization Remote shell Role separation Routine DATETIME formatting Server Informix Guide to SQL Reference Environment Variable PATH PLOAD_LO_PATH INFORMIXDIR LD_LIBRARY_PATH LIBPATH SHLIB_PATH DBLANG PSORT_DBTEMP DBREMOTECMD XFER_CONFIG DBPRINT NODEFDAC DBPRINT IFX_DIRECTIVES OPTCOMPIND OPT_GOAL PDQPRIORITY DBREMOTECMD INF_ROLE_SEP DBTIME See the Database server entries Page 3 88 3 92 3 69 3 81 3 82 J9 3 43 GLS guide 303 3 50 3 99 3 49 3 77 3 49 3 62 3 84 3 87 3 89 3 50 3 77 3 54 GLS guide 9 of 12 Topic Server locale Shared memory Shell remote Shell search path Sorting SQL statement SQL statement SQL statement SQL statement UPDATE SQL statement SQL statement SQL statement SQL statement SQL statement SQL statement SQL statement Stacksize caching CONNECT CREATE TEMP TABLE DESCRIBE FOR editing LOAD UNLOAD SELECT INTO TEMP SET PDQPRIORITY SET STMT_CACHE UNLOAD UPDATE STATISTICS Tables temporary Index of Environment Variables Environment Variable SERVER_LOCALE INFORMIXSHMBASE PLOAD_SHMBASE DBREMOTECMD PATH PSORT_DBTEMP PSORT_NPROCS DBSPACETEMP STMT_CACHE INFORMIXCONTIME INFORMIXSERVER DBSPACETEMP IFX_UPDDESC DBEDIT DBDELI
283. lock until it receives a request to fetch a new row See also isolation The SOL statements that you use to grant and revoke permissions and to lock tables The SQL statements that you use to create alter drop and rename data objects including databases tables views synonyms triggers and SPL routines The collection of tables that keeps track of the structure of the database Infor mation about the database is maintained in the data dictionary which is also referred to as the system catalog See also system catalog Glossary 13 data distribution data integrity data integrity statements data manipulation statements data partitioning data replication data restriction data type database Database Administrator database application database environment A mapping of the data in a column into a set of the column values The contents of the column are examined and divided into bins each of which represents a percentage of the data The organization of column values into bins is called the distribution for that column Use the UPDATE STATISTICS statement to create data distributions The process of ensuring that data corruption does not occur when multiple users simultaneously try to alter the same data Locking and transaction pro cessing are used to control data integrity The SQL statements that you use to control transactions and audits Data integrity statements also include statements for re
284. lso parent table No blobspace chunks for Extended Parallel Server The largest contiguous section of disk space available for a database server A specified set of chunks defines a dbspace or blobspace A database server administrator allocates a chunk to a dbspace or blobspace when that dbspace or blobspace approaches full capacity A chunk contains a certain number of pages Glossary 7 client application client computer client locale client server architecture client server connection statements CLOB close a cursor close a database close a file cluster an index cluster key clustersize code point A program that requests services from a server program typically a file server or a database server For the GLS feature the term client application includes database server utilities The computer on which a client application runs The locale that a client application uses to perform read and write operations on the client computer The CLIENT_LOCALE environment variable can specify a nondefault locale See also locale and server locale A hardware and software design that allows the user interface and database server to reside on separate nodes or platforms on a single computer or over a network The SQL statements that you use to make connections with databases These statements include CONNECT DISCONNECT and SET CONNECTION Acronym for character large object A data type for a smart large object t
285. lt database 3 70 specifying stacksize for client session 3 74 CLOB data type attributes in syscolatribs 1 27 casting not available 2 15 code set conversion of 2 16 collation 2 16 coltype code for 1 32 description of 2 15 inserting data 2 16 multibyte characters with 2 16 COCKPITSERVICE environment variable 3 27 Code set ISO 8859 1 Intro 4 Code sample conventions for Intro 12 Collation with CHAR data type 2 14 with CLOB data type 2 16 with TEXT data type 2 46 with VARCHAR data type 2 48 Collection data type casting matrix 2 70 description of 2 60 LIST 2 30 MULTISET 2 33 SET 2 42 sysattrtypes information about elements 1 23 sysxtddesc contents for 1 82 sysxtdtypes information 1 84 Colon as delimiter in DATETIME 2 19 as delimiter in INTERVAL 2 29 Color setting INFORMIXTERM for 3 75 Column changing data type 2 63 constraints listed in sysconstraints table 1 36 defaults described in sysdefaults table 1 37 described in syscolumns table 1 30 in stores_demo database A 3 to A 10 inserting data into BLOB 2 11 inserting into BYTE 2 12 inserting values into unnamed row type 2 39 referential constraints in sysreferences table 1 66 storing numeric values in VARCHAR 2 47 value maximum minimum 1 35 Column level privilege described in syscolauth table 1 28 Command line conventions elements of Intro 10 example diagram Intro 11 how to read Intro 11 Comment icons Intro 8 Compiling environment variable for C compiler 3 64
286. ltibyte character multiplexed connection MULTISET multithreading named row type national character native character Not for Extended Parallel Server A database server component that coordinates the use of memory and I O bandwidth for decision support queries MGM uses the DS_MAX_QUERIES DS_TOTAL_MEMORY DS_MAX_SCANS and PDOPRIORITY configuration parameters to determine what resources can or cannot be granted to a decision support query A screen display that allows you to choose the commands that you want the computer to perform Acronym for Memory Grant Manager Storing the same data on two chunks simultaneously If one chunk fails the data is still usable on the other chunk in the mirrored pair The database server administrator handles this data storage option The keywords specified on the CREATE DATABASE statement to make a database ANSI compliant A term that describes a monitor that can display only one color Acronym for massively parallel processing system A character that might require from two to four bytes of storage If a language contains more than 256 characters the code set must contain multibyte char acters Applications that handle data in a multibyte code set cannot assume that one character requires only one byte of storage See also single byte character A single network connection between a database server and a client application that handled multiple database connections from the clien
287. lue m A decimal point a period To change the format for MONEY values change the DBMONEY environment variable For information on how to set the DBMONEY environment variable see page 3 45 The default value that the database server uses for scale is locale dependent The default locale specifies a default scale of two For nondefault 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 2 32 Informix Guide to SQL Reference MULTISET e For more information on locale dependency see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality MULTISET e The MULTISET data type is a collection type that stores nonunique elements it allows 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 29 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 A built in type except SERIAL SERIAL8 BYTE and TEXT An unnamed or a named row type Another collecti
288. lumns system catalog table Length of the data type The identifier used for this data type in the extended_id column of the sysxtdtypes system catalog table The two indexes on the extended_id column and the xtd_type_id column respectively allow duplicate values The composite index on extended_id and seqno columns allows only unique values System Catalog 1 23 SYSBLOBS SYSBLOBS The title sysblobs is a legacy name based on a term that was used to refer to BYTE and TEXT columns also known as simple large objects The sysblobs system catalog table specifies the storage location of a BYTE or TEXT column It contains one row for each BYTE or TEXT column in a table The sysblobs system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation spacename NVARCHAR 128 Partition BYTE or TEXT data dbspace or family name type NCHAR 1 Media type M Magnetic O Optical Only available for Dynamic Server tabid INTEGER Table identifier colno SMALLINT Column number A composite index for the tabid and colno columns 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 your Administrator s Guide and the Administrator s Reference 1 24 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSCASTS SYSCASTS The syscasts system catalog table describes the casts in the database It contains one row for each built
289. mation about stock discounts There is no primary key Figure B 23 shows the columns of the stock_discount table Name discount_id stock_num manu_code unit unit_discount start_date end_date Type SERIAL SMALLINT CHAR 3 CHAR 4 percent DATE DATE Figure B 23 The stock_discount Table Description system generated discount identifier distributor stock number part of foreign key to stock table manufacturer code part of foreign key to stock table 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 during sale period discount start date discount end date The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 23 User Defined Routines and Extended Data Types 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 Figure B 24 shows the columns of the units table Figure B 24 The units Table Name Type Description g u 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
290. ment variable 3 62 LOTOFILE function 2 10 2 15 LVARCHAR data type description of 2 31 M Machine notes Intro 14 manufact table in superstores_demo database columns in B 19 Memory cache for staging blobspace 3 70 Message file specifying subdirectory with DBLANG 3 42 XBSA 3 77 Index 7 A BC DEFGH Message file for error messages Intro 13 Messages ANSI warning 3 30 error in syserrors 1 41 optimized transfers 3 84 reducing requests 3 85 warning in syserrors 1 41 MINUTE keyword as DATETIME field qualifier 2 18 as INTERVAL field qualifier 2 27 MONEY data type casts for 2 65 description of 2 32 display format specified with DBMONEY 3 44 international money formats 2 32 length syscolumns 1 33 MONTH keyword as DATETIME field qualifier 2 18 as INTERVAL field qualifier 2 27 Multibyte characters with CHAR data type 2 14 with CLOB data type 2 16 with TEXT data type 2 46 with VARCHAR data type 2 48 MULTISET data type description of 2 33 N Named row data type casting permitted 2 70 defining 2 36 description of 2 36 equivalence 2 37 inheritance 2 37 typed tables 2 37 See also Row type NCHAR data type description of 2 34 Network environment variable DBPATH 3 46 New features of this product Intro 5 NODEFDAC environment variable 3 81 8 Informix Guide to SQL Reference JKLMNOPQRSTUVV xv Z Nonprintable characters with CHAR data type 2 14 with TEXT data type 2 46 with VARCHAR data type 2 47 Not null c
291. ment Variable DB_LOCALE DELIMIDENT ENVIGNORE ESOLMF FET_BUF_SIZE GLS8BITSYS GL_DATE GL_DATETIME IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST_SIZE IFX_DIRECTIVES IFX_LONGID IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE IFX_NETBUF_SIZE IFX_UPDDESC INFORMIXC INFORMIXCONCSMCFG INFORMIXCONRETRY INFORMIXCONTIME INFORMIXCPPMAP XPS IDS SSN NN SUS 8 Restrictions None None UNIX only ESQL C only SQL APIs DB Access only None None None None None None UNIX only None None ESQL C UNIX only None None None None List of Environment Variables Page GLS guide 3 58 3 59 GLS guide 3 60 GLS guide GLS guide GLS guide 3 61 3 62 3 63 3 64 3 64 3 65 3 65 3 66 3 67 3 67 3 69 3 of 5 Environment Variables 3 21 List of Environment Variables 3 22 Environment Variable INFORMIXDIR INFORMIXKEYTAB INFORMIXOPCACHE INFORMIXSERVER INFORMIXSHMBASE INFORMIXSOLHOSTS INFORMIXSTACKSIZE INFORMIXTERM INF_ROLE_SEP ISM_COMPRESSION ISM_DEBUG_FILE ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL ISM_ENCRYPTION ISM_MAXLOGSIZE ISM_MAXLOGVERS LD_LIBRARY_PATH LIBPATH NODEFDAC ONCONFIG OPTCOMPIND Informix Guide to SQL Reference XPS XS S55 8 8 SK IDS a XS NSN NN SS sS Restrictions None UNIX only Optical Sub system only None UNIX only None None DB Access UNIX only None ISM ON Bar only ISM only ISM ON Bar only ISM ON Bar only IS
292. ment variable lets you override the default setting for the size of the fetch buffer for all data except simple large objects When set FET_BUF_SIZE is effective for the entire environment setenv FET_BUF_SIZE n represents the size of the buffer in bytes When set to a valid value the environment variable overrides the previously set value The default setting for the fetch buffer is dependent on row size If the buffer size is set to less than the default size or is out of the range of the small integer value no error is raised The new buffer size is ignored For example to set a buffer size to 5 000 bytes set the FET_BUF_SIZE environment variable by entering the following command setenv FET_BUF_SIZE 5000 3 60 Informix Guide to SQL Reference IFMX_SMLTBL_ BROADCAST_ SIZE XPS IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST_SIZE The IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST_SIZE environment variable setting deter mines the threshold size of tables that are used in Small Table Broadcast when the table size exceeds 128 kilobytes The IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST_SIZE environment variable is set on the database server setenv IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST n represents the size of the table in kilobytes Important Query performance can suffer if the IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST environment variable is set beyond a certain table size The recommended upper limit on table size depends on your computer and the configuration of your database server
293. ments such as implicit transactions required owner naming and unbuffered logging unbuffered logging only when using Dynamic Server that are not enforced in databases that are not ANSI compliant See application programming interface API Software such as INFORMIX NewEra that you can use to create and main tain a database The software allows a user to send instructions and data to and receive information from the database server The process that manages an ESQL or other program at runtime It executes the program logic and initiates SQL requests Memory that is allocated for program variables program data and the fetch buffer is part of this process See also database server process Tools such as forms and reports used to write applications An executable file or logically related set of files 2 Informix Guide to SQL Reference application programming interface API arbitrary rule archiving argument array ASCII ASF Asian Language Support ALS A group of related software components usually provided by a third party such as Informix that a developer uses to create applications that communi cate with a third party product An API can include a library of functions header files graphic user interfaces and command line programs See also SQL API and DataBlade API A series of expressions that you define for expression based fragmentation using SQL relational and logical operators Unlike the
294. minute as a decimal number 00 59 is replaced by the month as a decimal number 01 12 is replaced by A M or PM or the equivalent in the local standards is replaced by the second as a decimal number 00 59 is replaced by the year as a four digit decimal number If the user enters a two digit value the format of this value is affected by the setting of the DBCENTURY environment variable If DBCENTURY is not set then the current century is used for the century digits 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 how to convert a DATETIME YEAR TO SECOND to the following ASCII string format Mar 21 1999 at 16 h 30 m 28 s Set DBTIME as the following list shows setenv DBTIME b d Y at ZH h M m S s The default DBTIME produces the conventional ANSI SQL string format that the following line shows 1999 03 21 16 30 28 Environment Variables 3 55 DBTIME GLS Set the default DBTIME as the following example shows setenv DBTIME 2Y m d ZH 2M 2S An optional field width and precision specification can immediately follow the percent character it is interpreted as the following list describes 0 w where w is a decimal digit string specifying the minimum field width By default the value is right justified with spaces on the left If is specified it is left justified
295. 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 results of any calculation include the same amount of precision as the original INTERVAL value Extended Data Types Dynamic Server lets you create the following kinds of extended data types to characterize data that cannot be easily represented with the built in data types m Complex data types m Distinct data types m Opaque data types The following sections provide an overview of each of these data types For more information about extended data types see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation and Extending Informix Dynamic Server 2000 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Complex Data Types Complex Data Types A complex data type is a data type that you build from other data types built in and extended Figure 2 13 shows the complex types that Dynamic Server supports The table that follows briefly describes the structure of these data types Figure 2 13 Supported Complex Data Types Complex data types Collection data types Row data types MULTISET Named row type Unnamed row type Data Type Collection types LIST MULTISET SET Row types Named row type Desc
296. mmand prompt so that it runs dbservername cmd automati cally at start up Rules of Precedence When an 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference GLS List of Environment Variables Important Because Windows NT services access only environment variables that are set in the registry the preceding rules of precedence do not apply for Informix native Windows applications For native Windows applications the highest prece dence 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 and you do not explicitly set the same environment variables for your client products the clients will adopt the original settings List of Environment Variables Figure 3 1 contains an alphabetical list of the environment variables that you can s
297. mn 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 refer ences the location_id ofthe 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 sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 29 Referential Relationships B 30 The state a
298. mpany street_addr LIST VARCHAR 25 street address NOT NULL city VARCHAR 25 city for address country VARCHAR 25 country for address B 16 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables The location_non_us Table The location_non_us table contains specific address information for locations addresses that are outside the United States Figure B 15 shows the columns of the location_non_us table Figure B 15 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 street address NOT 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 The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 17 Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables B 18 The location_us Table The location_us table contains specific address information for locations addresses that are in the United States Figure B 16 shows the columns of the location_us table Figure B 16 The location_us Table Name Type Description g u 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 coun
299. mposite information for hybrid fragmentation strategies shows hashed columns followed by the fragmentation expression of the dbslice Binary version of expression Range partitioning data used to optimize expression in range expression fragmentation strategy 2 of 3 System Catalog 1 47 SYSFRAGMENTS XPS 1 48 Column Name Type Explanation flags INTEGER Used internally For Extended Parallel Server a bit value indicates the existence of a hybrid fragmen tation strategy value 0x10 Also an additional flag value 0x20 will be set on the first fragment of a globally detached index dbspace NVARCHAR 128 Dbspacename for fragment levels SMALLINT Number of B tree index levels npused INTEGER For table fragmentation strategy npused repre sents the number of data pages for index fragmentation strategy npused represents the number of leaf pages nrows INTEGER For tables nrows represents the number of rows in the fragment for indexes nrows repre sents 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 determines the relative position The first fragment has a hybdpos value of zero 0 E
300. n fragmentation routine routine modifier routine overloading routine resolution routine signature row row type row variable A dbslice that contains the root dbspaces for all coservers for Extended Parallel Server See also dbslice logslice and physslice A distribution scheme in which the database server distributes rows sequentially and evenly across specified dbspaces A group of program statements that perform a particular task A routine can bea function or a procedure All routines can accept arguments See also built in and user defined routine A keyword in the WITH clause of a CREATE FUNCTION CREATE PROCE DURE ALTER FUNCTION ALTER PROCEDURE or ALTER ROUTINE statement that specifies a particular attribute or usage of a user defined routine The ability to assign one name to multiple user defined routines and specify parameters of different data types on which each routine can operate An over loaded routine is uniquely defined by its routine signature The process that the database server uses to determine which user defined routine to execute based on the routine signature See also routine overloading The information that the database server uses to uniquely identify a user defined routine The signature includes the type of routine function or procedure the routine name and the number order and data types of the parameters See also routine overloading and specific name A group of re
301. n or f column where f is a binary or unary function that returns a Boolean value TRUE FALSE or UNKNOWN A character that uses one byte of storage Because a single byte can store values in the range of 0 to 255 it can uniquely identify 256 characters When an application handles data in these code sets it can assume that one char acter is always stored in one byte See also 8 bit character and multibyte character A single statement transaction that does not require either a BEGIN WORK or a COMMIT WORK statement This type of transaction occurs in a non ANSI logging database See also explicit transaction and implicit ANSI transaction A SELECT statement that returns a single row A large object that is stored in an sbspace which has read write and seek prop erties similar to a UNIX file is recoverable obeys transaction isolation modes and can be retrieved in segments by an application Smart large objects include BLOB and CLOB data types Acronym for system monitoring interface See symmetric multiprocessing system Glossary 47 source file specific name speed up SPL SPL function SPL procedure SPL routine SPL variable SQL SQL API SQLCA A text file that contains instructions in a high level language such as C AC source file is compiled into an executable file called an object file An SPL source file is compiled into its own executable format See also compile A name that you can assign to
302. n in the form row type name field name See also column A collection of related information stored together on a system such as the words in a letter or report a computer program or a listing of data A network node that manages a set of disks and provides storage services to computers on the network The part of a filename following the period For example DB Access appends the extension sql to command files A set of conditions for selecting rows or records For an SQL statement the conditional expression in the WHERE clause is a filter that controls the set of rows that a query evaluates This filter is sometimes referred to as a predicate The High Performance Loader HPL uses a filter component to screen data before loading it into a database 22 Informix Guide to SQL Reference filtering mode fixchar fixed point number flag flexible temporary table floating point number foreign key format formatting character fragment fragment elimination The object mode of a database object that causes bad rows to be filtered out to the violations table during data manipulation operations Only constraints and unique indexes can be in the filtering mode When a constraint or unique index is in this mode the database server enforces the constraint or the unique index requirement during INSERT DELETE and UPDATE operations but filters out rows that would violate the constraint or unique index requirement
303. n is capable of handling long identifiers Valid IFX_LONGID values are 1 and 0 setenv IFX_LONGID Gor 1 Client can handle long identifiers Client cannot handle long identifiers 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 version is gt 9 0304 the client is considered new and thus capable of handling long identi fiers Otherwise the client application is considered incapable The IFX_LONGID setting overrides the internal version of the client appli cation 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 the IFX_LONGID environment variable at the client the setting affects only that client If you bring up the database server with IFX_LONGID set all client applications will adhere to that setting If IFX_LONGID is set at both the client and the database server 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
304. n order of NVARCHAR characters depends on the GLS locale chosen while collation of VARCHAR characters depends on the code set For more information see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Large Object Data Types For a description of character numeric and miscellaneous data types refer to the appropriate entry in Description of Data Types on page 2 9 Page references are in the alphabetical list in Figure 2 2 on page 2 6 The following sections 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 independently of the column Large objects are stored separately from the table because they typically store a large amount of data Separation of this data from the table can increase performance Figure 2 10 shows the large object data types Figure 2 10 Large Object Data Types 1 5 Simple large o
305. nction 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 sq l Dimensional Model of the sales_demo Database Figure B 1 gives an overview of the tables in the sales_demo database Figure B 1 The sales_demo Dimensional Data Model Structure of the sales_demo Tables For information on how to create and populate the sales_demo database see the DB Access User s Manual For information on how to design and implement dimensional databases see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation For information on the stores_demo database see Appendix A Structure of the sales_demo Tables The sales_demo database includes the following tables customer geography product sales time 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 ANSI compliant The following sections describe the column names data types and column descriptions for each table A SERIAL field serves as the primary k
306. nd DBAs can modify most system catalog tables only user informix can modify systables Informix strongly recommends that you do not update delete or insert any rows in them Modifying the system catalog tables can destroy the integrity of the database Informix supports the use of the ALTER TABLE statement to modify the size of the next extent of system catalog tables However in certain cases with Dynamic Server 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 developer of DataBlade modules can add message entries that appear in these system catalog tables 1 12 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Updating System Catalog Data Updating System Catalog Data The optimizer in Informix database servers determines the most efficient strategy for executing SQL queries The optimizer allows you to query the database without having to fully consider which tables to search first in ajoin 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 you can ensure that the information provided to the optimizer is current When you delete or modify a table the database server does not automati cally update the related statistical data in the system catalog For example if you delete rows in a table with
307. nd 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 Itis 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 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference 8 bit character 8 bit clean 16 bit code set access method accessprivileges Glossary Tip Other manuals in the Informix documentation sets
308. nd 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 the end of one or more product or platform specific paragraphs gt This symbol indicates a menu item For example Choose Tools gt 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 Icon Conventions Throughout the documentation you will find text thatis identified by several different types of icons This section describes these icons Introduction 7 Icon Conventions Comment Icons Comment icons identify three types of information as the following table describes This information always appears in italics Icon Label Description Warning Identifies paragraphs that contain vital instructions A cautions or critical information Important Identifies paragraphs that contain significant information about the feature or operation that is gt being described Tip Identifies paragraphs that offer additional details or s
309. ndexes can be shared more than one constraint can be associated with an index The sysconstraints system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation constrid SERIAL System assigned sequential identifier constrname NVARCHAR 128 Constraint name owner NCHAR 32 User name of owner tabid INTEGER Table identifier constrtype NCHAR 1 Constraint type C Check constraint P Primary key R Referential U Unique N Not null idxname NVARCHAR 128 Index name A composite index for the constrname and owner columns allows only unique values The index for the tabid column allows duplicate values and the index for 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 system catalog table Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSDEFAULTS 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 If a default is not explicitly specified in the CREATE TABLE statement no entry exists in this table The sysdefaults system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation tabid INTEGER Table identifier colno SMALLINT Column identifier type NCHAR 1 Default type L Literal default U User C Current N Null
310. ndoor Competitions 10016 9 ANZ _ Steeleyelets Nylon cording Double stitched lt BYTE value gt Sanctioned Volleyball Netting for Sanctioned by the National Athletic Indoor Professional and Collegiate Congress Competition 10017 101 PRC Reinforced hand finished tubular lt BYTE value gt Ultimate in Puncture Protection Polyurethane belted Effective against Tires Designed for In City Riding punctures Mixed tread for super wear and road grip 10018 101 SHM Durable nylon casing with butyl tube for lt BYTE value gt The Perfect Tire for Club Rides or superior air retention Center ribbed tread with herringbone side Coated sidewalls resist abrasion Training 2 of 10 asege eg Owe sa o s y ul ejeg G y aseqejeq owap sejo s ay catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10019 102 SHM Thrust bearing and coated pivot washer lt BYTE value gt Thrust Bearing and Spring Sleeve spring sleeve for smooth action Slotted levers Brake Set Guarantees Smooth Action with soft gum hoods Two tone paint treatment Set includes calipers levers and cables 10020 102 PRC Computer aided design with low profile lt BYTE value gt Computer Design Delivers Rigid Yet pads Cold forged alloy calipers and beefy Vibration Free Brakes caliper bushing Aero levers Set includes calipers levers and cables 10021 103 PRC Compact leading action design enhances lt BYTE value gt Climb Any Mountain ProCycle s shifting
311. nes CTRL J m New pages CTRL L 2 44 Informix Guide to SQL Reference TEXT You can store retrieve update or delete the contents of a TEXT column However you cannot use TEXT data items in arithmetic or string operations or assign literals to TEXT items with the SET clause of the UPDATE statement You also cannot use TEXT items in the following ways With aggregate functions With the IN clause With the MATCHES or LIKE clauses With the GROUP BY clause With the ORDER BY clause You can use TEXT objects in Boolean expressions only if you are testing for null values You can insert data in TEXT columns in the following ways m With the dbload or onload utilities m With the LOAD statement DB Access m From TEXT host variables Informix ESQL C 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 see all of a column use the regular syntax for selecting a column into a variable You can also select any part of a TEXT column with subscripts as the following 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 catalog number 10001 The database server provides a cast to convert TEXT objects to CLOB objects For more information see the Informix Guide to Database
312. nique values The composite index for the type and grantee columns allows duplicate values System Catalog 1 83 SYSXTDTYPES 1 84 SYSXTDTYPES The sysxtdtype system catalog table has an entry for each user defined data type opaque and distinct data types and complex data type named row type unnamed row type and collection type that is defined in the database Each extended data type has a unique id called an extended id extended_id a data type identifier type and the length and description of the data type The sysxtdtypes system catalog table has the following columns Informix Guide to SQL Reference Column Name Type Explanation extended_id SERIAL Unique identifier for extended data types mode NCHAR 1 Detailed description of the user defined type One of the following values B Base opaque C Collection type as well as unnamed row type D Distinct R Named row type blank Built in type owner NCHAR 32 Owner of the data type name NVARCHAR 128 Name of the data type type SMALLINT The identifier of the data type See the coltype column values of the syscolumns system catalog table for a complete list of identifiers associated with different data types For distinct types created from built in data types the value in this column corresponds with the value of the coltype column indicating the source type in the syscolumns system catalog table A value of 40 indicates a distinct data type create
313. nment Variable Page ANSI compliance DBANSIWARN 3 31 archecker utility AC_CONFIG 3 24 Buffer fetch size FET_BUF_SIZE 3 60 Buffer network size IFX_NETBUF_SIZE 3 64 Buffer network pool size IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE 3 64 BYTE or TEXT data buffer DBBLOBBUF 3 31 C compiler INFORMIXC 3 65 C compiler processing of multibyte CC8BITLEVEL GLS guide characters C INFORMIXCPPMAP 3 69 Cache enabling STMT_CACHE 3 96 Cache size for Optical Subsystem INFORMIXOPCACHE 3 71 Client locale CLIENT_LOCALE GLS guide Client server INFORMIXSERVER 221 INFORMIXSHMBASE 3 73 1 of 12 3 100 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Topic Client server GLS Code set conversion Communication Support Module DCE GSS Communications Support Module location of concsm cfg file Compilation ESQL C Compiler Configuration file database server Configuration file ignore variables Configuration file ON Archive Configuration file tctermcap Configuration file xfer_config Configuration parameter COSERVER Configuration parameter DBSERVERNAME Configuration parameter DBSPACETEMP Configuration parameter DIRECTIVES Index of Environment Variables Environment Variable INFORMIXSTACKSIZE CLIENT_LOCALE DB_LOCALE SERVER_LOCALE CLIENT_LOCALE DB_LOCALE INFORMIXKEYTAB INFORMIXCONCSMCFG THREADLIB CC8BITLEVEL INFORMIXC ONCONFIG ENVIGNORE ARC_CONFIG ARC_DEFAULT ARC_KEYPAD XFER_CONFIG INFORMIXSERVER INFORMIXSERVER DBSPACETEM
314. nment variable that is already set For example the PATH environment variable is always set in UNIX environments When you use an Informix product you must add to the PATH the name of the directory where the executable files for the Informix products are stored In the following example the INFORMIXDIR is usr informix That is during installation the 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 contradict the 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 curly braces with the existing INFORMIXDIR and PATH as the following command shows setenv PATH INFORMIXDIR bin PATH For more information about setting and modifying environment variables refer to the manuals for your operating system Environment Variables 3 11 Viewing Your E
315. not set the ISM server does not use compression ISM_DEBUG_FILE Set the ISM_DEBUG_FILE environment variable in the Informix Storage Manager server environment to specify where the XBSA messages should be written setenv _ ISM_DEBUG FILE pathname _ pathname specifies the location of the XBSA message log file If you do not set ISM_DEBUG_FILE the XBSA message log is located in INFORMIXDIR ism applogs xbsa messages on UNIX or c nsr applogs xbsa messages on Windows NT 3 78 Informix Guide to SQL Reference ISM_DEBUG_LEVEL 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 specifies the level of reporting detail You can specify a value between 0 and 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 Environment Variables 3 79 ISM_ENCRYPTION setenv ISM_ENCRYPTION setenv ISM_ENCRYPTION Set the ISM_ENCRYPTION environment variable in the ON Bar environment to specify whether the Informix Storage Manager ISM should use data encryption XOR uses encr
316. ntains index items and horizontal pointers to other leaf nodes The database server creates leaf nodes when the root node becomes full See isolation A group of precompiled routines designed to perform tasks that are common to a particular kind of application An application programming interface can include a library of routines that you can call from your application program See also dynamic link library DLL shared library and shared object file An unbuffered unlogged insert operation To combine separately compiled program modules usually into an executable program Compare with compile and execute A collection data type created with the LIST constructor in which elements are ordered and duplicates are allowed The representation of a data type value in a format that the database server accepts in data entry operations For example 234 is a literal integer and abcd is a literal character A hardware determined storage method in which the least significant byte of a multibyte number has the lowest address See also big endian The information required to load data into a relational database using the HPL This information includes the format map filter device array project and special options For Extended Parallel Server a replica of a table on a local coserver that is copied to multiple coservers This allows faster access to the data for OLTP transactions connected to those coservers because you do not have
317. ntry does not contradict the path that was set in INFORMIXDIR and to avoid resetting PATH whenever you change INFORMIXDIR For more information about setting and modifying environment variables refer to your operating system manuals Environment Variables 3 17 Rules of Precedence 3 18 Using dbservername cmd to Initialize a Command Prompt Environment Each time that you open a Windows NT 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 prompt and set the variable INFORMIXDIR and then open another command prompt 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 co
318. num Blue with black tape 31 200zor lt BYTEvalue gt Durable Aluminum for High School 22 oz 32 21 oz or 23 oz 33 22 oz or 24 oz and Collegiate Athletes 10007 4 HSK Norm Van Brocklin signature style lt BYTE value gt Quality Pigskin with Norm Van Brocklin Signature 10008 4 HRO NFL Style pigskin lt BYTE value gt Highest Quality Football for High School and Collegiate Competitions 10009 5 NRG Graphite frame Synthetic strings lt BYTE value gt Wide Body Amplifies Your Natural Abilities by Providing More Power Through Aerodynamic Design 1 of 10 asege eg Owe Sa oJs ay ul BJeg veW 90u8Jejey FOS 01 ping XILWOJUI catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10010 5 SMT Aluminum frame Synthetic strings lt BYTE value gt Mid Sized Racquet for the Improving Player 10011 5 ANZ Wood frame cat gut strings lt BYTE value gt Antique Replica of Classic Wooden Racquet Built with Cat Gut Strings 10012 6 SMT Soft yellow color for easy visibility in lt BYTE value gt High Visibility Tennis Day or Night sunlight or artificial light 10013 6 ANZ Pro core Available in neon yellow green lt BYTE value gt Durable Construction Coupled with and pink the Brightest Colors Available 10014 7 HRO Indoor Classic NBA style Brown leather lt BYTE value gt Long Life Basketballs for Indoor Gymnasiums 10015 8 ANZ Indoor Finest leather Professional quality _ lt BYTEvalue gt Professional Volleyballs for I
319. nvironment Variable Settings chkenv Element Viewing Your Environment Variable Settings After you have installed one or more 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 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 Informix products use filename Purpose Key Considerations filename Specifies the name of the None environment configuration file that you want to debug The shared environment configuration file is stored in INFORMIXDIR etc informix rc A private environment configuration file is stored in the user s home directory as informix If you do not provide the filename for chkenv the utility checks both the shared and private environment configuration files If you provide a file path chkenv checks only that file Issue the following command to check the contents of the shared environment configuration file chkenv informix rc 3 12 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Rules of Precedence The chkenv utility returns
320. o a we 1 79 SYSVIEWS o oie e a e Es 1 80 SYSVIOLATIONS o e oo a e a o B a 1 81 SYSXIDDESC 2 2 p s 4 bob S ee a a o 1 82 SYSXTDTYPEAUTH s ou a u o 1 83 SYSXTDTYPES 02 20 me Be dos a a i 1 84 Information Schema 2 6 ee eee 1 86 Generating the Information Schema Views 1 86 Accessing the Information Schema Views 1 87 Structure of the Information Schema Views 1 87 Chapter 2 Data Types In This Chapter dio gs En te rd GG EO p E 2 5 Summary of Data Types 2 2 ee ee 2 5 Description of Data Types 1 2 ee 2 9 BLOB osia on be 2 9 BOOLEAN ax e 4 sh 3 de wb a ak a a Gh ee a 2 11 BYTER statis ch ky ct ae ae es Boe ek OG i 2 12 CHAR I e x Ge erode ca Ge ee cae Ry ot at ee ks Ga 2 13 CHARACTER n 2 1 we ee ee 2 14 CHARACTER VARYING m r 2 0 0 0 0 a 2 15 GOB ste e ck cy Ab it oe he OBE Meas Ge A A 2 15 DATE a y Ai amp alin Book a AS 2 16 DATETIME z7 25d amp Gie A E oe mee Se a 2 17 DECS ut oe Ae eG ie EE ee a SE 2 21 Table of Contents v DECIMAL 4 a Rie La ds a ZE Distinto cita ee A a a a 223 DOUBLE PRECISION 2 24 FLOAT n 2 2 ee ee ee ee 224 INT ho tod oe MER AAS ee Bek OR oh e 2225 INES 2 oe Alea IA ee oi oe OR ene o 32625 INTEGER ip paas eee 2 26 INTERVAL eo ii a o ed ts 226 LISHE 06 a e ara A BE re 2580 TVARCHAR lt 3 4 2 2 3 e Go OR a o BT MONEY PS yt
321. o database contains a set of tables that describe an imaginary business The examples in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax the Informix Guide to SQL Tutorial and other Informix manuals are based on this demonstration database The stores_demo database is not ANSI compliant This appendix contains the following sections m 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 col umn and indicates whether the column has a default value or check constraint Indexes on columns are also identified and classified as unique or if they allow dupli cate values m The second section page A 10 shows a graphic map of the tables in the stores_demo database and indicates the relationships among columns m The third section page A 12 describes the primary foreign key relationships among columns in tables m The final section page A 19 shows 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 DB Access User s Manual For information on how to design and implement a relational database see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Structure of the Tables Structure of the Tables The stores_demo database contains information about a fictitious sporting goods distributor that services stores in the Western United Stat
322. od The value of am_check is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_BEGINSCAN purpose for this access method The value of am_beginscan is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_ENDSCAN purpose for this access method The value of am_endscan is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AM_RESCAN purpose for this access method The value of am_rescan is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table The routine specified for the AMGETNEXT purpose for this access method The value of am_getnext is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog table 5 of 6 System Catalog 1 21 SYSAMS Column Name Type Explanation am_getbyid INTEGER The routine specified for the AM_GETBYID purpose for this access method The value of am_getbyid is the procid listed for the routine in the sysprocedures system catalog tables am_build Reserved for future use am_init INTEGER For internal use 6 of 6 The composite index for the am_name and am_owner columns in this table allows only unique values The am_id column is indexed and must contain unique values The am_sptype column can have multiple entries For example m A means the access method supports extspaces and sbspaces
323. of role separation when the database server is installed Role separation enforces separating administrative tasks that different people who are involved in running and auditing the database server perform Tip To enable role separation for database servers on Windows NT choose the role separation option during installation If INF_ROLE_SEP is set role separation is implemented and a separate group is specified to serve each of the following responsibilities the database system security officer DBSSO the audit analysis officer AAO and the standard user If INF_ROLE_SEP is not set user informix the default can perform all administrative tasks INF_ROLE_SEP n is any positive integer For more information about the security feature of role separation see the Trusted Facility Manual To learn how to configure role separation when you install your database server see your Installation Guide Environment Variables 3 77 ISM_ COMPRESSION ISM _COM PRESSION Set the ISM_COMPRESSION environment variable in the ON Bar environment to specify whether the Informix Storage Manager ISM should use data compression setenv SM_COMPRESSION ea TRUE F 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 data specified in that request If ISM_COMPRESSION is set to FALSE or is
324. of Informix database servers comply with the SOL 92 Intermediate and Full Level and X Open SOL CAE common applications environment standards Introduction 15 Informix Welcomes Your Comments 16 Informix Welcomes Your Comments Let us know what you like or dislike about our manuals To help us with future versions of our manuals we want to know about any corrections or clarifications that you would find useful Include the following information m The name and version of the manual that you are using m Any comments that you have about the manual m Your name address and phone number Send electronic mail to us at the following address doc informix com The doc alias is reserved exclusively for reporting errors and omissions in our documentation We appreciate your suggestions Informix Guide to SQL Reference System Catalog In This Chapter 24 Dak das e di al a a ES Objects That the System Catalog Tables Track 1 5 Using the System Catalog gt ATAR BS ee AMA 1 6 Accessing the System Catalog te GS eo a EB GB a ar EI Updating System Catalog Data 1418 Structure of the System Catalog 1 14 SYSAGGREGATES 2 ee ee 1 16 SYSAMSa fo te ne A a a sl AZ SYSATTRTYPES 1 28 SYSBLOBS ng ok ee a a ELA SYSCASTS 2 we e e 128 SYSCHECKS socie io oe e Ek a a ZO SYSCOLATTRIBS 2 2 2
325. ol DM and a comma Enter the following command to set the DBMONEY environment variable setenv DBMONEY DM Here DMis the 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 amount 10050 is displayed as DM100 50 For more information about how the DBMONEY environment variable handles MONEY formats for nondefault locales see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality DBONPLOAD The DBONPLOAD environment variable specifies the name of the database that the onpload utility of the High Performance Loader HPL uses If the DBONPLOAD environment variable is set the specified name is the name of the database If the DBONPLOAD environment variable is not set the default name of the database is onpload 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 Guide to the High Performance Loader Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBPATH DBPATH Use DBPATH to identify the database servers that contain databases The DBPATH environment variable also specifies a list of directories in addition to the current directory in which DB Access looks for command scripts sql files The CONNECT DATABASE START DAT
326. on type An opaque type You must specify the NOT NULL constraint for MULTISET elements No other constraints are valid for MULTISET columns For more information on the syntax of the MULTISET collection type see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax You can use MULTISET anywhere that you use any other data type unless otherwise indicated For example m After the IN predicate in the WHERE clause of a SELECT statement to search for matching MULTISET values m Asan argument to the SQL CARDINALITY function to determine the number of elements in a MULTISET column You cannot use MULTISET with an aggregate function such as AVG MAX MIN or SUM DataTypes 2 33 Named Row GLS GLS Two multisets are equal if they have the same elements even if the elements are in different positions in the set The following examples are multisets but are not equal MULTISET blue green yellow MULTISET blue green yellow blue The following multisets are equal MULTISET blue green blue yellow MULTISET blue green yellow blue Named Row See Row Named on page 2 35 NCHAR n The NCHAR data type stores fixed length character data This data can be a sequence of single byte or multibyte letters numbers and symbols The main difference between CHAR and NCHAR data types is the collation order While the collation order of the CHAR data type is defined by the code set order the collation
327. onal error messages A class of products that operate with multibyte code sets ALS products support various multibyte code sets whose characters are composed of 8 16 24 and 32 bits ALS servers and tools are available for Version 6 x and earlier family of products These products might have been developed with the GLS Library or other software written specifically to handle Asian language processing For more information see the Informix Migration Guide Glossary 3 attached index audit event audit file audit mask auxiliary statements B tree An index that is created without an explicit fragmentation strategy You create an attached index by omitting both the distribution scheme specified by the FRAGMENT BY clause and the storage option specified by the IN clause of the CREATE INDEX or ALTER FRAGMENT ON INDEX statements An attached index can be created on a fragmented table The location of the index data varies depending on the database server In most cases index pages reside in the same tblspaces as the data pages to which they refer For Dynamic Server index pages for user indexes reside in separate tblspaces but within the same dbspaces as the data pages to which they refer Only the syscatalogs indexes reside in the same tblspace as the corresponding data pages For Extended Parallel Server both user and system catalog index pages reside in separate tblspaces but in the same dbspaces as the corresponding
328. onment Variables in UNIX Setting Environment Variables in an Environment Configuration File Setting Environment Variables at Login Time Syntax for Setting Environment Variables Unsetting Environment Variables Modifying an Environment Variable Setting Viewing Your Environment Variable Settings Checking Environment Variables with the chkenv Utility Rules of Precedence to tea tags My Using Environment Variables in Windows NT Setting Environment Variables for Native Windows Applications Setting Environment Variables for Command Prompt Utilities Rules of Precedence List of Environment Variables Environment Variables AC_CONFIG ARC_CONHIG ARC_DEFAULT ARC_KEYPAD COCKPITSERVICE CPFIRST DBACCNOIGN DBANSIWARN DBBLOBBUF 2 63 2 64 2 67 2 68 2 69 2 70 2 71 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 7 3 8 3 8 3 9 3 10 3 10 3 11 3 12 3 12 3 13 3 14 3 14 3 15 3 18 3 19 3 24 3 24 3 25 3 25 3 26 3 27 3 28 3 29 3 30 3 31 Table of Contents vii viii Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBCENTURY DBDATE DBDELIMITER DBEDIT DBFLTMASK DBLANG DBMONEY DBONPLOAD DBPATH DBPRINT DBREMOTECMD DBSPACETEMP DBTEMP DBTIME DBUPSPACE DELIMIDENT ENVIGNORE FET_BUF_SIZE IFMX_SMLTBL_BROADCAST_SIZE IFX_DIRECTIVES IFX_LONGID Dd IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE IFX_NETBUF_SIZE IFX_UPDDESC NFORMIXC bea NFORMIXCONCSMCFG NFORMIXCONRETRY FORMIXCONTIME FORMIXCPPMAP FORMIXDIR FORMIXKEYTAB FORMIX
329. onstraint described in syscoldepend table 1 29 Null value allowed or not allowed 1 31 testing in BYTE expression 2 12 testing with TEXT data type 2 45 Numeric data types casting between 2 65 casting to characters 2 65 list of 2 48 NUMERIC data type See DECIMAL data type NVARCHAR data type description of 2 34 length syscolumns 1 33 O Object mode of database objects described in sysobjstate table 1 55 ONCONFIG environment variable 3 82 On line manuals Intro 13 Opaque data type cast matrix 2 70 description of 2 35 smart large objects with 2 50 storage of 2 31 sysxtddesc contents for 1 82 sysxtdtypeauth contents for 1 83 sysxtdtypes contents for 1 84 Operator class sysams information 1 18 sysopclasses information 1 56 Operator precedence 2 71 OPTCOMPIND environment variable 3 83 Optical cluster described in sysopclstr table 1 57 OPTMSG environment variable 3 84 OPTOFC environment variable 3 85 OPT_GOAL environment variable 3 86 orders table in superstores_demo database columnsin B 16 B 17 B 18 B 20 Output support function 2 31 P Parallel database query See PDQ Parallel distributed queries setting with PDOPRIORITY environment variable 3 88 Parallel sorting using PSORT_NPROCS for 3 92 PATH environment variable 3 87 Pathname for C compiler 3 64 for database server 3 46 for executable programs 3 87 for installation 3 68 for message files 3 42 for parallel sorting 3 92 for rem
330. oo ar a Ph 282 MULTISET e 2 T e eee ee ee 2 33 Named Row o ee 2B NCHAR n 2 2 1 we eee ee 284 NUMERIC ps 2 2 2 t m we ee ee a 234 NVARCHAR mr 2 2 2 2 ee ee ee 2 34 Opaques Sos Ss wR es Se at ria 12885 REAG g eo a ee e 2885 Row Named e 2 36 Row Unnamed 1 ee ee ee 2 37 SERIAL A lt oy a eo Hk ae ee we oa ee 289 SERIALS 2 2 cn te 4 se 240 SEO e Sat e Be oe a eR Se A ae ee DEAD SMALLFLOAT 2 2 2 43 SMALLINT o 244 TEXTES 7A aoa wee Sr lene a Hates Sod RA a rs Ted Unnamed Row 2 2 4 2 46 VARCHAR mr a 2 2 aea ui a ee 246 Built In Data Types 1 1 ee ew 2 48 Large Object Data Types ee ee 249 Time Data Types ceg eve a e os 2D Extended Data Types 2 ww ee ee 2 58 Complex Data Types 2 ee 2 59 Distinct DataTypes 2 2 2 we a 262 Opaque Data Types 2 a 2 62 vi Informix Guide to SQL Reference Chapter 3 Data Type Casting and Conversion Using Built in Casts Using User Defined Casts Determining Which Cast to Apply Casts for Distinct Types What Extended Data Types Can Be Cast Operator Precedence Environment Variables In This Chapter Types of Environment Variables Where to Set Environment Variables in UNIX Where to Set Environment Variables in Windows NT Using Envir
331. order of the NCHAR data type depends on the locale specific localized order For more information about the NCHAR data type see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality NUMERIC p s The NUMERIC data type is a synonym for fixed point DECIMAL NVARCHAR m r The NVARCHAR data type stores character data of varying lengths This data can be a sequence of single byte or multibyte letters numbers and symbols The main difference between VARCHAR and NVARCHAR data types is the collation order While the collation order of the VARCHAR data type is defined by the code set order the collation order of the NVARCHAR data type depends on the locale specific localized order For more information about the NVARCHAR data type see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality 2 34 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Opaque Opaque An opaque type is a data type for which you provide the following infor mation to the database server m A data structure for how the data is stored on disk m Support functions to determine how to convert between the disk format and the user format m Secondary access methods that determine how the index on this data type is built used and manipulated m User functions that use the data type m A row ina system catalog table to register the opaque type in the database The internal structure of an opaque type is not visible to the database server The internal structure can only be accessed through user defined rou
332. orders table columns B 16 B 17 B 18 B 20 primary foreign key relationships B 27 to B 30 sales_rep table columns B 21 stock table columns B 22 stock_discount table columns B 23 structure of tables B 9 Synonym for each table view described in syssynonyms table 1 69 for each table described in syssyntable 1 70 sysaggregates system catalog table 1 16 sysams system catalog table 1 17 sysattrtypes system catalog table 1 23 sysblobs system catalog table 1 24 syscasts system catalog table described 1 25 for casting 2 63 syschecks system catalog table 1 26 syscolattribs system catalog table 1 27 syscolauth system catalog table 1 28 syscoldepend system catalog table 1 29 syscolumns system catalog table 1 30 sysconstraints system catalog table 1 36 sysdefaults system catalog table 1 37 sysdepend system catalog table 1 38 sysdistrib system catalog table 1 39 syserrors system catalog table 1 41 sysextcols system catalog table 1 42 sysextdfiles system catalog table 1 43 sysexternal system catalog table 1 44 sysfragauth system catalog table 1 45 sysfragments system catalog table 1 46 sysindexes system catalog table 1 49 sysindices system catalog table 1 51 sysinherits system catalog table 1 53 A BC DEFGH syslangauth system catalog table 1 53 syslogmap system catalog table 1 54 sysmaster database initialization 3 71 versus system catalog tables 1 6 sysnewdepend system catalog table 1 54 sysobjstate system catalog ta
333. ormation from any foreign key column in a related table The condition of distinguishing between uppercase and lowercase letters Be careful running Informix programs because certain commands and their options are case sensitive that is they react differently to the same letters presented in uppercase and lowercase characters A mechanism that converts one data type to another See also built in cast user defined cast explicit cast and implicit cast A user defined function that implements a cast The function must be registered with the CREATE CAST statement before it can be used A logical unit of storage for a code point A character is equal to one or more bytes and can be numeric alphabetic or a nonprintable character control character See also multibyte character and single byte character One or more natural language alphabets together with additional symbols for digits punctuation and diacritical marks A natural language is a language that people use to communicate with each other such as English Chinese or German See also code set See unbuffered disk I O A condition that must be met before data can be assigned to a table column during an INSERT or UPDATE statement A point in time during a database server operation when the pages on disk are synchronized with the pages in the shared memory buffer pool It can be a full checkpoint or a fuzzy checkpoint The referencing table in a referential constraint See a
334. ot included for the second value Therefore the year is set automatically to the current year in this case 1999 and the resulting INTERVAL is negative which indicates that the second date is later than the first DATETIME 1999 9 30 YEAR TO DAY DATETIME 10 1 MONTH TO DAY Result INTERVAL 1 DAY TO DAY assuming current year is 1999 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 an INTERVAL value simply moves the DATETIME value forward or backward in time The expression shown in the following example moves the date ahead three years and five months DATETIME 1994 8 1 YEAR TO DAY INTERVAL 3 5 YEAR TO MONTH Result DATETIME 1998 01 01 YEAR TO DAY Important Evaluate the logic of your addition or subtraction Remember that months can be 28 29 30 or 31 days and that years can be 365 or 366 days In most situations the database server automatically adjusts the calculation when the initial values do not have the same precision However in certain situations 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 th
335. ote shell 3 49 specifying with DBPATH 3 46 specifying with PATH 3 87 PDQ OPTCOMPIND environment variable 3 83 PDQPRIORITY environment variable 3 88 Platform icons Intro 8 PLCONFIG environment variable 3 90 PLOAD_LO_PATH environment variable 3 91 PLOAD_SHMBASE environment variable 3 91 Precedence operator 2 71 rules for command line utility environment variables 3 18 rules for environment variables for Informix native Windows applications 3 19 rules for environment variables in UNIX 3 13 A BC DEFGH Prepared statement version number in systables 1 75 Printed manuals Intro 13 Printing with DBPRINT 3 48 Privilege granting or preventing default table 3 81 on a table fragment described in sysfragauth table 1 45 on a table described in systabauth 1 72 on database described in the sysusers table 1 79 related to routines described in sysprocauth table 1 60 usage sysxtdtypeauth information 1 83 user described in sysusers table 1 79 Product icons Intro 8 product table in sales_demo database columns in B 5 Program group Documentation notes Intro 15 Release notes Intro 15 Protected routines 1 64 PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable 3 92 PSORT_NPROCS environment variable 3 93 Q Qualifier field for DATETIME 2 18 Query optimization information in sysprocplan table 1 65 Query optimizer environment variable for directives 3 61 Quoted string for DATE and DATETIME 2 56 R REAL data type See SMALLFLOAT data
336. out This Manual Types of Users Software Dependencies Assumptions About Your Locale Demonstration Databases New Features New Features in Version 8 3 New Features in Version 9 2 Documentation Conventions Typographical Conventions Icon Conventions oss Command Line Conventions Sample Code Conventions Additional Documentation On Line Manuals Printed Manuals Error Message Documentation Documentation Notes Release Notes Machine Notts Related Reading Seats Compliance with Industry senaanis Informix Welcomes Your Comments ONND 0 00 TS WW y SPP ese Pe eee eS Daou U A wWwWwWN NN Chapter 1 System Catalog In This Chapter Lada 4 1 5 Objects That the System Catalog Tables Track A ted A 1 5 Using the System Catalog BS ame dy oh A Lah ee a ete RE od 1 6 Accessing the System Catalog ots Be A RS ae e Tel Updating System Catalog Data 113 Structure of the System Catalog 114 SYSAGGREGATES 1 16 SYSAMS s 3 aoe BS a oR Boa ee es EZ SYSATTRTYPES 2 ee eee 1 28 SYSBLOBS 4 4 eo HPS ce Sk Bs OR a pea Ron 124 SYSCASTS 4 ude Gat Ge le bach eee eb de the 12 SYSCHECKS 4 40 a PR ee Be ee OR ee of oe 126 SYSCOLATTRIBS 0 0 0 ee 1227 SYSCOLAUTH 1 28 SYSCOLDEPEND 1 29 SYSCOLUMNS 1230 SYSCONSTRAINTS 2 2 eee 1 36 SYSDEFAULTS
337. owest level of precedence For more information about optimizing queries for your database server see your Performance Guide For information on the SET OPTIMIZATION statement see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax Environment Variables 3 87 PATH PATH The PATH environment variable tells the operating system where to search for executable programs You must include the directory that contains your Informix product to your PATH environment variable before you can use the product This directory should appear before INFORMIXDIR bin which you must also include The UNIX PATH environment variable tells the shell which directories to search for executable programs You must add the directory that contains your Informix product to your PATH environment variable before you can use the product pathname specifies the search path for the executables You can specify the correct search path in various ways Be sure to include a colon between the directory names For additional information about how to modify your path see Modifying an Environment Variable Setting on page 3 11 3 88 Informix Guide to SQL Reference PDQPRIORITY PDQPRIORITY 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 XPS For Extended Parallel Server the PDOPRIORITY environment variable
338. owing columns Column Name Type Explanation extended_id SERIAL Unique identifier for extended data types seqno SMALLINT Value to order and identify one line of description for specific values of extended_id A new sequence is created only if the text string is larger than the 255 limit of the text string description NCHAR 256 Textual description of the extended data type 1 82 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSXTDTYPEAUTH SYSXTDTYPEAUTH The sysxtdtypeauth system catalog table provides privileges for each user defined data type opaque and distinct and for each named row type that you define in the database The table contains one row for each set of privi leges granted The sysxtdtypeauth system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation grantor NCHAR 32 Grantor of privilege grantee NCHAR 32 Grantee of privilege type INTEGER Identifier of the user defined type auth NCHAR 2 Privileges on the user defined data type n Under privilege N Under privilege with grant option u Usage privilege U Usage privilege with grant option If the sysxtdtypeauth privilege code is uppercase for example U for usage a user who has this privilege can also grant it to others If the sysxtdtypeauth privilege code is lowercase for example u for usage the user who has this privilege cannot grant it to others A composite index for the type grantor and grantee columns allows only u
339. pairing and recovering tables The SQL statements that you use to query tables insert into tables delete from tables update tables and load into and unload from tables See table fragmentation The ability to allow database objects to have more than one representation at more than one distinct site Synonym for constraint A descriptor assigned to each column in a table or program variable which indicates the type of data the column or program variable is intended to hold Informix data types are discussed in Chapter 2 Data Types Informix data types for Global Language Support are discussed in the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality See also built in data type complex data type distinct data type opaque data type and user defined data type A collection of information contained in tables that is useful to a particular organization or used for a specific purpose See also relational database See DBA A program that applies database management techniques to implement specific data manipulation and reporting tasks Used in the CONNECT statement either the database server or the database server and database to which a user connects 14 Informix Guide to SQL Reference database locale database management system database object database server database server process database server utility DataBlade API DataBlade module DBA DBA privileged DBMS dbserver group The locale that a
340. paque type to a form that the database server understands LVARCHAR SENDRECV IMPEX or IMPEXBIN The database server then invokes built in casts to convert the results to the desired built in type m To compare two opaque types the user must explicitly cast one opaque type to a form that the database server understands LVARCHAR SENDRECV IMPEX or IMPEXBIN then explicitly cast this type to the second opaque type Informix Guide to SQL Reference Casts for Distinct Types For information about casting and the IMPEX IMPEXBIN LVARCHAR and SENDRECV data types see Extending Informix Dynamic Server 2000 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 When you create a new distinct type the database server automatically registers two explicit casts m A cast from the distinct type to its source type m A cast from the source type to the distinct type You can create an implicit cast between a distinct type and its source type However to create an implicit cast 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
341. pathname 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 Figure 1 illustrates the following steps 1 Type setenv 2 Type INFORMIXC 3 Supply either a compiler name or a pathname After you choose compiler or pathname you come to the terminator Your command is complete 4 Press RETURN to execute the command Introduction 11 Sample Code Conventions 12 Sample Code Conventions Examples of SOL code occur throughout this manual Except where noted the code is not specific to any single 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 SOL API you must use EXEC SQL at the start of each statement and a semicolon or other appro priate 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 descri
342. pendencies This manual assumes that you are using one of the following database servers m Informix Extended Parallel Server Version 8 3 m Informix Dynamic Server 2000 Version 9 2 Assumptions About Your Locale Informix products can support many languages cultures and code sets All culture specific information is brought together in a single environment called a Global Language Support GLS locale This manual assumes that you use the U S 8859 1 English locale as the default locale The default is en_us 8859 1 ISO 8859 1 on UNIX platforms or en_us 1252 Microsoft 1252 for Windows NT environments This locale supports U S English format conventions for dates times and currency and also supports the ISO 8859 1 or Microsoft 1252 code set which includes the ASCII code set plus many 8 bit characters such as e and Informix Guide to SQL Reference XPS Demonstration Databases If you plan to use nondefault characters in your data or your SQL identifiers or if you want to conform to the nondefault collation rules of character data you need to specify the appropriate nondefault locale For instructions on how to specify a nondefault locale additional syntax and other considerations related to GLS locales see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Demonstration Databases The DB Access utility which is provided with your Informix database server products includes one or more of the following demonstrat
343. pendent all character infor mation in the system catalog tables is stored in NCHAR rather than CHAR columns However for those databases where the collation order is code set dependent all character information in the system catalog tables is stored in CHAR columns For more information on collation orders and NCHAR and NVARCHAR data types see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality For information about data types see Chapter 2 of this manual 1 of 2 SYSAMS Column Name Type Explanation combine_func NVARCHAR 128 Name of combine UDR final_func NVARCHAR 128 Name of finalization UDR handlesnulls BOOLEAN Whether nulls should be considered 2 of 2 Each UDA has one entry in sysaggregates that is uniquely identified by its aggregate identifier the aggid column Only new aggregates aggregates that are not built in have entries in sysaggregates SYSAMS 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 SOL statement that is described in the Virtual Table Interface Programmer s Manual The sysams table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation am_name NVARCHAR 128 Name of the access method am_owner NCHAR 32 Owner of the access method am_id INTEGER Unique identifier for the access method This value corresponds to the am_id in the systables system catalog table and to the am_id in the sysindices an
344. pes The BYTE data type has no maximum size A BYTE column has a theoretical limit of 29 bytes and a practical limit that your disk capacity determines You can store retrieve update or delete the contents of a BYTE column However you cannot use BYTE data items in arithmetic or string operations or assign literals to BYTE items with the SET clause of the UPDATE statement You also cannot use BYTE items in any of the following ways With aggregate functions With the IN clause With the MATCHES or LIKE clauses With the GROUP BY clause With the ORDER BY clause You can use BYTE objects in a Boolean expression only if you are testing for null values You can insert data into BYTE columns in the following ways m With the dbload or onload utilities m With the LOAD statement DB Access m From BYTE host variables 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 following example shows SELECT cat_picture 1 75 FROM catalog WHERE catalog_num 10001 This statement reads the first 75 bytes of the cat_picture column associated with the catalog number 10001 Informix Guide to SQL Reference CHAR n The database se
345. que type Unnamed row types cannot be used in type tables or in type inheritance hierarchies For more information on unnamed row types see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax and the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Creating Unnamed Row Types You can create an unnamed row type in several ways m 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 For more information see the Identifier segment in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax m You can generate an unnamed row type using ROW as a constructor and a series of values A corresponding unnamed row type is created using the default data types of the specified values For example a declaration of the following row value ROW 1 abc 5 30 defines this row type ROW x INTEGER y VARCHAR z DECIMAL 2 38 Informix Guide to SQL Reference SERIAL n m You can create an unnamed row type by an implicit or explicit cast from a named row type or from another unnamed row type m The rows of any table except a table defined on a named row type are 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 s
346. r of rows in a table the information about indexes and database privileges and so on See also data dictionary A cast that is built in to the database server A built in cast performs automatic conversions between different built in data types An Extended Parallel Server defined distribution scheme that maps each row ina table to a set of integers and uses a system defined algorithm to distribute data evenly by hashing a specified key A dynamic SQL management structure that is used with the ALLOCATE DESCRIPTOR DEALLOCATE DESCRIPTOR DESCRIBE GET DESCRIPTOR and SET DESCRIPTOR statements to store information about database columns or host variables used in dynamic SQL statements The structure contains an item descriptor for each column each item descriptor provides information such as the name data type length scale and precision of the column The system descriptor area is the X Open standard for handling dynamic columns See also descriptor and sqlda A collection of tables and pseudo tables in the sysmaster database that main tains dynamically updated information about the operation of the database server The tables are constructed in memory but are not recorded on disk Users can query the SMI tables with the SQL SELECT statement Glossary 51 table table fragment table fragmentation table hierarchy table inheritance target table tblspace TCP IP temp table temporary A rectangular array of data in
347. re 2 1 Overview of Supported Data Types Data types Built in data types Numeric Extended data types Dynamic Server Large object Character Time Complex data types User defined data types Collection Row Opaque Distinct Data Types 2 5 Summary of Data Types 2 6 Built in data types and extended data types share the following character istics You can use them to create columns of tables use them as arguments and as return types of functions m 7 m use them to create distinct types m cast them to other data types E declare and access them with SPL and ESQL C Specific exceptions are mentioned in the description of each data type For an overview see Built In Data Types on page 2 47 and Extended Data Types on page 2 57 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 SQL statements that create specific data types and create and drop casts and other data type syntax conventions refer to the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax For information about how to create and use complex data types see the Informix Guide to Database D
348. re 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 Informix Guide to SQL Syntax Table inheritance and how it relates to type inheritance is also discussed in that section For information about how to create and use typed tables see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Row Unnamed An unnamed row type contains fields but has no user defined name An unnamed row type is defined by its structure Two unnamed row types are equal if they have the same structure If two unnamed row types have the same number of fields and if the data type of each field in one row type matches the data type of the corresponding field in the other row type the two unnamed row types are equal For example the following unnamed row types are equal ROW Iname char 15 initial char 1 fname char 15 ROW dept char 15 rating char 1 name char 15 Data Types 2 37 Row Unnamed The following row types are not equivalent even though they have the same number of fields and the same data types because the fields are not in the same order ROW x integer y varchar 20 z real ROW x integer z real y varchar 20 The data type of the field of an unnamed row type can be any of the following types A built in type A collection type A distinct type A row type An opa
349. redit_status B 12 Informix Guide to SQL Reference The customer Table Type SERIAL CHAR 1 name_t INTEGER LIST DATETIME YEAR TO DAY NOT NULL percent CHAR 1 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 25 on page B 27 For information about table hierarchies see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation The customer table contains information about the retail stores that place orders from the distributor Figure B 10 shows the columns of the customer Figure B 10 The customer Table Description unique customer identifier code to indicate type of customer m R retail a W wholesale name of customer location of customer foreign key to location table dates of contact with customer customer discount customer credit status m D deadbeat m L lost m N new m P preferred m R regular The retail_customer Table Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables The retail_customer table contains general information about retail customers Figure B 11 shows the columns of the retail_customer table Name customer_num customer_type customer_name customer_loc contact_dates cust_discount credit_status credit_num expiration Type SERIAL CHAR 1 name_t INTEGER LIST DATETIME YEAR TO DAY NOT NULL percent
350. registered for the source type without modification on the distinct type You can also define 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 Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Data Types 2 69 What Extended Data Types Can Be Cast 2 70 What Extended Data Types Can Be Cast The following table shows the data type combinations that you can cast 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 automatically provides a cast that is implicitly invoked or that you must explicitly invoke Target Type Opaque Distinct Named Unnamed Collection Built in gt Type Type Row Type Row Type Type Type Opaque explicitor explicit explicit Not Not explicitor Type implicit Allowed Allowed implicit Distinct explicit explicit explicit Not Not explicitor Type Allowed Allowed implicit Named explicit explicit explicit3 explicitl Not Not Row Type Allowed Allowed Unnamed Not Not explicit implicit Not Not Row Type Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed Collection Not Not Not Not explicit Not Type Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed Built in explicitor explicitor Not Not Not system
351. representation as its source type an existing opaque data type built in data type named row type or distinct data type but has a different name To compare a distinct data type with its source type requires an explicit cast A distinct data type inherits all routines that are defined on its source type See data distribution See table fragmentation See dynamic link library DLL Acronym for data manipulation language See also data manipulation statements See outer join Acronym for Distributed Relational Database Architecture DRDA is an IBM defined set of protocols that software manufacturers can follow to develop connectivity solutions between heterogeneous relational database management environments Acronym for Decision Support System See also decision support application An index that allows duplicate values in the indexed column A shared object file on a Windows system See also shared library The SQL statements that describe execute and prepare statements The execution of a user defined routine whose name is determined at runtime through an SPL variable in the EXECUTE PROCEDURE or EXECUTE FUNCTION statement 18 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Dynamic Server instance dynamic SQL dynamic statements EBCDIC element element type embedded SQL enabled mode end user format end user routine environment variable error log The set of processes storage spaces and shared memo
352. res_demo database columns in A 8 cust_calls table in superstores_demo database columns in B 11 D Data distributions specifying disk space to use 3 56 Data type approximate 1 89 BLOB 2 9 BOOLEAN 2 11 BYTE 2 12 casting 2 63 to 2 70 categories of 2 5 CHAR 2 13 CHARACTER 2 14 CHARACTER VARYING 2 15 CLOB 2 15 conversion 2 63 DATE 2 16 DATETIME 2 17 DEC 2 21 DECIMAL 2 21 description of 2 9 Distinct 2 23 DOUBLE PRECISION 2 24 exact numeric 1 89 extended 2 58 FLOAT 2 24 floating point 2 25 for sequential integer 2 40 for unique numeric code 2 40 INT 2 25 INT8 2 25 INTEGER 2 26 internal 2 9 INTERVAL 2 26 LIST 2 30 LVARCHAR 2 31 MONEY 2 32 MULTISET 2 33 Named row 2 36 NCHAR 2 34 NUMERIC 2 34 NVARCHAR 2 34 Opaque 2 35 REAL 2 35 Row Named 2 36 Row Unnamed 2 37 SERIAL 2 39 SERIAL8 2 40 SET 2 42 simple large object 2 50 SMALLFLOAT 2 43 SMALLINT 2 44 smart large object 2 50 summary list 2 6 TEXT 2 44 Unnamed row 2 37 VARCHAR 2 46 Database data types for 2 5 map of stores_demo A 11 objects state of in sysobjectstate table 1 55 sales_demo description of B 2 stores_demo description of A 1 superstores_demo description of B 3 B 8 Database server attributes in Information Schema view 1 90 pathname for 3 46 specifying default for connection 3 70 DataBlade message information syserrors 1 41 trace classes systraceclasses 1 75 trace messages systracemsgs 1 76
353. ription Complex data types that are made up of elements each of which is the same data type A group of ordered elements each of which need not be unique A group of elements each of which need not be unique The order of the elements is ignored A group of elements each of which is unique The order of the elements is ignored Complex data types that are made up of fields 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 or lists Likewise a collection type can have elements whose data type is a row type or a collection type Data Types 2 59 Complex Data Types 2 60 All complex types inherit the following support functions input assign output destroy send LO handles recv hash import lessthan export equal import binary lessthan ROW only export binary The following sections summarize the complex types For more information on complex types see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Collection Data Types A collection data type is a complex type that is made up of one or more elements Every element in a collection has the same data type A collection element can have any data type including other complex types except BYTE TEXT SERIAL or SERIALS
354. rling Court 7345 Ross Blvd city Sunnyvale San Francisco Palo Alto Redwood City Los Altos Mountain View Palo Alto Redwood City Sunnyvale Redwood City Sunnyvale state CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA zipcode 94086 94117 94303 94026 94022 94063 94304 94063 94086 94062 94085 phone 408 789 8075 415 822 1289 650 328 4543 650 368 1100 650 776 3249 650 389 8789 650 356 9876 650 544 8729 408 723 8789 650 743 3611 408 277 7245 1 of 3 asege eg Owe SeloJs ayy ul ejeg LZ y aseqejeq owap salo s ay customer_num fname Iname company address1 address2 city state zipcode phone 112 Margaret Lawson Runners amp 234 Wyandotte Los Altos CA 94022 650 887 7235 Others Way 113 Lana Beatty Sportstown 654 Oak Grove Menlo Park CA 94025 650 356 9982 114 Frank Albertson Sporting Place 947 Waverly Place Redwood CA 94062 650 886 6677 City 115 Alfred Grant Gold Medal 776 Gary Avenue Menlo Park CA 94025 650 356 1123 Sports 116 Jean Parmelee Olympic City 1104 Spinosa Drive Mountain CA 94040 650 534 8822 View 117 Arnold Sipes Kids Korner 850 Lytton Court Redwood CA 94063 650 245 4578 City 118 Dick Baxter Blue Ribbon 5427 College Oakland CA 94609 650 655 0011 Sports 119 Bob Shorter The Triathletes 2405 Kings Cherry Hill NJ 08002 609 663 6079 Club Highway 120 Fred Jewell Century Pro 6627 N 17th Way Phoenix AZ 85016 602 265 8754 Shop 12
355. rocess temporarily or permanently See also signal A key used to cancel or abort a program or to leave a current menu and return to the menu one level above On many systems the interrupt key is CONTROL C on other systems the interrupt key is DEL or CONTROL Break Breaking of a single query into subqueries by a database server using PDQ and then processing the subqueries in parallel Parallel processing of this type has important implications when each subquery retrieves data from a fragment of a table Because each partial query operates on a smaller amount of data the retrieval time is significantly reduced and performance is improved See also interquery parallelization Acronym for Internetwork Packet Exchange Sequenced Packet Exchange It refers to the NetWare network protocol by Novell Acronym for Indexed Sequential Access Method An indexed sequential access method allows you to find information in a specific order or to find specific pieces of information quickly through an index See also access method Operating system or file access error Acronym for the International Standards Organization ISO sets worldwide standards for the computer industry including standards for character input and manipulation code sets and SQL syntax A code set that contains 256 single byte characters Characters 0 through 127 are the ASCII characters Characters 128 through 255 are mostly characters from European languages for example
356. role Philip Anthony Raymond George cust_calls Table detail customer_num call_dtime 106 127 116 116 1998 06 12 08 20 1998 07 31 14 30 1997 11 28 13 34 1997 12 21 11 24 Figure A 16 Tables That the customer_num Iname Column Joins Pauli Sadler Currie Higgins Vector Watson user_id maryj maryj mannyh mannyh The stores_demo Database A 17 The call_ type and cust_calls Tables 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 17 shows this relationship Figure A 17 call_type Table detail Tables That the call_code code_descr call_code Column Joins 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 A 18 Informix Guide to SQL Reference The state and customer Tables 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 s
357. rs with 2 48 nonprintable characters with 2 47 storing numeric values in column 2 47 See also CHARACTER VARYING data type Y YEAR keyword as DATETIME field qualifier 2 18 as INTERVAL field qualifier 2 27 Year values two and four digit 3 32 Symbols space as delimiter in DATETIME 2 19 in INTERVAL 2 29 hyphen as delimiter in DATETIME 2 19 in INTERVAL 2 29 colon as delimiter in DATETIME 2 19 in INTERVAL 2 29 decimal point as delimiter in DATETIME 2 19 in INTERVAL 2 29 Index 13
358. rstores_demo database columns in B 21 Sample code conventions Intro 12 sbspace defined 2 51 SECOND keyword as DATETIME field qualifier 2 18 as INTERVAL field qualifier 2 27 Sequential integers with SERIAL data type 2 39 with SERIALS8 data type 2 40 SERIAL data type description of 2 39 inserting values 2 40 length syscolumns 1 33 resetting values 2 40 SERIALS data type assigning a starting value to 2 41 description of 2 40 inserting values 2 41 length syscolumns 1 33 resetting values 2 41 using with INT8 2 41 SET data type description of 2 42 Setnet32 utility 3 8 Setting environment variables in UNIX 3 8 in Windows NT 3 14 Shared memory setting with INFORMIXSHMBASE 3 72 Shell remote 3 49 search path 3 87 setting environment variables ina file 3 9 specifying with DBREMOTECMD 3 49 Index 9 A BC DEFGH SHLIB_PATH environment variable 3 94 Simple large objects description of 2 50 length syscolumns 1 34 Single precision floating point number storage of 2 24 SMALLFLOAT data type casts for 2 65 description of 2 43 SMALLINT data type casts for 2 65 2 66 description of 2 44 length syscolumns 1 33 Smart large objects attributes in syscolattribs 1 27 description of 2 50 Software dependencies Intro 4 Sorting DBSPACETEMP environment variable 3 50 PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable 3 92 PSORT_NPROCS environment variable 3 93 threads for 3 93 Space as delimiter in DATETIME 2 19 as delimiter in INTERVAL 2 29 S
359. rule C Cascading delete R Restrict default Reserved for future use displays an N 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 XPS SYSREPOSITORY SYSREPOSI TORY The sysrepository system catalog table contains information about generalized key indexes that is not available in the sysindexes system catalog table The sysrepository system catalog table contains the CREATE statement for each generalized key index in the database in its desc column The contents of the sysrepository system catalog 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 Column Name Type idl NCHAR id2 INTEGER type INTEGER seqid INTEGER desc TEXT bin BYTE Explanation Index from the generalized key index Tabid of table with the generalized key index Integer representing object type In this release the only integer that shows is 1 indicating generalized key index type For future use The CREATE statement used for each gener alized key index in the database Internal representation of the generalized key index System Catalog 1 67 SYSROLEAUTH 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
360. rver provides a cast to convert BYTE values to BLOB values For more information see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation If you select a BYTE column using the DB Access Interactive Schema Editor only the phrase BYTE value is returned no actual value is displayed Important Ifyou try to return a BYTE column from a subquery you get an error message even when the BYTE column is not used in a comparison condition or with the IN predicate CHAR n The CHAR data type stores any sequence of letters numbers and symbols It can store single byte and multibyte characters based on what the chosen locale supports For more information on multibyte CHARS see Multibyte Characters with CHAR on page 2 14 A character column has a maximum length n bytes where 1 lt n lt 32 767 If you do not specify n CHAR 1 is assumed Character columns typically store names addresses phone numbers and so on Because the length of this column is fixed when a character value is retrieved or stored exactly n bytes of data are transferred If the character string is shorter than n bytes the string is extended with spaces to make up the length If the string value is longer than n bytes the string is truncated without the database server raising an exception 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 Al
361. ry access methods It contains one row for each operator class that has been defined The sysopclasses system catalog table has the following columns Explanation Name of the operator class Owner of the operator class Identifier of the secondary access method associated with this operator class Identifier of the operator class This identifier is used in the sysams system catalog table to specify the default operator class am_defopclass for the access method List of names of the operators that belong to this operator class List of names of support functions defined for this operator class The sysopclasses system catalog table has two indexes There is a composite index on opclassname and owner columns and an index on opclassid column Both indexes allow only unique values SYSOPCLSTR SYSOPCLSTR The sysopclstr system catalog table defines each optical cluster in the database It contains one row for each optical cluster The sysopclstr system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation owner NCHAR 32 Owner of the cluster clstrname NVARCHAR 128 Name of the cluster clstrsize INTEGER Size of the cluster tabid INTEGER Table identifier 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 S
362. ry that together comprise a complete database server The statements and structures that allow a program to form an SQL statement during execution so that portions of the statement can be determined by user input The SQL statements that are created at the time the program is executed rather than when the program is written You use the PREPARE statement to create dynamic statements Acronym for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code An 8 bit 256 element character set A member of a collection An element can be a single value of any built in data type opaque data type distinct data type named row type unnamed row type or collection data type The data type of the elements in a collection The SQL statements that are placed within a host language Informix supports embedded SQL in C The default object mode of database objects When a constraint index or trig ger is in this mode the database server recognizes the existence of the object and takes the object into consideration while executing data manipulation statements See also object mode The format in which data appears within a client application when the format is in literal strings or character variables End user formats are useful for data types that have a database format that is different from the format to which users are accustomed A user defined routine that performs a task within an SQL statement that the existing built in routines do not perform
363. s or complaints are logged The cust_calls table contains information about these types of customer calls Figure A 6 shows the columns of the cust_calls table Figure A 6 The cust_calls Table Column Name Data Type Description g u customer num INTEGER customer number foreign key to customer table g _u call_dtime DATETIME YEAR TO MINUTE date and time call 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 call resolved res_descr CHAR 240 description of how call was Informix Guide to SQL Reference resolved The call_ type Table The call_type Table The call codes associated with customer calls are stored in the call_type table Figure A 7 shows the columns of the call_type table Figure 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 Figure A 8 shows the columns of the manufact table Figure 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 Th
364. s such as SOL statements The information in a program file that is not processed by the computer but documents the program You use special characters such as a pound sign curly braces slash marks and asterisks or a double dash to identify comments depending on the programming environment To complete a transaction by accepting all changes to the database since the beginning of the transaction See also roll back An Informix level of isolation in which a user can view only rows that are currently committed at the moment of the query request that is a user cannot view rows that were changed as a part of a currently uncommitted transaction Committed Read is available through a database server and set with the SET ISOLATION statement It is the default level of isolation for databases that are not ANSI compliant See also isolation and Read Committed To translate source code in a high level language into executable code Compare with execute and link See also source file An error that occurs when you compile the program source code This type of error indicates syntax errors in the source code Compare with runtime error 10 Informix Guide to SQL Reference complex data type component composite data type composite index composite join compressed bitmap concatenate concatenation operator concurrency configuration management CM coserver configuration file connect
365. s Serializable Informix Repeatable Read is the default level of isolation for ANSI compliant databases See also isolation and Serializable The first 12 pages of the initial chunk of the root dbspace Each reserved page stores specific control and tracking information that the database server uses A word in a statement or command that you cannot use in any other context of the language or program without receiving a warning or error message See recover a database A classification or work task such as payroll that the DBA assigns Assignment of roles makes management of privileges convenient Not for Extended Parallel Server A database server installation option that allows different users to perform different administrative tasks The process that reverses an action or series of actions on a database The database is returned to the condition that existed before the actions were executed See also transaction and commit work The initial dbspace that the database server creates It contains reserved pages and internal tables that describe and track all other dbspaces blobspaces sbspaces tblspaces chunks and databases A single index page that contains node pointers to branch nodes The database server allocates the root node when you create an index for an empty table The named row type at the top of a type hierarchy A root supertype has no supertype above it 42 Informix Guide to SQL Reference rootslice round robi
366. s currency amount Stores a collection all elements of same element type e of values allows duplicate values Stores single byte and multibyte sequences of characters including letters numbers and symbols collation is locale dependent Is a synonym for DECIMAL Stores single byte and multibyte sequences of characters including letters numbers and symbols of varying length collation is locale dependent Is asynonym for SMALLFLOAT Stores a named row type Stores sequential integers Page 2 15 2 16 2 17 2 21 2 21 2 24 2 24 2 29 2 25 2 26 2 30 2 32 2 33 2 33 2 33 2 34 2 35 2 38 2 of 3 DataTypes 2 7 Summary of Data Types 2 8 Data Type SERIAL8 SMALLFLOAT SMALLINT TEXT VARCHAR m r Data Type BLOB BOOLEAN CLOB Distinct INT8 LIST e LVARCHAR Informix Guide to SQL Reference Explanation Page Stores large sequential integers has same range as 2 39 INT8 Stores single precision floating point numbers 2 42 corresponding to the float data type in C Stores whole numbers from 32 767 to 32 767 2 43 Stores any kind of text data 2 43 Stores single byte and multibyte strings of letters 2 45 numbers and symbols of varying length collation is code set dependent 3 of 3 Dynamic Server also supports the data types that Figure 2 3 lists This chapter describes each of these data types Figure 2 3 Additional Data Types that Dynamic Server Suppor
367. s in parallel rather than sequential order The tasks a query requires are distributed across several processors This type of distribution enhances database performance A parallel processing platform is a set of independent computers that operate in parallel and communicate over a high speed network bus or interconnect See also symmetric multiprocessing system and massively parallel processing system Ability of an Informix database server to process a task in parallel by break ing the task into subtasks and processing the subtasks simultaneously thus improving performance Glossary 37 parameter parent child relationship parent table participating coserver partition pattern PDQ PDQ priority permission phantom row physical log physslice pointer A variable that is given a value for a specified application In the signature of a user defined routine a parameter serves as a placeholder for an argument The parameter specifies the data type of the value that the user defined rou tine expects when it receives the associated argument at runtime See also con figuration file input parameter and routine signature See referential constraint The referenced table in a referential constraint See also child table A coserver that controls one or more fragments of a table that Extended Par allel Server accesses See also coserver and connection coserver See table fragment An identifiable or repeatabl
368. s information about any known problems and their workarounds IDS_x y or The machine notes file describes any special actions that you XPS_x y must take to configure and use Informix products on your computer Machine notes are named for the product described 14 Informix Guide to SQL Reference WIN NT Related Reading The following items appear in the Informix folder To display this folder choose Start gt Programs Informix from the Task Bar Program Group Item Description Documentation Notes This item includes additions or corrections to manuals and information about features that might not be covered in the manuals or that have been modified since publication Release Notes This item describes feature differences from earlier versions of Informix products and how these differ ences might affect current products This file also contains information about any known problems and their workarounds The machine notes do not apply to Windows environments Related Reading For a list of publications that provide an introduction to database servers and operating system platforms refer to your Getting Started manual Compliance with Industry Standards The American National Standards Institute ANSI has established a set of industry standards for SOL 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
369. s miscellaneous information about the SOL triggers in the database This information includes the trigger event and the correlated reference specification for the trigger The systriggers system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type trigid SERIAL trigname NVARCHAR 128 owner NCHAR 32 tabid INT event NCHAR old NVARCHAR 128 new NVARCHAR 128 mode NCHAR Explanation Trigger identifier Trigger name Owner of trigger ID of triggering table Triggering event I Insert trigger U Update trigger D Delete trigger S Select trigger Name of value before update Name of value after update Reserved for future use A composite index for the trigname and owner columns allows only unique values The trigid column is indexed and must contain unique values An index for the tabid column allows duplicate values Informix Guide to SQL Reference SYSUSERS SYSUSERS The sysusers system catalog table describes each set of privileges that are granted in the database It contains one row for each user who has privileges in the database The sysusers system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation username NCHAR 32 Name of the database user or role usertype NCHAR 1 Specifies database level privileges D DBA all privileges R Resource create permanent tables user defined data types and indexes G Role C Connect work within existing tables priority SMALLINT Reserve
370. s that Figure A 10 on page A 11 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 11 through Figure A 18 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 11 shows this relationship Figure A 11 customer Table detail Tables That the customer_num customer_num fname Iname i Column Joins 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference The orders and tems Tables According to Figure A 11 customer 104 Anthony Higgins has placed two orders as his customer numb
371. se server for usr joachim set DBPATH as the following example shows setenv DBPATH marketing usr joachim usr sonja 3 48 Informix Guide to SQL Reference UNIX setenv DBPRINT Specifying a Servername You can set DBPATH to contain only database server names This setting allows you to locate only databases and not locate command files The database administrator must include each database server mentioned by DBPATH in the INFORMIXDIR etc sqlhosts file For information on commu nication configuration files and dbservernames see your Administrator s Guide and the 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 printing program that you want to use DBPRINT program program names any command shell script or UNIX utility that handles standard ASCII input The default program is found in one of two places m For most BSD UNIX systems the default program is lpr m For UNIX System V the default program is usually Ip Enter the following command to
372. se value can change during program execution Compare with constant macro and pointer A user defined function that might return different values when passed the same arguments A variant function can contain SQL statements Compare with nonvariant function A dynamically controlled picture of the contents in a database that allows a programmer to determine what information the user sees and manipulates A view represents a virtual table based on a specified SELECT statement A special table that holds rows that fail to satisfy constraints and unique index requirements during data manipulation operations on base tables You use the START VIOLATIONS TABLE statement to create a violations table and associate it with a base table 56 Informix Guide to SQL Reference virtual column virtual column index virtual processor virtual table VLDB warning white space wide character A derived column of information created with an SOL statement that is not stored in the database For example you can create virtual columns in a SELECT statement by arithmetically manipulating a single column such as multiplying existing values by a constant or by combining multiple columns such as adding the values from two columns A type of generalized key index that contains keys that are the result of an expression A multithreaded process that makes up the database server and is similar to the hardware processors in the computer It can
373. serve multiple clients and where necessary run multiple threads to work in parallel for a single query A table whose data you create to access data in an external file external DBMS or smart large object The database server does not manage external data or directly manipulate data within a smart large object The Virtual Table Interface allows users to access the external data in a virtual table using SOL DML statements and join the external data with Dynamic Server table data Acronym for very large database s A message or other indicator about a condition that software such as the database server or compiler detects A condition that results in a warning does not necessarily affect the ability of the code to run See also compile time error and runtime error A series of one or more space characters The GLS locale defines the characters that are considered to be space characters For example both the TAB and blank might be defined as space characters in one locale but certain combinations of the CTRL key and another character might be defined as space characters in a different locale 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 largest character that an operating system can support and it must match the size of an integer data type that the C compiler can scale Some examples of an integer data type th
374. set of woods designed for precision lt BYTE value gt High Quality Woods Appropriate for control and power performance High School Competitions or Serious Amateurs 10044 203 NKL _ Set of eight irons includes 3 through 9 irons lt BYTEvalue gt Setof Irons Available From Factory at and pitching wedge Originally priced at Tremendous Savings Discontinued 489 00 Line 10045 204 KAR Ideally balanced for optimum control lt BYTE value gt High Quality Beginning Set of Irons Nylon covered shaft Appropriate for High School Competitions 6 of 10 9SeQqeJeg Owe seloJs y ul ejeg 6 y aseqejeq owap sajo s ay catalog_num stock_num manu_code cat_descr cat_picture cat_advert 10046 205 NKL Fluorescent yellow lt BYTE value gt Long Drive Golf Balls Fluorescent Yellow 10047 205 ANZ White only lt BYTE value gt Long Drive Golf Balls White 10048 205 HRO Combination fluorescent yellow and lt BYTE value gt HiFlier Golf Balls Case Includes standard white Fluorescent Yellow and Standard White 10049 301 NKL Super shock absorbing gel pads disperse lt BYTE value gt Maximum Protection For High vertical energy into a horizontal plane for Mileage Runners extraordinary cushioned comfort Great motion control Men s only Specify size 10050 301 HRO Engineered for serious training with lt BYTE value gt Pronators and Supinators Take Heart exceptional stability Fabulous shock A Serious Training Shoe For Runners absorption
375. 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 the following characteristics m Stored in the user s home directory m Named informix m Permissions set to readable by the user 3 8 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Setting Environment Variables at Login Time An environment configuration file can contain comment lines preceded by 1F and variable lines and their values separated by blanks and tabs as the following example shows This is an example of an environment configuration file DBDATE DMY4 These are ESQL C environment variable settings i INFORMIXC gcc CPFIRST TRUE You can use the ENVIGNORE environment variable described on page 3 59 to override one or more entries in an environment configuration file Use the Informix chkenv utility described on page 3 12 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 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
376. so dynamic link library DLL and shared library The location of an optical platter that is neither on an optical drive nor in a jukebox slot 46 Informix Guide to SQL Reference shuffling signal signature simple join simple large object simple predicate single byte character singletonimplicit transaction singleton select smart large object SMI SMP Shuffling refers to the process that occurs when a database server moves rows or key values from one fragment to another Shuffling occurs in a vari ety of circumstances including when you attach detach or drop a fragment A means of asynchronous communication between two processes For example signals are sent when a user or a program wants to interrupt or suspend the execution of a process See also interrupt See routine signature A join that combines information from two or more tables based on the relationship between one column in each table Rows that do not satisfy the join criteria are discarded from the result Also known as an inner join See also composite join A large object that is stored in a blobspace or dbspace is not recoverable and does not obey transaction isolation modes Simple large objects include TEXT and BYTE data types Extended Parallel Server does not support simple large objects that are stored in a blobspace A search condition in the WHERE clause that has one of the following forms f column constant constant colum
377. specify only the precision in the last field Acceptable qualifiers for the largest and smallest fields are identical to the list of INTERVAL fields that Figure 2 8 displays If you use the DB Access TABLE menu and you do not specify the INTERVAL field qualifiers the 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 values use the same delimiters as DATETIME values Figure 2 9 shows the delimiters 2 28 Informix Guide to SQL Reference INTERVAL Figure 2 9 INTERVAL Delimiters Delimiter Placement in DATETIME Expression Hyphen Between the YEAR and MONTH portions of the value Space Between the DAY and HOUR portions of the value Colon Between the HOUR and MINUTE and the 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 However the character string must include information for the identical sequence of fields defined for that column T
378. stem catalog tables of a database However the executable code of an external routine is stored outside the database An external routine can be an external function or an external procedure Glossary 21 external space external table extspace family name fault tolerance fetch fetch buffer field file file server filename extension filter Storage space that a user defined access method manages rather than the database server You can specify the name of an external space instead of the name of a dbspace in the IN clause of the CREATE TABLE and CREATE INDEX statements A database table that is not in the current database It might or might not be in a database that the same database server manages Not for Extended Parallel Server A logical name associated with an arbi trary string that signifies the location of external data Access its contents with a user defined access method A quoted string constant that specifies a family name in the optical family See also optical family See high availability The action of moving a cursor to a new row and retrieving the row values into memory A buffer in the application process that the database server uses to send fetched row data except TEXT and BYTE data to the application See also application process A component of a named row type or unnamed row type that contains a name and a data type and can be accessed in an SQL statement by using dot notatio
379. stores information about the state object mode of database objects The types of database objects 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 system catalog table has the following columns Explanation NVARCHAR 128 The type of database object This column has one of the following codes C Constraint I Index T Trigger The owner of the database object The name of the database object Table identifier of the table on which the database object is defined The current state object mode of the database object This column has 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 for the objtype name owner and tabid columns allows only unique values System Catalog 1 55 SYSOPCLASSES 1 56 SYSOPCLASSES Column Name Type opclassname NVARCHAR 128 owner NCHAR 32 amid INTEGER opclassid SERIAL ops LVARCHAR support LVARCHAR Informix Guide to SQL Reference The sysopclasses system catalog table contains information about operator classes associated with seconda
380. such as the Informix Storage Manager Administrator s Guide and the Informix SNMP Subagent Guide include a glossary of specialized terms For additional product specific information refer to these glossaries A single byte character that consists of eight bits which means that the code point is in the range 128 through 255 Examples from the ISO8859 1 code set include the non English and 6 characters They can be interpreted correctly only if the software that interprets them is 8 bit clean See also non ASCII character An operating system or database server that can process character data that contains 8 bit characters The operating system or database server reads the eighth bit as part of the code value In other words it does not ignore the eighth bit or make its own interpretation of the eighth bit A code set such as JIS X0208 in which approximately 65 000 distinct characters can be encoded A group of routines that access or manipulate a table or anindex In the output of a SET EXPLAIN statement access method refers to the type of table access in a query for example SEQUENTIAL SCAN as opposed to INDEX PATH See also primary access method and secondary access method The types of operations that a user has permission to perform in a specific database table table fragment or column Informix maintains its own set of database table table fragment and column access privileges which are independent o
381. supports The sql_languages Information Schema view contains the Explanation Organization that defines this SOL version Year the source document was approved Which conformance is supported Indicates whether this is an integrity enhancement feature either YES or NO Identifies the SOL product of the vendor Direct module or other bind style Host language for which the binding style is adopted The sql_languages Information Schema view is completely visible to all 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 the following Column Name Data Type Explanation server_attribute VARCHAR 254 attribute_value VARCHAR 254 An attribute of the database server Value of the server_attribute as it applies to the current database server Informix Guide to SQL Reference Structure of the Information Schema Views 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 The server_info view includes the following information server_attribute identifier_length row_length userid_length txn_isolation collation_seq Description Maximum number of characters for a user defined name Maximum length of a row Maximum number of characters of a user name or au
382. t A collection data type created with the MULTISET constructor in which elements are not ordered and duplicates are allowed Running of multiple threads that are run within the same process See thread A row type created with the CREATE ROW TYPE statement that has a defined name and inheritance properties and can be used to construct a typed table A named row type is not equivalent to another named row type even if its field definitions are the same A character in a native language character set Also known as native character See national character Glossary 33 Native Language Support NLS NLS node non ASCII character noncursor function nonvariant function not null constraint null value A class of products that operate with single byte code sets An NLS product uses locales and code sets that the operating system supplies NLS servers and tools are available for the Version 6 x and later family of products For more information see the Informix Migration Guide Legacy acronym for the Native Language Support feature for working with single byte non English data Supplanted by Global Language Support GLS Within the context of an index for a database a node is an ordered group of key values having a fixed number of elements A key is a value from a data record A B tree for example is a set of nodes that contain keys and pointers that are arranged in a hierarchy See also branch node leaf node
383. t 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 the PDQPRIORITY environment variable check the available memory before you perform a large scale sort such as an index build and make sure that you have enough memory 3 94 Informix Guide to SQL Reference UNIX SHLIB_PATH Default Values for Ordinary Sorts 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 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 the PSORT_NPROCS environment variable 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 Administrator s Guide and your Performance Guide SHLIB_PATH The SHLIB_PAT
384. t be optional in certain products Punctuation and mathematical notations are literal symbols that you must enter exactly as shown Single quotes are literal symbols that you must enter as shown Privileges p 5 17 A reference in a box represents a subdiagram Imagine that the subdiagram is spliced into the main diagram at this point When a page number is not specified the subdiagram appears on the same page ALL A shaded option is the default action Syntax within a pair of arrows indicates a subdiagram Informix Guide to SQL Reference The vertical line terminates the command 1 of 2 setenv Command Line Conventions Element Description A branch below the main path indicates an optional El OFF path Any term on the main path is required unless a branch can circumvent it ON A loop indicates a path that you can repeat Punctuation along the top of the loop indicates the separator symbol variable for list items A gate ona path indicates that you can only use that path the indicated number of times even if it is part A size of a larger loop You can specify size no more than three times within this statement segment 2 of 2 How to Read a Command Line Diagram Figure 1 shows a command line diagram that uses some of the elements that are listed in the previous table Figure 1 Example of a Command Line Diagram INFORMIXC RX AA A
385. t in type except for the restriction against TEXT and BYTE mentioned above A collection type A distinct type A row type An opaque type The following SQL statements maintain the definitions of named row types in the database m The CREATE ROW TYPE statement adds a named row type to the database m The DROP ROW TYPE statement removes a previously defined named row type from the database For details about the preceding SQL syntax statements see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax For examples of how to create and used named row types see the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation 2 36 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Row Unnamed 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 but are not equal name_t lname CHAR 15 initial CHAR 1 fname CHAR 15 emp_t Iname CHAR 15 initial CHAR 1 fname CHAR 15 Named Row Types and Inheritance Named row types can be part of a type inheritance hierarchy That is one named row type can be the parent supertype of another named row type A subtype in a hierarchy inherits all the properties of its supertype Type inher itance is discussed in the CREATE ROW TYPE statement in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax and in the Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation Typed Tables Tables that a
386. ta type for example m After the IN predicate in the WHERE clause of a SELECT statement to search for matching LIST values m As an argument to the SOL CARDINALITY function to determine the number of elements in a LIST column You cannot use LIST with an aggregate function such as AVG MAX MIN or SUM Two lists are equal if they have the same elements in the same order The following examples are lists 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 The LVARCHAR data type is an SOL data type that you can use to create a column of variable length character data types that are potentially larger than 255 bytes The LVARCHAR data type is also used 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 manip ulate Each opaque type also has an output support function and cast which convert it from its internal representation to LVARCHAR Important When LVARCHAR data is stored in a table column the value is limited to 2 kilobytes 2Kb When LVARCHAR is used in I O operations on an opaque type it has the theoretical size l
387. ta type or row type A table that Informix ESQL C or SPL creates for a collection column when it encounters the TABLE keyword in an INSERT DELETE UPDATE or SELECT statement ESOL C and SPL store this table in a collection variable to access elements of the collection as rows of the collection derived table Glossary 9 collection subquery collection variable collocated join column column expression column subscript column substring command file comment commit work Committed Read compile compile time error A query that takes the result of a subquery and turns it into a expression by using the MULTISET keyword to convert returned values into a MULTISET collection An Informix ESOL C host variable or SPL variable that holds an entire collection and provides access through a collection cursor to the individual elements of the collection A join that occurs locally on the coserver where the data resides The local coserver sends the data to the other coservers after the join is complete A data element that contains a particular type of information that occurs in every row of the table Also known as a field See also row An expression that includes a column name and optionally uses column subscripts to define a column substring A subscript in a column expression See also subscript A substring in a column expression See also substring A system file that contains one or more statements or command
388. tabase Design and Implementation With GLS the following rules apply m Multibyte CLOB characters must be supported by the database locale m The CLOB data type is collated in code set order m For CLOB columns the database server handles any required code set conversions for the data For more information on database locales collation order and codeset conversion see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality DATE The DATE data type stores the calendar date DATE data types require 4 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 The following example shows the default display format of a DATE column mm dd yyyy 2 16 Informix Guide to SQL Reference GLS DATETIME 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 For the month Informix products accept a number value 1 or 01 for January and so on For the day Informix products accept a value 1 or 01 that corresponds to the first day of the month and so on If you enter only a two digit value for the year how Informix products fill in the century digits depends on how
389. tabase server to convert A character type to any other character type A character type to or from any other built in type A numeric type to any other numeric type A time data type to or from a datetime type The database server automatically invokes the appropriate built in casts when required An infinite number of built in casts might be invoked to evaluate and compare expressions or to change a column from one built in data type to another 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 50000700 The same situation might occur if you attempt to transfer data from FLOAT or SMALLFLOAT columns to INTEGER SMALLINT or DECIMAL columns The following sections describe database server behavior during certain types of casts and conversions Informix Guide to SQL Reference Using Built in Casts Converting from Number to Number When you convert data from one number data type to another you occasionally find rounding errors Figure 2 14 on page
390. taneously construct multiple column distributions setenv DBUPSPACE value represents a disk space amount in kilobytes For example to set DBUPSPACE to 2 500 kilobytes enter the following command setenv DBUPSPACE 2500 Once 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 try 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 for the one is greater than specified in DBUPSPACE Environment Variables 3 57 DELIMIDENT DELIMIDENT The DELIMIDENT environment variable specifies that strings set off by double quotes are delimited identifiers setenv DELIMIDENT value You can use delimited identifiers to specify identifiers that are identical to reserved keywords such as TABLE or USAGE You can also use them to specify database identifiers that contain nonalpha characters but you cannot use them to specify storage id
391. that Version 9 2 of Informix Dynamic Server 2000 and Version 8 3 of Informix Extended Parallel Server provide This manual is one of a series of manuals that discusses the Informix imple mentation of SQL The Informix Guide to SQL Syntax contains all the syntax descriptions for SQL and stored procedure language SPL The 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 The Informix Guide to Database Design and Implementation shows how to use SQL to implement and manage your databases Types of Users This manual is written for the following users m Database users m Database administrators m Database server administrators Introduction 3 Software Deoendencies 4 m Database application programmers m Performance engineers This manual assumes that you have the following background m A working knowledge of your computer your operating system and the utilities that your operating system provides m Some experience working with relational databases or exposure to database concepts m Some experience with computer programming m 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 Getting Started manual for your database server for a list of supplementary titles Software De
392. that have only a one or two digit year such as 4 15 3 or 04 15 99 setenv DBCENTURY By default if only the decade is provided for a literal DATE or DATETIME value in a table column the current century is used to expand the year For example if today s date is 09 30 1999 the date 12 31 99 expands to 12 31 1999 and 12 31 00 expands to 12 31 1900 DBCENTURY algorithms let you determine the century value of a year the desired expansion of a two digit year Algorithm Explanation P Past The previous and current centuries are used to expand the year value These two dates are compared against the current date and the date thatis prior to the current date is chosen If both dates are prior to the current date the date that is closest to the current date is chosen F Future The previous and the next centuries are used to expand the year value These two dates are compared against the current date and the date that is after the current date is chosen If both the expansions are after the current date the date that is closest to the current date is chosen C Closest The previous current and next centuries are used to expand the year value and the date that is closest to the current date is used R Present The two high order digits of the current year are used to expand the year value Environment Variables 3 33 DBCENTURY When the DBCENTURY environment variable is not set or is set to R the two high ord
393. 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 stock_num and manu_code columns are foreign keys that the stock_num and manu_code columns in the stock table Figure A 13 shows this relationship Figure A 13 items Table detail Tables That the stock_num and item_num order_num stock_num manu_code manu_code 1001 1002 1002 1003 1003 1003 1004 HRO Columns Join HSK HSK ANZ ANZ ANZ HRO ET E E stock Table detail stock_num manu_code description HRO baseball gloves HSK baseball gloves SMT baseball gloves The stock and catalog Tables 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 14 shows this relationship Figure A 14 stock Table detail Tables That the we stock_num and stock_num manu_code description manu code HRO baseball gloves Columns Join HSK baseball gloves SMT bas
394. 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 Null Valued Columns If the coltype column contains a value greater than 256 it does not allow null values To determine the data type for a coltype column that contains a value greater than 256 subtract 256 from the value and evaluate the remainder based on the possible coltype values For example if a column has a coltype value of 262 subtracting 256 from 262 leaves a remainder of 6 which indicates that this column uses a SERIAL data type The next sections provide the following additional information about infor mation in the syscolumns system catalog table m How the coltype and collength columns encode the type and length values respectively for certain data types How the colmin and colmax columns store column values System Catalog 1 31 SYSCOLUMNS Storing Column Data Type The database server stores the column data type as an integer value For a list of the column data type values see the description of the coltype column in the preceding table The following sections provide additional information on data type values The following data types are implemented by the database server as built in opaque types BLOB CLOB BOOLEAN LVARCHAR A built in opaque data type is one for which the database server provides the type definition
395. thorization identifier Initial transaction isolation level that the database server assumes Read Committed Default isolation level for databases created without logging Read Uncommitted Default isolation level for databases created with logging but not ANSI compliant Serializable Default isolation level for ANSI compliant databases Assumed ordering of the character set for the database server The following values are possible ISO 8859 1 EBCDIC The Informix representation shows ISO 8859 1 The server_info Information Schema view is completely visible to all users System Catalog 1 91 Data Types In This Chapter mide ds a a a ew a 2D Summary of Data Types gt 4 ue e o ase aja ae e 2 ES EJ wee E A A BLOB de E ae E ee A a E a29 BOOLEAN 211 BYTE 020 ar a er e ed ZA CHAR n 2 a aaa 213 CHARACTER n Ron A da ok aod ds ZA CHARACTER VARYING m r ys O e ETS GLOB es ver ae ce as say Be A A a A a ETS DATE sus ev deag ee as Be ac e th ETE DATETIME 2020 3S oe A se la gt ee AS te ee ET DEC tt oot Pht Sh ee dh a Boa hoe Ob ae he S2 DECIMAL oh ie et PO Se A Ete Ao Oe ee ERA Distinct fee ck en Gk Uk 2 Gh kee ok ee 228 DOUBLE PRECISION ge pe eK era dees Sy ae bey do gy Meee ae eA FLOAT n a 224 INT 34 28 ido Book ede Be ee ek a ds a as a A ee SDDS INIS 2 6 46 E shige Be a Ye Qa eo Bow Bee D5 INTEGERS 28 2 62 Loe ee oe ey ech ope Soe ee 2226 INTERVAL ao W eee ee
396. though you can store numbers in CHAR columns you might not be able to use them in some arith metic operations For example if you insert the sum of values into a character column you might experience overflow problems if the character column is too small to hold the value In this case the insert fails However 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 Data Types 2 13 CHARACTER n GLS CHAR values are compared to other CHAR values by taking the shorter value and padding it on the right with spaces until the values have equal length Then the two values are compared for the full length Comparisons use the code set collation order Nonprintable Characters with CHAR A CHAR value can include tabs spaces and other nonprintable characters However you must use an application to insert the nonprintable characters into host variables and to insert the host variables into your database After passing nonprintable characters to the database server you can store or retrieve the characters When you select nonprintable characters fetch them into host variables and display them with your own display mechanism The only nonprintable character that you can enter and display with DB Access is a tab If you try to display other nonprintable characters with DB Access your screen returns inconsistent res
397. tines Definitions for opaque types are stored in the sysxtdtypes system catalog table The following SQL statements maintain the definitions of opaque types in the database m The CREATE OPAQUE TYPE statement adds an opaque type to the database m The DROP TYPE statement removes a previously defined opaque type from the database For more information on the above mentioned SOL statements see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax For information on how to create opaque types and an example of an opaque type see Extending Informix Dynamic Server 2000 REAL The REAL data type is a synonym for SMALLFLOAT DataTypes 2 35 Row Named Row Named A named row type is defined by its name That name must be unique within the schema An unnamed row type is a row type that contains fields but has no user defined name Use a named row type if you want to use type inher itance For more information see Row Data Types on page 2 60 Defining Named Row Types You must define a named row type in the database Definitions for named row types are stored in the sysxtdtypes system catalog table The fields of a row type can be any data type The fields of a row type that are TEXT or BYTE type can be used in typed tables only If you want to assign a row type to a column then the elements of the row cannot be of TEXT and BYTE data types In general the data type of the field of a row type can be any of the following types m A buil
398. tion file that the High Performance Loader HPL uses This configuration file must reside in the INFORMIXDIR etc directory If the PLCONFIG environ ment variable is not set FINFORMIXDIR etc plconfig is the default configuration file 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 config uration file for the High Performance Loader enter the following command setenv PLCONFIG custom cfg For more information see the Guide to the High Performance Loader Environment Variables 3 91 PLOAD_LO_PATH PLOAD_LO PATH 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 CLOB and BOOLEAN data types PLOAD_LO_PATH pathname setenv 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 Guide to the High Performance Loader PLOAD_SHMBASE 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 PLOAD_SHMBASE val
399. tion Schema page 1 86 Objects That the System Catalog Tables Track The system catalog tables track the following objects Tables and constraints Views Triggers Authorized users and privileges associated with every table that you create User defined routines Data types Casts System Catalog 1 5 Using the System Catalog 1 6 m Access methods and operator classes m Error warning and informational messages associated with user defined routines m Inheritance relationships Using the System Catalog Informix database servers automatically generate the system catalog tables when you create a database You can query them as you would query any other table in the database For a newly created database the system catalog tables for the database reside in a common area of the disk called a dbspace Every database has its own system catalog tables All tables in the system catalog have the prefix sys for example the systables system catalog table Not all tables that have the prefix sys are true system catalog tables For example a common DataBlade builds a table called sysbuiltintypes that looks like a system table and contains similar information However it has an id gt 99 System catalog tables all have an id lt 99 Tip Do not confuse the system catalog tables of a database with the tables in the sysmaster database The sysmaster tables also have the sys prefix but they contain information about an en
400. tire database server which might manage many databases The information in the sysmaster tables is primarily useful for database adminis trators DBAs For more information about the sysmaster tables see the Administrator s Guide Informix Guide to SQL Reference Using the System Catalog The database server accesses the system catalog constantly Each time an SOL statement is processed the database server accesses the system catalog to determine system privileges add or verify table names or column names and so on For example the following CREATE SCHEMA block adds the customer table with its respective indexes and privileges to the stores_demo database This block also adds a view california that restricts the view in the customer table to only the first and last names of the customer the company name and the phone number for all customers who reside in California CREAT REAT a O RANT ADDD zipcode T ALTER RANT RANT REAT SELECT REAT TE SC ddress SELEC E VIEW E UNIQ OD REAT TE INDE UPDATE HEMA AUTHORIZATION maryl E TABLE customer_num SERIAL 101 fname CHAR 15 Iname CHAR 15 company CHAR 20 customer CHAR 20 address2 CHAR 20 city CHAR 15 state CHAR 2 CHAR 5 phone CHAR 18 ALL ON customer TO cathl WITH GRANT OPTION AS maryl T ON CUSTOMER TO public fname Iname phone ON customer TO nhowe california AS fname Iname company phone FROM
401. to billing requesting 5 discount to placate customer due to second offense and lateness of resolution because of holiday 2 of 2 asege eg Owe sa o s y ul ejeg manufact Table manu_code ANZ HSK HRO NRG SMT SHM KAR NKL PRC state Table code AK AL AR AZ CA CT CO DC DE FL manu_name Anza Husky Hero Norge Smith Shimara Karsten Nikolus ProCycle sname Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Connecticut Colorado D C Delaware Florida code MT Data in the stores_ demo Database lead_time 5 5 4 7 3 30 21 8 9 sname Montana Nebraska North Carolina North Dakota New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio 1 of 2 The stores_demo Database A 45 Data in the stores_ demo Database A 46 code GA HI IA ID IL IN KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS Informix Guide to SQL Reference sname Georgia Hawaii Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi code OK OR PA PR SC TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY sname Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming 2 of 2 x lt U 0 The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases In addition to the stores_demo database that is described in d
402. to non ANSI databases with logging See also implicit ANSI transaction and singleton implicit transaction The power to which a value is to be raised An Extended Parallel Server method of loading or unloading data that uses light appends Anything from a simple numeric or alphabetic constant to a more complex series of column values functions quoted strings operators and keywords A Boolean expression contains a logical operator gt lt IS NULL and so on and evaluates as TRUE FALSE or UNKNOWN An arithmetic expression contains the operators x and so on and evaluates as a number A distribution scheme that distributes rows to fragments according to a user specified expression that is defined in the WHERE clause of an SQL statement A term used to refer to data types that are not built in namely complex data types opaque data types and distinct data types A continuous segment of disk space that a database server allocated to a tbl space a table The user can specify both the initial extent size for a table and the size of all subsequent extents that a database server allocates to the table An external routine that returns a single value An external routine that does not return a value A user defined routine that is written in an external language that the database supports These external languages include C and Java The routine names parameters and other information are registered in the sy
403. to send the data across the communication links between coservers 30 Informix Guide to SQL Reference local loopback local variable locale localized order locally detached index lock coupling lock mode A connection between the client and database server that uses a network connection even though the client and the database server are on the same computer A variable or identifier whose scope of reference is only within the routine in which it is defined Compare with global variable A set of Informix files that specify the linguistic rules for a country region culture or language Informix products provide pre defined locales that customers cannot modify A locale provides the name of the code set that the application data uses the collation order to use for character data and the end user format See also client locale database locale default locale server locale and server processing locale The order of characters as specified within a particular locale Localized order can also specify a dictionary or phone book order For example in dictionary order uppercase characters and lowercase characters are treated the same one does not take precedence over the other See also collation order For Extended Parallel Server a type of index that has a fragmentation strategy that is independent of the table fragmentation but where the database server recognizes that each index row resides on the same co server as
404. try 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables The manufact Table Information about the manufacturers whose sporting goods are handled by the distributor is stored in the manufact table Figure B 17 shows the columns of the manufact table Name manu_code manu_name lead_time manu_loc manu_account account_status terms_net discount Type CHAR 3 VARCHAR 15 INTERVAL DAY 3 TO DAY INTEGER CHAR 32 CHAR 1 SMALLINT percent Figure B 17 The manufact Table Description manufacturer code name of manufacturer lead time for shipment of orders manufacturer location foreign key to location table distributer account number with manufacturer status of account with manufacturer distributor terms with manufacturer in days distributor volume discount with manufacturer The sales_demo and superstores_demo Databases B 19 Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables B 20 The orders Table The orders table contains information about orders placed by the customers of the distributor Figure B 18 shows the columns of the orders table Figure B 18 The orders Table Name Type Description g u order_num SERIAL8 1001 system generated order number order_date DATE date order entered customer_num INTEGER customer n
405. ts Explanation Page Stores binary data in random access chunks 2 9 Stores Boolean values true and false 2 11 Stores text data in random access chunks 2 15 Is a user defined data type that is stored in the same 2 23 way as the source data type on which it is based but has different casts and functions defined over it than those on the source type Stores an 8 byte integer value These whole numbers 2 25 can be in the range 2 1 to 263 1 Stores a collection of elements of the same element 2 29 type e elements have an implicit order first second and so on allows duplicate values Stores variable length data that can be larger than 255 2 30 bytes 1 of 2 Description of Data Types Data Type Explanation Page MULTISET e Stores a collection of elements of the same element 2 32 type e allows duplicate values Opaque Stores a user defined data type whose internal 2 33 structure is inaccessible to the database server Row Named Stores a named row type 2 35 Row Unnamed Stores an unnamed row type 2 36 SERIAL8 Stores large sequential integers has same range as 2 39 INT8 SET e Stores a collection of elements of the same element 2 41 type e does not allow duplicate values 2 of 2 For information about Informix internal data types that SQL statements support IMPEX IMPEXBIN and SENDRECV see Extending Informix Dynamic Server 2000 Description of Data Types This section describes the data types t
406. turns some of the rows and all of the columns in a table See also projection and join A type of generalized key index that contains keys for only a subset of a table The proportion of rows within the table that a query filter can pass A join between a table and itself A self join occurs when a table is used two or more times in a SELECT statement with different aliases and joined to itself An operating system communication device that signals a process to awaken A cursor that can fetch only the next row in sequence A sequential cursor can read through a table only once each time the sequential cursor is opened An ANSI level of isolation set with the SET TRANSACTION statement ensuring all data read during a transaction is not modified during the entire transaction See also isolation and Repeatable Read Glossary 45 server locale server name server number server processing locale session SET shared library shared lock shared memory shared object file shelf The locale that a database server uses when it performs its own read and write operations The SERVER_LOCALE environment variable can specify a nondefault locale See also client locale and locale The unique name of a database server assigned by the database server administrator that an application uses to select a database server A unique number between 0 and 255 inclusive that a database server administrator assigns when a databas
407. tween two applications or between an application and a database environment created by a CONNECT or DATABASE statement Database servers can also have connections to one another See also explicit connection implicit connection and multiplexed connection The coserver to which a client is directly connected See also coserver and participating coserver Glossary 11 connection redirector constant constraint constructed data type constructor control character cooked files correlated subquery correlation name corrupted database corrupted index An Extended Parallel Server feature that is enabled by an option field setting in the sqlhosts file whereby the database server attempts to establish a client connection with each coserver in a dbserver group until the connection is successful Data whose value does not change during the execution of a program or command In a program a constant has a name that can be referenced Compare with variable See also literal A restriction on what kinds of data can be inserted or updated in tables See also check constraint primary key constraint referential constraint not null constraint and unique constraint See complex data type See type constructor A character whose occurrence in a particular context initiates modifies or stops a control function an operation to control a device for example in moving a cursor or in reading data In a program you can d
408. ue value is used to calculate the shared memory address 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 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 3 92 Informix Guide to SQL Reference PSORT_DBTEMP Tip Informix recommends 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 Guide to the High Performance Loader PSORT_DBTEMP The PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable specifies a directory or directories where the database server writes the temporary files it uses when it performs a sort The database server uses the directory that PSORT_DBTEMP specifies even if the environment variable PSORT_NPROCS is not set 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 DBSPAC
409. ultibyte characters See system defined hash fragmentation A user defined algorithm that maps each row in a table to a set of hash values and that is used to determine the fragment in which a row is stored A source file that contains declarations for variables constants and macros that a particular group of modules or programs share On line text displayed automatically or at the request of the user to assist the user in interactive programs Such messages are stored in help files A protocol that governs a group of database servers in which at least one participant is a gateway participant It ensures the all or nothing basis of distributed transactions in a heterogeneous environment See also two phase commit A tree like data structure in which some groups of data are subordinate to others such that only one group called root exists at the highest level and each group except root is related to only one parent group on a higher level The ability of a system to resist failure and data loss High availability includes features such as fast recovery and mirroring It is sometimes referred to as fault tolerance The High Performance Loader HPL utility is part of Dynamic Server The HPL loads and unloads data using parallel access to devices See also external table A rectangular inverse video area that marks your place on the screen A high light often indicates the current option on a menu or the current character in an edit
410. ultithreaded ESQL C application When you use the thread option while compiling the ESQL C script generates an error if the THREADLIB environment variable is not set or if the variable is set to an unsupported thread package XFER_CONFIG The XFER_CONFIG environment variable specifies the location of the xfer_config configuration file 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 on Windows NT Environment Variables 3 99 Index of Environment Variables Index of Environment Variables Figure 3 2 provides an overview of the uses for the various Informix and UNIX environment variables that Version 8 3 and Version 9 2 support It serves as an index to general topics and lists the related environment variables and the pages where the environment variables are introduced GLS The term GLS guide in the Page column in Figure 3 2 indicates that the GLS environment variables are described in the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Figure 3 2 Uses for Environment Variables Topic Enviro
411. ults Collating CHAR Data The collation order of the CHAR data type depends on the code set That is this data is sorted by the order of characters as they appear in the code set For more information see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality Multibyte Characters with CHAR The database locale must support the multibyte characters that a database uses If you are storing multibyte characters make sure to calculate the number of bytes needed For more information on multibyte characters and locales see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality CHARACTER n The CHARACTER data type is a synonym for CHAR 2 14 Informix Guide to SQL Reference CHARACTER VARYING m r CHARACTER VARYING r The CHARACTER VARYING data type stores any multibyte string of letters numbers and symbols of varying length where m is the maximum size of the column and r is the minimum amount of space reserved for that column The CHARACTER VARYING data type complies with ANSI standards the non ANSI Informix VARCHAR data type supports the same functionality See the description of the VARCHAR data type on page 2 45 CLOB 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 or Standard Graphic Markup Language SGML data The term smart large object refers to C
412. umber foreign key to customer table shipping ship_t special shipping instructions backlog BOOLEAN indicates order cannot be filled because the item is backlogged 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 Figure B 19 shows the columns of the region table Figure B 19 The region Table Name Type Description g u 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 Informix Guide to SQL Reference to location table Structure of the superstores_ demo Tables The sales_rep Table The sales_rep table contains information about the sales representatives for the distributor Figure B 20 shows the columns of the sales_rep table Figure B 20 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 for the 50 states of the United States as well
413. umn allows duplicate values SYSPROCAUTH 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 are granted The sysprocauth system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type grantor NCHAR 32 grantee NCHAR 32 procid INTEGER procauth NCHAR 1 Explanation Grantor of routine Grantee of routine Routine identifier Type of routine permission granted e Execute permission on routine E Execute permission and the ability to grant it to others A composite index for the procid grantor and grantee columns allows only unique values The composite index for the procid and grantee columns allows duplicate values System Catalog 1 59 SYSPROCBODY SYSPROCBODY The sysprocbody system catalog table describes the compiled version of each procedure or function in the database Because the sysprocbody system catalog table stores the text of the routine each routine can have multiple rows The sysprocbody system catalog table has the following columns Column Name Type Explanation procid INTEGER Routine identifier datakey NCHAR 1 Data descriptor type D User document text T Actual routine source R Return value type list S Routine symbol table L Constant routine data string that is literal numbers or quoted strings P Interpreter instruction code seqno INTEGER Line number of th
414. uppose you have an unnamed row type column The following INSERT statement adds one group of field values to this ROW column INSERT INTO tablel 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 segment in the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax SERIAL n The SERIAL data type stores a sequential integer assigned automatically by the database server when a row is inserted You can define only one SERIAL column in a table For information on inserting values in SERIAL columns see the Informix Guide to SQL Syntax The SERIAL data type is not automatically a unique column 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 Also serial numbers might not be contiguous due to such factors as multiuser systems and rollbacks The default serial starting number is 1 but you can assign an initial value n when you create or alter the table You can assign any number greater than 0 as your starting number The highest serial number that you can assign is 2 147 483 647 If you assign a number greater than 2 147 483 647 you receive a syntax error DataTypes 2 39 SERIAL8 Once a nonzero number is assigned it cannot
415. 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 Environment Variables 3 63 IFX_NETBUF_ PVTPOOL_ SIZE IFX_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE 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 n represents the number of units buffers in the pool The default size is 1 buffer If IF X_NETBUF_PVTPOOL_SIZE is set to 0 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 n represents the 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 3 64 Informix Guide to SQL Reference IFX_UPDDESC os IFX_UPDDESC The IFX_UPDDESC environment variable controls the use of the descr
416. utilities Utility Description finderr Displays error messages on line rofferr Formats error messages for printing 4 To read error messages and corrective actions in Windows environments use the Informix Find Error utility To display this utility choose Start gt Programs Informix from the Task Bar Introduction 13 Documentation Notes Release Notes Machine Notes UNIX Instructions for using the preceding utilities are available in Answers OnLine Answers OnLine also provides a listing of error messages and corrective actions in HTML format Documentation Notes Release Notes Machine Notes In addition to printed documentation the following sections describe the on line files that supplement the information in this manual Please examine these files before you begin using your database server They contain vital information about application and performance issues On UNIX platforms the following on line files appear in the INFORMIXDIR release en_us 0333 directory Replace x y in the filenames with the version number of your database server On Line File Purpose SQLRDOC_x y The documentation notes file for your version of this manual describes topics that are not covered in the manual or that were modified since publication SERVERS_x y The release notes file describes feature differences from earlier versions of Informix products and how these differences might affect current products This file also contain
417. utoexec bat 3 16 in Windows environments 3 7 on the command line 3 16 using the Registry Editor 3 14 using the System applet 3 15 SHLIB_PATH 3 94 STMT_CACHE 3 95 TERM 3 96 TERMCAP 3 96 TERMINFO 3 97 THREADLIB 3 98 types of 3 6 variable scope 3 15 view current setting 3 12 where to set 3 9 XFER_CONFIG 3 98 Environment variables Intro 7 en_us 8859 1 locale Intro 4 Index 5 A BC DEFGH Error message files Intro 13 ESQL C compiling multithreaded applications 3 98 program compilation order 3 28 Executable programs where to search 3 87 Explicit cast 2 68 EXTEND function example 2 54 Extended data types 2 58 Extension checking specifying with DBANSIWARN 3 30 Extent changing size of system table 1 12 F Feature icons Intro 8 Features of this product new Intro 5 FET_BUF_SIZE environment variable 3 59 Field delimiter files DBDELIMITER 3 39 Field qualifier for DATETIME 2 18 File shell 3 9 temporary directory for DBTEMP 3 52 temporary for database server 3 50 temporary sorting 3 92 termcap terminfo 3 75 3 96 3 97 with environment configuration information 3 12 etc termcap 3 97 FILETOBLOB function 2 10 FILETOCLOB function 2 15 Find Error utility Intro 13 finderr utility Intro 13 Fixed point decimal 2 21 FLOAT data type casts for 2 65 description of 2 24 Floating point decimal 2 21 6 Informix Guide to SQL Reference JKLMNOPQRSTUVV xv Z Format specifying for DATE value with DBDATE 3 37 spec
418. 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 Environment Variables 3 13 Using Environment Variables in Windows NT WIN NT Using Environment Variables in Windows NT The following sections discuss setting viewing unsetting and modifying environment variables for native Windows applications and command line utilities Setting Environment Variables for Native Windows Applications Native Windows Informix 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 Manipulating environment variables with the Registry Editor 1 Launch the Registry Editor regedt32 exe and choose the window titled HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE 2 Inthe 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 in place of dbservername 3 With the Environment registry key selected in the left pane you should see a list of environment variables and their defined values in the right pane for example CLIENT_LOCALE REG_SZ EN_US CP1252 4 Chang
419. w type whose representation data fields and behavior routines is inherited by a subtype below it in the type hierarchy See aggregate support function opaque type support function and operator class support function See support function 50 Informix Guide to SQL Reference symmetric multiprocessing system synonym sysmaster database system call system catalog system defined cast system defined hash fragmentation system descriptor area system monitoring interface A system composed of multiple computers that are connected to a single high speed communication subsystem An SMP has fewer computers than an MPP system and cannot be partitioned into nodes Compare with massively parallel processing system A name that is assigned to a table and used in place of the original name for that table A synonym does not replace the original table name instead it acts as an alias for the table A database on each database server that holds the ON Archive catalog tables and system monitoring interface SMI tables that contain information about the state of the database server The database server creates the sysmaster data base when it initializes disk space A routine in an operating system library that programs call to obtain information from the operating system A group of database tables that contain information about the database itself such as the names of tables or columns in the database the numbe
420. with spaces on the right If 0 is specified itis right justified and padded with zeros on the left where p is a decimal digit string specifying the number of digits to appear for d H I m M S y and Y conversions and the maximum number of characters to be used for b and B conversions A precision specification is significant only when converting a DATETIME value to an ASCII string and not vice versa When you use field width and precision specifications the following limitations apply If a conversion specification supplies fewer digits than a precision specifies it is padded with leading zeros If a conversion specification supplies more characters than a precision specifies excess characters are truncated on the right If no field width or precision is specified for d H I m M S or y conversions a default of 0 2 is used A default of 0 4 is used for Y conversions The F conversion does not follow the field width and precision format conversions that are described earlier For related information see the discussion of DBDATE on page 3 37 For more information about how the DBTIME environment variable handles time formats for nondefault locales see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality 3 56 Informix Guide to SQL Reference DBUPSPACE 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 simul
421. wn to a whole number of bytes to calculate the byte storage N for a decimal data type N includes the byte required to store the exponent and 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 2 22 Informix Guide to SQL Reference Distinct One caveat to these formulas exists 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 A distinct type is a data type that is based on one of the following source types A built in type An existing distinct type An existing named row type An existing opaque type A distinct type inherits the casts and functions of its source types as well as the length and alignment on the disk A distinct type thus makes efficient use of the pre existing function
422. words BEGIN and END The statement block of an SPL routine is the smallest scope of reference for program variables An embedded variable name or SOL statement identifier that represents a data structure defined in a PREPARE statement It is used for dynamic SQL statement management by Informix SQL APIs A nonlogging read only permanent table A program variable that indicates the status of some aspect of program execution Status variables often store error numbers or act as flags to indicate that an error has occurred A dbspace blobspace or sbspace that is used to hold data A legacy term for an SPL routine An Informix extension to SQL that provides flow control features such as sequencing branching and looping See also SPL routine See operator class strategy function Glossary 49 string subordinate table subquery subscript substring subtable subtype supertable supertype support function support routine A set of characters generally alphanumeric that is manipulated as a single unit A string might consist of a word such as Smith a set of digits repre senting a number such as 19543 or any other collection of characters Strings generally are surrounded by single quotes A string is also a character data type available in Informix ESQL C programs in which the character string is stripped of trailing blanks and is null terminated See outer join A query that is embedded as
423. ww 127 SYSCOLAUTH Cao Sete as AO A ae ow sr 28 SYSCOLDEPEND 2 a a ee 29 SYSCOLUMNS 2 2 2 ww eee e g aa 1 30 SYSCONSTRAINTS 2 2 2 ww eee 1 36 SYSDEFAULTSS 2 pe y Aa dod ds ol ede Sl ee 1587 SYSDEPEND we ee a 1 38 SYSDISERIB 00 26004 ae gt ds Ba dl a EBD SYSERRORS 2 2 ww e a aa wk e 14 SYSEXTCOLS i e ee eh o ae aT a a aoe 12 SYSEXTDFILES 2 2 mag Tere o syn A ew 143 SYSEXTERNAL we eee ee ww 1 44 SYSFRAGAUTH 2 ee ee 1 45 SYSFRAGMENTS 2 2 2 ee ee 1 46 SYSINDEXES S koes k w oD 1 49 SYSINDICES e Ao Seo 4 at ee ao te e de e OL SYSINHERITS 2 2 1 53 SYSLANGAUTH 2 ee 1458 SYSLOGMAP ee ee 1 54 SYSNEWDEPEND 2 2 1454 SYSOBJSTATE 2 2 ww ew ee 55 SYSOPCLASSES 2 ww ww 1 56 SYSOPEESTR S 0 a a a a e e 157 SYSPROCAUTH 2 ee 159 SYSPROCBODY 2 2 1 60 SYSPROCEDURES 2 1 61 SYSPROCPLAN aaa 165 SYSREFERENCES 0 ee ee ee 1 66 SYSREPOSITORY 2 2 2 2 ee 1 67 SYSROLEAUTH 2 2 1 68 SYSROUTINELANGS ee ee 1 68 SYSSYNONYMS 2 aaa 169 SYSSYNTABLE 2 2 2 1 ee 170 SYSTABAMDATA ee ee
424. x ESQL C application that uses DECLARE and OPEN statements to execute a cursor The OPTOFC environment variable reduces the number of message requests between the application and the database server setenv _ OPTOFC 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 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 Informix ESQL C Programmer s Manual 3 86 Informix Guide to SQL Reference OPT_GOAL OPT_GOAL Set the OPT_GOAL environment variable in the user environment before you start an application to specify the query performance goal for the optimizer setenv _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ OPT_GOAL NX 0 J 1 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 l
425. ximum size m of the VARCHAR column The size of this parameter 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 shorter but not longer character strings than the value that you specify 2 46 Informix Guide to SQL Reference VARCHAR m r 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 1 of the VARCHAR column If you do not specify a minimum space value it defaults to 0 You should specify this parameter when you initially intend to insert rows with short or null data in this column but later expect the data to be updated with longer values Although the use of VARCHAR economizes on space used in a table it has no effect on the size of an index In an index based on a VARCHAR column each index key has length m the maximum size of the column When you store a VARCHAR value in the database only its defined characters are stored The database server does not strip a VARCHAR object of any user entered trailing blanks nor does the database server pad the VARCHAR to the full length of the column However if you specify a minimum reserved space r and some data values are shorter than that amount some space reserved for rows goes unused VARCHAR values are compared to other VARCHAR values and to character values in the same way that character values are compared
426. xtended Parallel Server 3 of 3 The strategy type T is used for attached indexes where index fragmentation is the same as the table fragmentation The composite index on the fragtype tabid indexname and evalpos columns allows duplicate values The hybdpos field is the last field of the composite key in the fraginfo index on the SYSFRAGMENTS table Informix Guide to SQL Reference XPS SYSINDEXES The sysindexes system catalog table describes the indexes in the database It contains one row for each index that is defined in the database The sysindexes system catalog table has the following columns Column Name idxname owner tabid idxtype clustered partl part2 part3 part4 part5 part6 Type NVARCHAR 18 NCHAR 32 INTEGER NCHAR 1 NCHAR 1 SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SMALLINT SYSINDEXES Explanation Index name Owner of index user informix for system catalog tables and user name for database tables Table identifier Index type U Unique G Nonbitmap generalized key index Extended Parallel Server only D Duplicates g Bitmap generalized key index Extended Parallel Server only u unique bitmap Extended Parallel Server only d nonunique bitmap Extended Parallel Server only Clustered or nonclustered index C Clustered Column number colno of a single index or the 1st component of a composite index
427. y are not mounted and a robotic arm that transfers platters between the slots and the drives A jukebox is also known as an autochanger The part of the operating system that controls processes and the allocation of resources The pieces of information that are used to locate a row of data A key defines the pieces of information for which you want to search as well as the order in which you want to process information in a table For example you can index the last_name column in a customer table to find specific customers or to process the customers in alphabetical or reverse alphabetical order by their last names last_name serves as the key A word that has meaning to a program For example the word SELECT is a keyword in SQL A unit of storage that equals 1024 bytes Glossary 29 Language Supplement large object leaf node level of isolation library light append link LIST literal little endian load job local copy An Informix product that provides the locale files and error messages to support one or more languages The International Language Supplement supports several European languages Informix provides separate Language Supplements for several Asian languages A data object that is logically stored in a table column but physically stored independently of the column due to its size Large objects can be simple large objects TEXT BYTE or smart large objects BLOB CLOB An index page that co
428. yfiles setenv INFORMIXCONCSMCFG usr myfiles You can also specify a different name for the file The following example specifies a filename of csmconfig 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 Administrator s Reference 3 66 Informix Guide to SQL Reference INFORMIXCONRETRY INFORM IXCONRETRY The INFORMIXCONRETRY environment variable specifies the maximum number of additional connection attempts that should be made to each server by the client during the time limit that the INFORMIXCONTIME environment variable specifies setenv INFORMIXCONRETRY value value represents the number of connection attempts to each server For example enter the following command to set INFORMIXCONRETRY to three additional connection attempts after the initial attempt 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 INFORM IXCONTIM E The INFORMIXCONTIME environment variable lets you specify that an SQL CONNECT statement should keep trying for at least the given number of seconds before returning an error You might encounter connection difficulties
429. yption NONE does not use encryption TRUE uses encryption If the ISM_ENCRYPTION environment variable 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 If ISM_ENCRYPTION is set to NONE or is not set the ISM server does not use encryption ISM_MAXLOGSIZE Set the ISM_MAXLOGSIZE environment variable in the Informix Storage Manager ISM server environment to specify the size threshold of the ISM activity log ISM_MAXLOGSIZE value specifies the size threshold of the activity log If ISM_MAXLOGSIZE is not set the default size limit is 1 megabyte If ISM_MAXLOGSIZE is set to a null value the threshold is 0 bytes 3 80 Informix Guide to SQL Reference ISM_ MAXLOGVERS ISM_MAXLOGVERS Set the ISM_MAXLOGSVERS environment variable in the 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 specifies the number of files to be preserved If ISM_MAXLOGSVERS is not set the default number of files to be preserved is four If ISM_MAXLOGSVERS is set to a null value the ISM server preserves no activity log files LD_LIBRARY_PATH The LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable tells the shell on Solaris systems which directories to search for client or shared Inform
430. ysexternal 1 44 sysfragauth 1 45 sysfragments 1 46 sysindexes 1 49 sysindices 1 51 sysinherits 1 53 syslangauth 1 53 syslogmap 1 54 sysnewdepend 1 54 sysobjstate 1 55 sysopclasses 1 56 sysopclstr 1 57 sysprocauth 1 59 sysprocbody 1 60 J K L MN OP QRS TU VW X Y Z sysprocedures 1 61 sysprocplan 1 65 sysreferences 1 66 sysrepository 1 67 sysroleauth 1 68 sysroutinelangs 1 68 syssynonyms 1 69 syssyntable 1 70 systabamdata 1 71 systabauth 1 72 systables 1 73 systraceclasses 1 75 systracemsgs 1 76 systrigbody 1 77 systriggers 1 78 sysusers 1 79 sysviews 1 80 sysviolations 1 81 sysxtddesc 1 82 sysxtdtypeauth 1 83 sysxtdtypes 1 84 table indexes 1 51 table inheritance 1 53 trace classes 1 75 trace messages 1 76 updating statistics 1 13 updating system catalog tables 1 13 user defined casts 1 25 user defined data type descriptions 1 82 using 1 6 versus sysmaster database 1 6 System requirements database Intro 4 software Intro 4 systraceclasses system catalog table 1 75 systracemsgs system catalog table 1 76 systrigbody system catalog table 1 77 systriggers system catalog table 1 78 sysusers system catalog table 1 79 sysviews system catalog table 1 80 sysviolations systems catalog table 1 81 Index 11 ABCDEFGH I sysxtddesc system catalog table 1 82 sysxtdtypeauth system catalog table 1 83 sysxtdtypes system catalog table described 1 84 for Distinct types 2 23 for named row types 2 36 for opaque types 2 3

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