Draft 1 - Informix on Linux FAQ

Hello, everyone. First, I apologize for sending a 30k post out. I hope, though, that the bandwidth thus hogged will be worth it. Below is a first cut at an Informix on Linux FAQ. I would sincerely appreciate your comments, corrections and suggestions. I've also posted this to the linux-informix mailing list, so apologies, too, if you receive this twice. I do not pretend to be an Informix expert, so bear that in mind before cutting me to ribbons due to technical inaccuracies. As before, please direct your replies to kwall@uswest.net, to avoid cluttering up the newsgroup. Thanks very much in advance. Kurt Wall -------------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Title Informix on Linux Frequently Asked Questions With Answers Covering Informix-SE 7.24.UC5 Kurt Wall - kwall@uswest.net (C) Kurt Wall 1998 - All Rights Reserved This is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers related to the installation, configuration and use of the Informix Standard Engine and the ESQL/C development tool on Linux. It was originally created by Kurt Wall and should, by all means, be considered a work in progress. It attempts to address the most frequently-encountered obstacles to getting Informix-SE installed and running on Linux. It is weak in certain areas, especially with respect to ODBC and ESQL/C. It does not attempt to give the reader a primer on relational database theory. Whole careers and shelves of books are dedicated to these subjects. As time goes by, I hope to add a few pointers to the most relevant of these books. You can reach me at: Kurt Wall c/o USWest 205 East 200 South, Rm. #320 Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 USA Work Email: krwall@uswest.com Home Email: kwall@uswest.net Phone: (801) 237-5508 Fax : (801) 237-5756 1. About This FAQ 1.1 Contents * Obtaining the Software * Installation and Configuration * Running Informix-SE * Having Problems? * Other Interfaces to Informix-SE * Running SCO binaries on Linux? * Other Informix Products * Miscellaneous * Additional Resources * Credits 1.2 Disclaimer 1.3 Availability This FAQ will be updated as necessary and, more likely, as I have time. The most recent version is 0.10, released 09/12/1998. It can be viewed online at: http://www.iug.org/??iolfaq.html?? http://www.users.uswest.net/~kwall/iolfaq.html To retrieve it via anonymous FTP, try: FTP.iiug.org??iolfaq.tgz?? http://www.users.uswest.net/~kwall/iolfaq-text.tgz (text) http://www.users.uswest.net/~kwall/iolfaq-html.tgz (HTML) I hope to post to the usual Linux web and FTP sites, as well. 2. Obtaining the Software 2.1 Supported and unsupported platforms As of the date this FAQ was last updated, Informix-SE has been formally runs on Caldera OpenLinux 1.2 and S.u.S.E. 5.2, both on the Intel (i386) platform. You can probably run it on any Slackware release through 3.5, too. The release notes state that this release was tested on a Pentium II 400 MHz processor running Caldera OpenLinux 1.2, kernel version 2.0.33. The real issue, however, is that most major Linux distributions have moved to the GNU "C" library, glibc (soon to be know as libc6), while Caldera 1.2 and earlier and S.u.S.E. 5.2 (?and earlier?) still use the old "C" library, libc5, which has been heavily patched to work seamlessly with the Linux kernel. Informix's web page states they are committed to making Informix-SE (and, one presumes, subsequent products) work on on systems running glibc/libc6. Those using glibc/libc6-based systems may be able to run Informix-SE on their systems if they also install libc5. To the best of my knowledge, however, this constitutes an "unsupported configuration," so if you futz your system, don't blame me. I have read several reports from people running such systems with out incident, but, YMMV and caveat emptor. Instructions for installing libc5 and glibc/libc6 systems exist; see the "Resources" section at the end of this document. 2.2 Register at Intraware NOTE: If you live outside the United States, you should call 800-331-1763 or contact the closest Informix Office. For a list of locations, visit http://www.informix.com/informix/contact/offices. Before you can download Informix-SE, you have to register at the Intraware site, since they are handling the downloads for Informix. Registration is free, and the questions asked are not too intrusive. To register, go to http://www.intraware.com/idn/linux/, and follow the prompts. You will receive and usercode and password via email from Intraware within a few hours (I received mine about twenty minutes later). Print this information out and make backup copies. 2.3 Get the software 2.3.1 Order the CD ?need to fill this in? 2.3.2 Download from Intraware After receiving your Intraware usercode and password, point your browser at http://www.intraware.com/idn/?linux-download?/ and download the file. You wind up with a 9.5 Mb zipped file named informix_se___esql_c_bundle_for_linux.zip. 2.5 Register at IDN This is a strictly optional step, although highly recommended. IDN is the Informix Developers Network. The registered areas of IDN are where you obtain access to the Linux users forum hosted by Informix. Questions not answered here are likely answered there. 2.6 Register at IIUG Again, this is an optional step, although, again, I strongly recommend it. IIUG is the International Informix Users Group. It is mostly IIUG that we have to thank for persuading Informix to start porting their products to Linux. Highlights of the IIUG site include several HOWTOs for getting Informix-SE up and running on your machine, a complete and searchable archive of comp.databases.informix and a grundle of code that will help you use your new installation of Informix-SE as well as make the job of maintaining it easier. 2.7 What's the catch? Development licenses are free, which means that you can install it and use it to your heart's content. Which is to say, "There is no catch." However, and although I wouldn't necessarily consider it "a catch," if you develop an application on top of Informix-SE 09 distribute it, you will have to buy a runtime-license for each user of the engine. Informix is not in this for free and expects to see some payoff for their efforts. Admittedly, this does not appear to be conform to the spirit of the Open Source movement, but this FAQ does not concern itself with politics. For more information, contact an Informix sales office: http://www.informix.com/cgi-bin/contact.pl 2.8 Is technical support available? TANSTAAFL. Support contracts will cost you money. Why? Those familiar with the RDBMS business understand that support contracts constitute one of the three major revenue sources for RDBMS vendors (the other two sources are run-time licenses and consulting fees). This may surprise new kids in the sand box who are accustome