Trying to write a prog to load data AND comply w/referentail integrity

This may sound like a very easy question, so much the easier for you to answer hopefully... We are using informix and powerbuilder. (Just telling you this, we actually want to just use STANDARD SQL to accomplish this so our platform should not make a difference) We are trying to load data from a migration tablespace into a production tablespace in such a way that referential integrity is maintained, actually we have no choice because Constraints restrict adding one record to a file unless a required record is in another file first. Was thinking to use cursor, and fetch and insert, but how do we determine if a required record exists in another table where a referential constraint requires there to be one, before adding a record to another table. Was thinking of using SQL count, but how do I take that SQL statements output and use it in a comparison to see if the record exists or not before adding another record to another table. I am used to using CLIPPER where you can just do a find() and if eof() I know it does not exist. If you could give me syntax, we would greatly appreciate it. There is no such think as STRAIGHT SQL right ? We have to mix it in with C or COBOL, if so C would be the preferred way, as I do alot of C programming. Thanks MUCH in advance, root@TeamInfinity.com