RE: How to add a new user to Informix Database?

Hi! This has appeared so many times on the list, and the instructions are also in the manuals. Yet some of us still add new users to the UNIX group informix. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DOING SO! This compromises the security in terms of access to the applications. Only user informix should be a member of the group informix. To use INFORMIX applications in UNIX, you create your new user using the normal UNIX Account Manager utility (whatever that may be on your flavour of UNIX). Then you modify the user's ,profile or .login (or maybe if the box is to be used by all users as a database application server, then you may want to do this in /etc/profile so that it is done once) to add the specific environment variables based on your version of the engine. For pre-6.x you need: - INFORMIXDIR=<home directory where the INFORMIX applications were installed> - PATH :- needs to have $INFORMIXDIR/bin included in PATH - SQLEXEC :- only needed if multiple engines (SE and OnLine) installed in INFORMIXDIR For 6.x and above: - INFORMIXDIR - PATH - INFORMIXSERVER :- check the manuals There may be other variables needed, but you need to check your DBA or System Admin for them. If you're the DBA, then you need to attend an INFORMIX Training course for your engine version, because there are a lot of things to read about and learn if you're going to do anything for yourself (and your users). In this respect, INFORMIX is unlike the other database offerings, in that users are not created in the INFORMIX environment; rather your UNIX user has certain environment variables set so that they can access certain database objects via certain INFORMIX applications, and your DBA needs to set the correct permissions/access rights at the database level (and table if needed). Hope this helps. I'm not familiar with INFORMIX for NT so I can't help you there. Best regards, Edmund Nigel Gall Information Systems Specialist Process Plant Services Limited Atlantic Avenue, Point Lisas Industrial Estate Point Lisas, Couva, Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. Tel: (868) 636 3153 Fax: (868) 636 3770 -----Original Message----- From: Sean Kelsey [mailto:seank@teepee.demon.co.uk] Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 1998 11:49 AM To: informix-list@iiug.org Subject: Re: How to add a new user to Informix Database? Sorry Khanh, I have been unable to respond via e-mail - problems at my end !!! To add users on the system, you'll have to go through the UNIX system admin. Simply add them as part of the informix group. Once they are recognised by UNIX then you can grant and revoke permissions accordingly. ( I trust this is a UNIX box ?? ). NT works in a similar way, but you will need to navigate your way around the security labarynth before users can use the relevant chunks/databases. Hope this helps Sean Khanh K Mai wrote in message <36543E6C.2BC7621@vertex.com>... >I have gone through the Administrator's Guide of Informix Online >documentation >at informix.com web site and still did not get enough information about >how to >add a new login user to Informix Database. > >I mean that I would like to know those Informix DBA commands performing >similar Sybase commands like : > >sp_addlogin "joe" , "joe_passwd" >go >use tester_database_name >go >sp_adduser "joe" >go > >Thank you very much for your help > >kmai >