The Informix FAQ 1.3
Here's version 1.3 of the Informix FAQ: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ $Id: informix.f%v 1.3 1994/09/05 23:27:21 kerry Exp kerry $ Frequently Asked Questions about Informix Products -------------------------------------------------- This document attempts to answer some of the questions which regularly appear in the Usenet Newsgroup comp.databases.informix. In addition to "frequent" questions I've also included questions which I consider useful or interesting. Please don't hesitate to offer opinions on the content of this FAQ, and suggestions for improvement ("I've never done this before", he said shyly). What do *you* consider to be common problems, or other items that should be in the FAQ? Send your questions, preferably with answers, and I'll be pleased to add them to the next release. Contents -------- 0 FAQ Facts: 0.1 What's new in this release of the FAQ? 0.2 How can I get the latest copy of the FAQ? 0.3 Who do I complain to? 1 Frivolous background stuff: 1.1 Who, or what, is Informix? 1.2 The Informix Time-line 1.3 How do you pronounce "Informix"? 1.4 What products to Informix sell, and what do they do? 1.5 What're the differences between Turbo/Online/SE/4GL/RDS/ESQL... 1.6 What are TPC-C benchmarks? 1.7 What are the meaning of the acronyms used in this newsgroup? 2 Not so frivolous background stuff: 2.1 Who are we - comp.databases.informix 2.2 How do I join the list or unsubscribe? 2.3 What's the Consensus on Job Postings? 2.4 Other User Groups 3 Tell me More about... 3.1 The Integrated Debugger 3.2 4GL for Windows 3.3 I-Star/I-Net 4 Common Questions about tools: 4.1 Informix-4GL 4.1.1 I keep getting -4518 errors! How can I fix this problem? 4.1.2 How can I write to a flat ASCII file? 4.1.3 How can I read from a flat ASCII file? 4.1.4 How can I force INPUT ARRAY onto the next line? 4.1.5 How can I make a screen dump? 4.1.6 Any undocumented features that I could play with? 4.1.7 Performance tips (Code Optimization) 4.1.8 Performance tips (Design Optimization) 4.1.9 How can I use #DEFINE-style constructs, like C? 4.1.10 Why are RUN's return codes screwy? 4.1.11 Are there any RDS compatibility problems? 4.1.12 Can you link Compiled I4GL functions into a custom P-code runner? 4.1.13 How can I check if any rows exist, without OPEN-FETCH-CLOSE? 4.2 ESQL/C: 4.2.1 Why have Informix duplicated stleng, stcopy() etc in ESQL/C? 4.2.2 How can I get a list of databases? 4.2.3 Can I use ESQL with C++? 4.3 ACE: 4.3.1 How do I call a custom C function from ACE? 4.4 WingZ 1.0: 4.4.1 How can I make DataLink not pop-up 'no rows found'-style dialog boxes 4.5 Hyperscript Tools: 4.5.1 How do I run a Hyperscript Worksheet directly from a Windows Icon? 4.5.2 Which is better Datalens or built-in SQL? 5 Common SQL Questions: 5.1 How can I speed up my queries? 5.2 How can I use the results of an SQL query in a shell script? 5.3 Why can't I create a view with a calc column 5.4 How can I access data outside the current database? 5.5 How can I SELECT rows in detail-table missing a matching header-table row 5.6 How can I SELECT a fraction (say 10%) of the database 6 Common Questions about the Engine: 6.1 What're some pointers for configuring Online? 6.2 What do I need to use MS-Access/Visual Basic with my Informix database? 6.3 Where can I get an ODBC driver? 6.4 What error messages are caused by locking problems? 6.5 What should I use instead of kill -9? 6.6 How can I tell what version I'm running? 6.7 Locking in pre-6.0 engines (neighbor index locking - ask Dave Kosenko) 6.8 Space 'reclamation' 6.9 Online Disk Fragmentation 6.10 Why do UPDATE STATISTICS? 6.11 How do we get serial field starting values for a table 6.12 Can I count the number of rows SELECTed, without using SELECT COUNT? 6.13 Is the number of rows processed in the SQLERRD structure accurate? 6.14 Interpreting SysColumns.ColType and SysColumns.ColLength 6.15 More tuning suggestions for Online 6.16 DATETIME, INTERVAL and other tricks 7 DBA Issues 7.1 Permissions, permissions, permissions 7.2 Performance - make it go faster! 7.3 I-Net/Star Security 8 Configuring things 8.1 Environment variables 8.2 How do you read termcap's ZA string? 9 Gimme something for nothing, what's available? 9.1 Informix Archive Sites 9.2 Is there a Perl interface to Informix? 9.3 What about Mac Client Software? 9.4 Is there an RDS de-compiler available? 9.5 What about a GUI interface? 10 Miscellany 10.1 What machines get ported to first? 10.2 I've finished the FAQ, what else can I read? 10.3 Is there any Informix info on The Web? 10.4 List of major bugs fixed in the various versions 10.5 What is Informix-Link? Appendices APPENDIX A Temporary String Space (TSS) APPENDIX B Sample 4GL Routine to read ASCII files APPENDIX C Sample C Routine to read ASCII files APPENDIX D C Routine to give a list of databases APPENDIX E How to interpret syscolumns (in English) APPENDIX F How to interpret syscolumns (in 4GL) APPENDIX G GUI builders summary APPENDIX H Shell to list Informix versions APPENDIX I DATETIME, INTERVAL and other tricks Credits --------------------- 0 FAQ Facts ------------ 0.1 What's new in this release of the FAQ? ------------------------------------------- - There's now a "What's new" section :-) - Section headings now have their numeric identifier included, previously the number was only mentioned in the TOC. (Hopeless for searching!). So: If you want section 4, and use vi, search using /^4<space>. To find section 4.1 use /^4.1<space> - Added the following sections: 4.1.13 How can I check if any rows exist, without OPEN-FETCH-CLOSE? 4.2.3 Can I use ESQL with C++? 4.4 WingZ 1.0: 4.4.1 How can I make DataLink not pop-up 'no rows found'-style dialog boxes 4.5 Hyperscript Tools: 4.5.1 How do I run a Hyperscript Worksheet directly from a Windows Icon? 4.5.2 Which is better Datalens or built-in SQL? 5.5 How can I SELECT rows in detail-table missing a matching header-table row 5.6 How can I SELECT a fraction (say 10%) of the database 6.16 DATETIME, INTERVAL and other tricks 7.2 Performance - make it go faster! 7.3 I-Net/Star Security 10.5 What is Informix-Link? APPENDIX H Shell to list Informix versions APPENDIX I DATETIME, INTERVAL and other tricks - Replaced the description of the NEXT FIELD noentry trick (4.1.4) with Dennis Pimple's original posting. It's easier to understand, and gives due credit. - The Online tip about lowering LTXHWM and LTXEHWM has expanded to cope with the recent c.d.i "discussion". - A real-world ODBC configuration is now shown in section 6.2 0.2 How can I get the latest copy of the FAQ? -