Re: new to informix

Bob Frank wrote: > > Hello, > I'm just trying to get started with a database I inherited. It's informix on > aix. I don't know the first thing about informix but I want to get a look at > the database schema and then start to extract data using sql from a windows > box. If someone would point me in the right direction, it'd be greatly > appreciated. The process for sql is /usr/local/vision/bin/sqlr.inf40.d -p5. > Does that give any clue regarding what release of informix this is? You appear to have a copy of SQL-Retriever which is an ODBC driver, and will link Windows apps to a UNIX RDBMS. As others have stated, you need client Windows software on the PC and software running on UNIX (the sqlr.inf40.d that you have already found). You can get the schema from Informix with Informix's dbschema command (and other methods - as others on this thread have indicated). SQL-Gold is a basic Windows app provided with SQL-Retriever that will enable you to do simple interaction with the database once you've got a connection; thereafter, you should be able to use things like MS-Access to get to the Informix data. IIRC, there's an SQL command to show keys, and there's also an ODBC API command to show the keys, but I can't remember either. Equally, if you can get MS-Access to connect via SQL-Retriever to the database, in some of the Views, Access will show you the keys (but IIRC keys are a problematic area for ODBC & Access): better to use isql or similar to display them. SQL-Retriever was in fact created by a company called Visionware (in Leeds, UK) which then got bought out by SCO (as was then, in about 1996), and then SQL-Retriever slid into Tarantella (as is) when SCO yet again moved into another structure (at the time of the Caldera change). Enjoy (& impressed SQL-R still out and about & use use) For more information about SQL-Retriever, see: http://www.sql-retriever.freeserve.co.uk/ Haddock