Informix JDBC Driver Programmer's Guide Introduction

This guide describes how to install, load, and use Informix JDBC Driver to connect to an Informix database from within a Java application or applet. You can also use Informix JDBC Driver for writing user-defined routines that are executed in the server.

This section discusses the organization of the manual, the intended audience, and the associated software products you must have to use Informix JDBC Driver.

This manual includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 1, Getting Started, describes Informix JDBC Driver and the JDBC application programming interface (API) in general. It provides essential information for programmers to immediately start using the product, such as instructions on how to install and load the driver.
• Chapter 2, Programming with Informix JDBC Driver, explains in more detail the Informix-specific information needed to use Informix JDBC Driver to connect to an Informix database. This information includes how to create a connection to an Informix database, query tables, and handle errors.
• Chapter 3, Manipulating Informix Data Types, explains the Informix-specific data types supported in Informix JDBC Driver. This information includes how to map data types.
• Chapter 4, Troubleshooting, provides troubleshooting tips to solve programming errors and problems with the driver. It also describes browser security issues when you use Informix JDBC Driver in a Java applet.
• Appendix A, Sample Code Files, lists examples referred to in the guide.

A glossary of relevant terms and a list of error messages follow the chapters, and an index directs you to areas of particular interest.

This guide does not describe all the interfaces, classes, and methods of the JDBC API and does not provide detailed descriptions of how to use the JDBC API to write Java applications that connect to Informix databases. The examples in the guide provide enough information to show how to use Informix JDBC Driver but do not provide an extensive description of the JDBC API.

For more information about the JDBC API, visit the JavaSoft Web site at:

http://www.javasoft.com/products/jdk/1.2/docs/guide/jdbc/index.html

This guide is for Java programmers who use the JDBC API to connect to Informix databases using Informix JDBC Driver. To use this guide, you should know how to program in Java and, in particular, understand the classes and methods of the JDBC API.

To use Informix JDBC Driver to connect to an Informix database, you must use one of the following Informix database servers:

• Informix Dynamic Server, Version 7.x
• Informix Dynamic Server, Workgroup and Developer Editions, Version 7.x
• Informix Dynamic Server with Advanced Decision Support and Extended Parallel Options, Version 8.x
• Informix Dynamic Server with Universal Data Option, Version 9.x
• INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server, Version 5.x
• INFORMIX-SE, Versions 5.x and 7.2x

You must also use Java Development Kit (JDK), Version 1.2 or later.

Informix products can support many languages, cultures, and code sets. All culture-specific information is brought together in a single environment, called a GLS (Global Language Support) locale.

The examples in this manual are written with the assumption that you are using the default locale, en_us.8859-1. This locale supports U.S. English format conventions for dates, times, and currency. In addition, this locale supports the ISO 8859-1 code set, which includes the ASCII code set plus many 8-bit characters such as é, è, and ñ.

If you plan to use nondefault characters in your data or your SQL identifiers, or if you want to conform to the nondefault collation rules of character data, you need to specify the appropriate nondefault locale.

For instructions on how to specify a nondefault locale, additional syntax, and other considerations related to GLS locales, see the Informix Guide to GLS Functionality.