Informix Guide to SQL: Tutorial

Informix Guide to SQL: Tutorial
Chapter 1: Informix Databases

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Summary

A database contains a collection of related information but differs in a fundamental way from other methods of storing data. The database contains not only the data but also a data model that defines each data item and specifies its meaning with respect to the other items and to the real world.

More than one user can access and modify a database at the same time. Each user has a different view of the contents of a database, and their access to those contents can be restricted in several ways.

To manipulate and query a database, use SQL. IBM pioneered SQL and ANSI standardized it. Informix added extensions to the ANSI-defined language that you can use to your advantage. Informix tools also make it possible to maintain strict compliance with ANSI standards.

Informix Guide to SQL: Tutorial, version 9.1
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