text:
Appropriate Content: Informix Documentation Team
4GL 7.50.xC6 Doc is now available
A glimpse of IBM Informix Genero
jasna 110000T2XC Tags:  applications 4gl ide informix-genero genero-studio application-development 6,753 Views
There's much excitement around here now that IBM® Informix® Genero® is generally available. In fact, you might want to mark your calendar for the April 21 "Chat with the labs" to hear Jerry Keesee and Shawn Moe describe the new Informix Genero offering, including packaging, sales, and technical support.
During the development phase, I installed the product to verify some installation instructions. The installation went smoothly and was very quick and easy to do -- I just followed the prompts on the installation application and, voila, in minutes I had the integrated development suite on my laptop.
I thought I'd explore the graphical Form Designer in Informix Genero Studio. A form is the user interface for Informix Genero applications. For example, forms allow application users to query a database or to make changes in the rows of a database table. Adding widgets to the form was simple. With a few clicks, I selected the fields that I wanted to add and then I typed labels for them. From the Genero Studio workspace, I could customize the form. I simply grabbed the fields to make them longer or shorter. I selected items from the form structure list, deleted them, and then they disappeared from the rendered image. Oh the power! Hmm, maybe in my next life I should be a developer?!
Alerts for tables with in-place alter operations
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  in-place ph_alert alters 3,092 Views
With version 11.70, you can see which tables have outstanding in-place alter operations. (Tables that have outstanding in-place alter operations can cause a slight performance degradation.)
Each table with an outstanding in-place alter operation has an informative alert row in the ph_alert table in the sysadmin database. For more information, see In-place alter in the IBM Informix 11.70 Information Center, or see information on the Alerts page of the Health Center in the IBM OpenAdmin Tool for Informix .
Announcing the IWA RedBook!
Query Acceleration for Business using Informix Warehouse Accelerator
A draft IBM Redbooks publication (Planned Published date of November 2013)
IBM Informix Warehouse Accelerator (IWA) is a state-of-the-art in-memory database designed to exploit affordable innovations in memory and processor technology and trends in novel ways to boost query performance. It is a disruptive technology that changes how organizations provide analytics to its operational and historical data. Informix Warehouse Accelerator leverages columnar, in-memory approach to accelerate even the most complex warehouse and operational queries without application changes or tuning.
This book provides a comprehensive look at the technology and architecture behind the system. It contains information about the tools, data synchronization, and query processing capabilities of Informix Warehouse Accelerator, and steps to implement data analysis by using Informix Warehouse Accelerator within an organization.
Table of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction to Informix Warehouse Accelerator
Assertion failures and Informix: Part 1-- what to do when you get one
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  assertion_failure database error server informix corruption 3,684 Views
Did you know that assertion failures are the number one reason for calls to Informix® support? When we in Informix documentation found that out, we decided to shed some light on assertion failures.
What is an assertion failure?
An assertion failure occurs when the database server cannot continue normal processing and must shut down.
What do I do when I get an assertion failure?
If your production server is currently down, contact IBM® Software Support immediately.
To correct an assertion failure:
Tune in next week for part 2 -- how do you prevent assertion failures from happening.
Assertion Failures and Informix: Part 2 -- How to prevent them
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  administration assertion_failure update_statistics informix backup prevention 3,364 Views
In my previous entry, I gave some tips on how to correct assertion failures in the Informix® server. Obviously, the real goal is to prevent them in the first place!
Here are some things you should do on a regular basis that might prevent assertion failures:
To find out how and why each of these tasks can prevent assertion failures, read this topic: Prevent and prepare for assertion failures.
Of course, you should always be prepared for a catastrophic failure, so make sure you backup your data, logical logs, and your database and storage spaces schemas.
Backup and restore configuration parameter reference topics consolidated into one Backup and Restore Guide chapter
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  configuration backup parameters restore 3,357 Views
In Version 11.70xC4, all reference topics on ON-Bar, ontape, and archecker utility configuration parameters are now consolidated into a new "Backup and restore configuration parameters" section of the IBM Informix Backup and Restore Guide. Additionally, duplicate topics on backup and restore configuration parameters have been removed from both the Backup and Restore Guide and the Administrator's Reference. This should make it easier to find backup and restore configuration parameter reference information. This is just one example of the kinds of documentation improvements we like to make for each new release of the Informix product.
Click Backup and restore configuration parameters to view the consolidated information in the Backup and Restore Guide.
Basic text search: now available on more platforms
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  text bts zseries pseries json text_search search informix 3,446 Views
With IBM® Informix® version 12.10.xC5, the powerful and flexible basic text searching feature is now available for Linux on IBM Power Series and IBM zSeries machines:
If you're not already a fan of basic text search, here's some of the reasons why you should be:
Find out more: basic text searching.
Basic text searching improvements in Informix 11.50
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  text informix search 4,016 Views
Basic text searching in Informix v11.50 became more versatile, configurable, and faster. See the What's New in Database Extensions for more information.
Process Multiple Basic Test Search Queries Simultaneously
If basic text search queries are slow because multiple users are running queries at the same time, you can add more BTS virtual processors so that queries run simultaneously, each in their own virtual processor. Previously, you could only create one BTS virtual processor and queries ran serially.
Control the Results of a Fuzzy Search with the Basic Text Search DataBlade® module
You can now specify the degree of similarity of search results in fuzzy searches when using the Basic Text Search DataBlade module. Specify a number between 0 and 1, where a higher value results in a higher degree of similarity. To limit results, specify a higher number. To maximize results, specify a lower number. The default degree of similarity is 0.5.
Map Characters for Indexing with the Basic Text Search DataBlade module
You can now map characters in your data to other characters during indexing with the Basic Text Search DataBlade module. For example, you can specify that letters with diacritical marks are indexed as the same letters without marks. You can also standardize inconsistent prefixes or delete character strings from indexed text. To use character maps, include the canonical_maps parameter when you create your bts index.
Default Boolean Operator in Basic Text Search Queries
You can now change the default Boolean
operator between search terms in Basic Text Search queries from OR to AND by
using the query_default_operator parameter when you create a bts index. The default
operator is represented by a blank space between terms. Many popular end-user
search engines use AND as the default operator between search terms, where
end-users expect the search results to contain all their search terms.
Storage for Temporary Basic Text Search Files
You can now specify that temporary files used by the Basic Text Search DataBlade module are stored in a separate sbspace from the one used to store the bts index. Separating temporary files from the bts index might improve query performance.
Track Basic Text Search Query Trends
You can now track what queries are run against your bts index by including the query_log parameter when you create a bts index. You can use query trends information to provide hints to end-users on popular queries or work on optimizing the most popular queries.
Fragment bts Indexes by Expressions
You can now fragment bts indexes by expressions into multiple sbspaces instead of a single sbspace.
Basic Text Search DataBlade module Supports High-Availability Clusters
You can now use the Basic Text Search DataBlade module to perform searches on high-availability cluster servers by creating indexes in sbspaces. Previously, the Basic Text Search DataBlade module only supported the creation of indexes in extspaces, and thus could not participate in any queries on high-availability secondary servers and in backup and restore operations.
Querying XML Attributes with the Basic Text DataBlade module
The Basic Text Search DataBlade module now supports searches on XML attributes in a document repository. The new all_xmlattrs parameter enables searches on all attributes that are contained in the XML tags or paths in a column that contains an XML document.
Support added for a user-defined stopword list
You can create a customized stopword list for frequently occurring words in your data or you can use the default stopword list.
Support added for XML-structured documents
You can use Basic Text Search XML index parameters to manipulate searches of XML data in different ways.
Basic text searching is highly customizable
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  thesaurus database index informix analyzer stopword search text 3,023 Views
In IBM Informix 11.70.xC2, you have many more option for customizing basic text searching for your needs.
See the What's New for links to each of these features.
Here are a couple of examples:
The following example creates a bts index on two XML fields and uses a different analyzer for each field:
CREATE INDEX boats_bts
The following example creates stopword list of am, be, and are for all fields except the fields author and title, which have their own stopwords, and the field edition, which does not have any stopwords.
CREATE INDEX books_bts ON books(book_data bts_lvarchar_ops)
Be heard. Informix 2013 Survey Available Now.
jmcdavid 270003BVSW 1,700 Views
The Informix 2013 Survey is now available. Make your voice heard! Tell us how you use Informix products. Let us know how you would like to use Informix products.
Your feedback is very important. Take the time to be a part of the discussion.
Case-insensitive queries on NCHAR and NVARCHAR text strings
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  queries nvarchar case-insensitive nlscase nchar 4,006 Views
Before version 11.70, database operations treated strings stored in all Informix databases as case-sensitive. For example, a query for the string "Central" returns "Central" but not "CENTRAL" or "central". Operations designed to disregard the case of text strings required a bts index or a functional index for each query.
In version 11.70, a database is still created as case-sensitive by default. However, you can use the NLSCASE INSENSITIVE option with the CREATE DATABASE statement to create a database that ignores the case of text strings. For example, querying "Central" returns "Central", "CENTRAL", and "central".
A case-insensitive database ignores letter case only on NCHAR and NVARCHAR data types, but it treats the other built-in character data types (CHAR, LVARCHAR, and VARCHAR) as case-sensitive. You cannot include both case-sensitive and case-insensitive databases in a distributed query.
For more information, see Specifying NLSCASE case sensitivity.
Changes to the Informix release notes
JohannaTuraj 0600007SU6 2,179 Views
We've made some changes to the Informix on-line notes in the 12.10.xC2 release.
Release notes are provided only in HTML format, in the Information Center and with the product. Text versions are no longer available.
We removed redundancy and the need to look in multiple files to get the information that you need.
Chat about Informix Hypervisor Edition 11.70
jasna 110000T2XC Tags:  chat hypervisor informix 2,564 Views
Did you know that IBM Informix Hypervisor Edition 11.70 was released last month? The announcement is here: https://ibm.biz/BdxMcT.
To learn more about this new offering, join Jerry, Doug, and the Informix team at the January 31, 2013 "Chat with the lab". You can register at https://ibm.biz/BdxMck.
Check out the new features for Informix 11.70.xC5!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  time_series features informix fixpack database 11.70.xc5 iwa 4,472 Views
IBM Informix 11.70.xC5 is available today! Here's a summary of the new features:
Application development
Enterprise replication
Global language support
Time series data
Informix Warehouse Accelerator
Read the full new feature descriptions with links to complete information here.
But wait! there's more! We've done some improvements to the documentation, including:
Check out the new features in IBM Informix 11.70.xC2!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  performance search warehouse database oat install informix 3,628 Views
The Informix® 11.70 information center has been updated with 11.70.xC2 information!
The new features in IBM® Informix 11.70.xC2 are:
Read the What's new in Informix topic in the information center for a short description of each new feature and links to where they are documented in detail.
Check out the new IBM Knowledge Center - Open Beta until Feb 2014
jasna 110000T2XC Tags:  beta documentation ibmkc information_center infocenter knowledge_center 3,041 Views
You might have seen the following banner on the Informix information centers:
IBM Knowledge Center is our new technology designed to bring IBM's technical publications together in a single location, and will replace our individual IBM Information Centers. So check it out, and consider sending comments to the IBM Knowledge Center team during the open Beta.
IBM Knowledge Center Open Beta is available!
Check out the new Informix 11.70.xC3 features!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  oat informix memory enterprise_replication utf8 warehouse connection_manager dbaccess readahead grid low_memory timeseries audit 4,553 Views
The Informix® 11.70 information center has been updated with 11.70.xC3 information!
Come play in the Informix sandbox at IIUG!
Check out some new ideas for OAT and talk to us about how you use Informix and Informix documentation at the IIUG conference in San Diego. Alison Eckholm, the Informix usability expert, and I, the OAT information developer, are hosting a usability sandbox at the conference on April 23, 24, and 25. You can participate in any of these sandbox sessions:
Whether you attend IIUG or not, you can participate in our survey on Informix administration. We want to understand how you find information about Informix when you need it. You can help by completing the survey, whether you use the command line, OAT, or other administrative tools. Your answers will remain anonymous and confidential. To participate, go to the IBM Informix Administration Survey on the IBM website: https://www-950.ibm.com/survey/oid/wsb.dll/s/ag456.
Compressing Indexes by Merging Partially Used Indexes
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY 2,169 Views
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that in Version 11.50 you can use SQL administration API commands to compress row data in a table or in one or more table fragments.
In Version 11.50, you can also compress indexes by merging two partially used index pages if the data on those pages totals a set level. You can specify the index compression level by modifying the value of the compression field of the BTSCANNER configuration parameter, by running an onmode -C command with a compression value, or by running an SQL administration API function with the SET INDEX COMPRESSION argument. For more information on this and other new performance-related features, see the "What's new in performance" topic in the Introduction of the Version 11.50 Performance Guide.
For more information on SQL administration API commands, see the "SQL administration API" section of the Administrator's Reference. The "SQL administration API portal: Arguments by functional category" topic, which is in the "SQL administration API" section of the Administrator's Reference, is a handy list of all of the SQL administration API commands you can use.
Compression improvements in Informix 12.10
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 2,624 Views
There are several improvements to compression in IBM® Informix® version 12.10. See the What's new in Informix page in the information center for links to documentation on these features. Here's a summary:
Improve space utilization by compressing, repacking, and shrinking B-tree indexes
You can use SQL administration API commands or CREATE INDEX statements to save disk space by compressing B-tree indexes. You can also use SQL administration API commands to consolidate free space in a B-tree index, return this free space to the dbspace, and estimate the amount of space that is saved by compressing the indexes.
Save disk space by compressing simple large objects in dbspaces
You can use SQL administration API commands to save disk space by compressing simple large objects (TEXT and BYTE data types) that are stored in the same partition in the same dbspace as the table in which they are referenced. When you run an SQL administration API compress or uncompress command, the database server compresses both the table row data and the referenced simple large objects. You can choose to compress or uncompress only the table row data or only the referenced simple large objects.
Save disk space by enabling automatic data compression
You can use the COMPRESSED keyword with the CREATE TABLE statement to enable the automatic compression of large amounts of in-row data when the data is loaded into a table or table fragment. Then, when 2,000 or more rows of data are loaded, the database server automatically creates a compression dictionary and compresses the new data rows that are inserted into the table.
Also, when you run SQL administration API create dictionary and compress commands on existing tables and fragments, you enable the automatic compression of subsequent data loads that contain 2,000 or more rows of data. If you run an uncompress command, you disable automatic compression.
In addition to saving space, automatic compression saves time because you do not have to compress the data after you load it.
Manage compression in IBM OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for Informix
OAT has new compression options on the Space Administration > Storage > Tables and Indexes page:
IBM Informix Schema Manager Plug-in for OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) has the following compression options on the SQL ToolBox > Schema Manager page:
Connection Manager event alarms
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  events event_alarms connection 3,165 Views
In Version 11.70, you can use event alarms to identify Connection Manager error conditions. You can set your alarm program script to capture the Connection Manager class ID and message and initiate corrective actions or notifications.
Starting with version 11.70xC4, you can view the values that the database server sets in the INFORMIXCMNAME and INFORMIXCMCONUNITNAME environment variables when writing an alarm handler for the Connection Manager. If the Connection Manager raises an event alarm, the server automatically creates and stores:
For more information, see Connection Manager event alarms.
Create a grid to administer replication servers
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix database grid replication 2,825 Views
In IBM® Informix® 11.70. you can create a grid of interconnected replication servers in a domain. You can use the grid to easily administer database servers in a replication domain. When you run the following types of commands from the grid, the commands are replicated to all servers in the grid:
When you run SQL data definition statements from within a grid context on one server in the grid, they are propagated to all other servers in the grid. You can run SQL data manipulation statements and routines through grid routines. You can choose to set up replication automatically when you create a new table through a grid.
You can route client connections to servers in the grid based on the quality of replicated data and transaction latency by configuring service-level agreements for a Connection Manager.
Read about what a grid is and how to use it: Grid setup and management.
Here's a tutorial that runs through creating a grid: Example of setting up a grid.
Create a server during installation of Informix 12.10.xC3 and prepare to be amazed!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  database logs autonomic bufferpool configure installation server performance automatic parameters json informix administration 3,652 Views
You can choose to create and configure a server during the installation of IBM® Informix® version 12.10.xC3. The server is configured by the choices that you make in the installation program and started after installation is complete. The resulting server is configured to require minimal administration. Creating a server during installation is not just for demonstration purposes anymore!
The mandatory configuration parameters and environment variables are set and connectivity information is configured.
The following storage spaces are created for the server:
The sizes of the spaces are based on the number of expected users that you specify during the installation.
The server is configured to automatically tune resources for performance, which includes expanding the buffer pool, the logical logs, and the physical log, and increasing virtual processors.
IBM® OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for Informix® is configured and connected to the server.
The JSON wire listener is configured, started, and connected to the server through the ifxjson user.
Take the easy way out and let the installer do all the work of configuring the server for you!
Creating custom PDFs in the Knowledge Center
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  documentation pdf informix 3,391 Views
One of the great features of the IBM Knowledge Center is that you can create PDF versions of any documentation you want. First you create a collection of topics that you want to be in the PDF.
To create a PDF from the Knowledge Center:
1. Sign in to the Knowledge Center with your IBM ID. The Sign In button is in the upper right corner of the black title bar.
2. In the navigation pane, click the topic that you want to add to a collection. The subtopics are also added to the collection, but you can edit the collection to remove the topics that you don't want.
3. Choose an option from the Add to collection menu, in the upper right above the topic:
4. If you chose a new collection, enter a name. Otherwise, choose an existing collection name.
5. Click My Collections at the bottom of the navigation pane to see your collections.
6. Select the collection in the navigation pane and click Create PDF File. Note: Only the first 1000 topics are included in the PDF.
The PDF is created. You have about an hour to download it before it disappears.
Creating Informix databases and table with the REST API
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 5,184 Views
You can easily create databases and tables in IBM® Informix® with REST API commands. The database server translates the commands into SQL statements, taking into account the values of configuration parameters in the wire listener configuration file.
Creating databases in the listener
When you create a database, the listener supports configuring the logging mode, the dbspace, and the DB_LOCALE.
database.log.enable=true & database.buffer.enable=false --> WITH LOG
dbspace.strategy=autolocate --> listener doesn't specify a dbspace, so it's determined by the server
POST http://localhost:27018/
The "name" field is required, but the "locale" and "dbspace" fields are optional.
If you implicitly create a database by running a REST command against it, for example, http://localhost:27018/newDatabaseName, the database is created with the listener configuration settings.
For creating collections, here are the listener configuration variables that come into play:
In REST, to create a table, you POST a document that defines the table to the database URL:
If you leave out the options document or if you create a table by implicitly referring to it, for example, http://localhost:27018/db1/mytab, then you create a collection table.
In the options document, you can specify these properties: columns, dbspace, firstExtent, nextExtent, and numFragments.
To create a relational table, you must set the columns field:
columns: [{ name : "c1", type: "int" , notNull: true , primaryKey: true }, { name : "c2", type: "varchar(20)"} ]
For each columns document, the "name" and "type" fields are required. The "notNull" and "primaryKey" fields are optional.
To create time series virtual tables, your options document should contain a timeseriesVirtualTable document:
{name: "virtual_table_name", options: { timeseriesVirtualTable: { baseTableName:"table_name", newTimeSeries:"...", virtualTableMode:".." , timeseriesColumnName:"tsdata"} }
The "newTimeSeries" and "virtualTableMode" fields contain the same strings you pass into the TSCreateVirtualTab procedure for those parameters.
Creating Unicode databases with Informix
If you're installing Informix server in a Unicode environment, check out the tips that we added about setting the GL_USEGLU environment variable. You'll learn:
Examples are provided to show the steps that you must use to create a Unicode database. And, just in case something doesn't go as expected, we added some troubleshooting tips for errors that you might encounter.
Deduplication for Informix backups
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  database restore backup administration storage deduplication informix 4,030 Views
The deduplication of backups can save significant amounts of storage space. The default backup format for IBM© Informix©, however, does not result in efficient deduplication. Therefore, if your storage manager is enabled for data deduplication, use the new IFX_BAR_USE_DEDUP environment variable to make backup operations more efficient. This environment variable optimizes the format of backup images for deduplication processes.
The IFX_BAR_USE_DEDUP environment variable is available in Informix 11.70.xC8 and 12.10.xC2.
Discover Informix in your preferred language
jasna 110000T2XC Tags:  global documentation translation 3,640 Views
I've been following the Discover Informix events that Louis announces on his blog: http://louistcherian.wordpress.com/. The session yesterday was in Singapore as part of a series of visits to the ASEAN region.
Did you know that, because our product serves a global audience, we offer Informix documentation in various languages? Check out the following links to find documentation in your preferred language and delivery format:
Informix 11.70:
HTML (Information Center): http://ibm.biz/BdxiNN
PDF (books): http://ibm.biz/BdxiNp
Informix 11.50:
HTML (Information Center): http://ibm.biz/BdxiNW
PDF (books): http://ibm.biz/BdxiN6
Do you know what your database server is doing? Check the Scheduler
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  tasks administration scheduler informix server database automatic oat 3,779 Views
One of the great things about IBM® Informix® is how many tasks are done automatically. Many of the automatic tasks are done by the Scheduler.
Here's the documented definition of the Scheduler:
The Scheduler is a set of tasks that execute SQL statements at predefined times or as determined internally by the server. The SQL statements can either collect information or monitor and adjust the server.
The Scheduler has been around in Informix for quite a while, but Informix development adds new tasks fairly frequently. And, of course, you can add your own tasks. Check out the blog posting from the IDS Experts on how to create your own Scheduler tasks.
To view all the Scheduler tasks, either query the ph_tasks table or look at them in the OpenAdmin Tool for Informix (OAT), on the Task Scheduler > Scheduler page.
You can monitor Scheduler threads that are in progress with the onstat -g dbc command. You can view information about tasks and sensors that have completed in the ph_run table.
Don't forget that you can customize existing tasks, even built-in ones. For example, you can change the threshold or when the task runs. See the The Scheduler topics in the information center for all your options.
Easier way to find the latest PDFs of Informix manuals
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  pdf manual publications informix database 3,363 Views
Happy new year!
The Informix documentation team has already fulfilled one of our new year's resolutions: to make it easier to find the latest version of the 11.70 product manuals in PDF format. Check out this document, which links to the most recently published version of each of the 11.70 manuals, including translated versions of the manuals.
Let us know if you like it!
Enhanced auditing of Informix databases with IBM Security Guardium
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  auditing administration guardium security informix 4,354 Views
With IBM® Informix® 12.10.xc6, you now have increased capabilities when you audit the user actions for your Informix database server with IBM Security Guardium®, version 10.0. IBM Security Guardium prevents leaks from databases, ensures the integrity of information, and automates compliance controls across heterogeneous environments. IBM Security Guardium can now mask sensitive data in Informix databases. IBM Security Guardium can now audit, and if necessary, close, any Informix connection, regardless of the connection protocol. Previously, IBM Security Guardium audited and closed only TCP connections.
After you set up the IBM Security Guardium server, you start the ifxguard utility to monitor connections to your Informix databases. You can set the logging mode and the number of worker threads to prevent heavy locking by editing the ifxguard configuration file. You can enable auditing and set the actions of the database server if the IBM Security Guardium server does not respond in the timeout period by setting the IFXGUARD configuration parameter in the onconfig file.
For more information, see Auditing with IBM Security Guardium.
Note: This description has been updated from what is currently published in the IBM Knowledge Center. The original feature description stated that the ability to use Guardium with Informix was new. Not true! Guardium has worked with Informix for many years, but the capabilities of Guardium with Informix were significantly increased with this release.
Enhanced JSON compatibility for Informix version 12.10.xC4
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix database json rest 4,286 Views
Informix 12.10.xC4 has some very exciting new features for JSON compatibility:
Support for CORS requests in the REST API (12.10.xC4W1)
You can now set up cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) with the REST API. To do so, set the following optional parameters that were added to the jsonListener.properties file:
MongoDB compatibility
Informix now supports the following MongoDB 2.4 features:
You can perform the following new tasks that extend MongoDB functionality in your JSON application:
You can customize the behavior of the wire listener by setting new properties. For example, you can control logging, caching, timeout, memory pools, and the maximum size of documents.
Access Informix from REST API clients
You can now directly connect applications or devices that communicate through the REST API to Informix. You create connections by configuring the wire listener for the REST API. With the REST API, you can use MongoDB and SQL queries against JSON and BSON document collections, traditional relational tables, and time series data. The REST API uses MongoDB syntax and returns JSON documents.
Create a time series with the REST API or the MongoDB API
If you have applications that handle time series data, you can now create and manage a time series with the REST API or the MongoDB API. Previously, you created a time series by running SQL statements. For example, you can program sensor devices that do not have client drivers to load time series data directly into the database with HTTP commands from the REST API.
You create time series objects by adding definitions to time series collections. You interact with time series data through a virtual table.
Enhancements to JSON compatibility for Informix 12.10.xC6
The IBM Informix 12.10.xC6 release has a lot of new functionality to support JSON compatibility! In addition to the Parallel sharded queries that I've already blogged about, Informix is now compatible with MongoDB 2.6 and 3.0 clients, and has more options for controlling security and resource management.
MongoDB 2.6 and 3.0 compatibility
Informix now supports the following MongoDB commands:
More security options
You can configure the database server to authenticate MongoDB client users, who connect through the wire listener, with a pluggable authentication module (PAM). Because you administer user accounts through the database server, you can audit user activities and configure fine-grained access control.
You can configure the wire listener to:
Better Resource management
You can configure the wire listener to:
For more information, see What's new in JSON compatibility.
Enhancements to spatial data support in Informix
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  database area perimeter latitude esri coordinates measure informix distance longitude round-earth spatial geographic 3,515 Views
For version IBM® Informix® 12.10.xC3, we've enhanced our support for spatial data. The most exciting enhancement is support of the round-Earth model. Basically, you can put in two sets of longitude and latitude coordinates and get out a distance or area in meters (or whatever linear unit you want). Here's the official description:
You can now calculate the distance and area for data that is based on the round-Earth model. If your geometries have a spatial reference system that is based on angular units, you can calculate distance and area in meaningful linear units. Specify the appropriate unit of measure to convert angular units to linear units in the ST_Area, ST_Buffer, ST_Distance, ST_Length, and ST_Perimeter functions. You can specify predefined units of measure or define your own units of measure. The SE_Nearest function calculates distance between geometries that are in geographic coordinate systems by applying the linear unit of measure of meters.
Also, we've included the following enhancements:
See the Spatial Data User's Guide for details.
Enterprise Replication return codes for the cdr utility explained!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  database informix cdr replication errors 4,161 Views
Have you ever been mystified by one of the cdr return codes, like 174: External Sync abort required? All cdr return codes now have descriptions and user actions that describe how to recover. For example, the explanation and user action for 174 is this:
The synchronization or repair task did not complete in the timeout period. This error can occur if the replicate being synchronized or the shadow replicate that was created to resynchronize the data is not active at all the participants specified in the command.
Check out the rest of the cdr return code explanations:
Event alarms uniquely identified
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix administration alarms events database 3,910 Views
In Informix 11.70, each event alarm specific message has a unique ID instead of just a class number. This is especially important for a classes with many specific messages, like class 6, which has over 75 different messages with differing severities. You can now write scripts to handle event alarms based on the unique IDs instead of parsing the specific message text.
You can see all the event alarm messages in this one very large topic in the information center for 11.70: Event alarms IDs
Faster UPDATE STATISTICS LOW operations on large indexes
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  informix database index update_statistics ustlow_sample statistics_low 11.70 3,395 Views
If you upgrade to IBM Informix Version 11.70xC4, you can generate index statistics based on sampling when you run UPDATE STATISTICS statements in LOW mode. For an index with more than 100 K leaf pages, the gathering of statistics using sampling can increase the speed of the update statistics operation.
To enable sampling, set the USTLOW_SAMPLE configuration parameter or the USTLOW_SAMPLE option of the SET ENVIRONMENT statement. For example, to enable sampling for the current session, specify:
For more information, see USTLOW_SAMPLE configuration parameter or USTLOW_SAMPLE environment option.
For information about other new Version 11.70 features, see What's new in Informix.
Find out how to handle high severity event alarms
Ever wonder what to do when you got a severity 4 event alarm? For IBM® Informix® 11.50.xC9, we added descriptions, server states, and user actions for severity 4 and 5 event alarms to the Administrator's Reference.
Find the right information for your Informix version
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  information_center documentation search database informix 3,217 Views
If you use an external search engine to find Informix® documentation and get hits in information centers, make sure you go to the right information center. For example, often topics in the information center for Informix version 10 are listed before topics in the later information centers. That's because the version 10 information center has been around longer and had more hits. For example, if you search for "Informix create table" you'll get a couple of version 10 information center topics right at the top, but no topics from the version 11.70 information center on the first page of results.
To find the right documentation for your Informix version, put the major version number in the search string, for example: "Informix create table 11.70". Note that "11.70" works better than just "11.7".
Here's why you should look at later information centers instead of version 10:
So how can you tell which information center a search hit is in? Look at the URL: each one has a version number in it:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/idshelp/v10/...: Version 10 information center (out of service since September 2010)
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/idshelp/v111/...: Version 11.10 information center (going out of service in September 2012)
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/idshelp/v115/...: Version 11.50 information center
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/idshelp/v117/...: Version 11.70 information center
You can tell which information center you are in by looking at the title on the browser tab and the first item in the navigation tree:
If you're in the version 10 information center, you'll also see this very conspicuous header at the top of every page:
If you find yourself in the wrong information center, the links to all the others are on the home page of every Informix information center.
Find what you need and then some!
jmcdavid 270003BVSW 2,228 Views
Find the information you need, share your ideas, and join the conversation! The following resources can help you do all of these things.
12.10 Information Center: Complete 12.10 documentation and a portal full of useful links
11.70 Information Center: Complete 11.70 documentation and a portal full of useful links
11.50 Information Center: Complete 11.50 documentation and a portal full of useful links
The IBM Informix Virtual Appliance: Available through the free-product download site
Informix Exchange Collection: A place to view code samples and examples, and to share your own
Informix Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Find the answers to common questions about installation, upgrading, and administration
List of Informix-Related Blogs: Hear what Informix experts are saying, from inside and outside of IBM
Informix Warehousing Portal: Resources for implementing Informix dimensional databases, creating data warehouse applications, and optimizing your data warehouse queries
The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) Forums: Join the conversation and share ideas with other Informix users
The OpenAdminTool Youtube Channel: Videos of key OAT features
Find what you need, and then some (2013 update)
jmcdavid 270003BVSW 1,732 Views
Find the information you need, share your ideas, and join the conversation! The following resources can help you do all of these things.
12.10 Information Center: Complete 12.10 documentation and a portal full of useful links
11.70 Information Center: Complete 11.70 documentation and a portal full of useful links
The IBM Informix Virtual Images: Resources on virtualized Informix offerings
Informix Exchange Collection: A place to view code samples and examples, and to share your own
Informix Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Find the answers to common questions about installation, upgrading, and administration
List of Informix-Related Blogs: Hear what Informix experts are saying, from inside and outside of IBM
Informix Warehousing Portal: Resources for implementing Informix dimensional databases, creating data warehouse applications, and optimizing your data warehouse queries
The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) Forums: Join the conversation and share ideas with other Informix users
The OpenAdminTool Youtube Channel: Videos of key OAT features
Fingerprints on the documentation
WilliamBelisle 2700009EDR 2,118 Views
Although it seems archaic now, before digital cameras and photo printers exploded in popularity, people recorded their photographic images on light-sensitive film. When film was popular, I used to teach an introductory photography class at Boston University. Each week, students would receive an assignment that emphasized a basic photographic technique, such as depth of field or stopping motion with a high shutter speed. Students would shoot their own photographs, bring the film to the school darkroom, and develop and print their photographs.
Every Monday night, students would take their painstakingly hand-developed and printed 8 by 10 images and thumbtack them to corkboard that surrounded the classroom. The entire class went around the room and critiqued each person's photos. In these sessions, technique was graded along with composition, subject matter, and so on. Because students often were marked lower because of fingerprints, scratches, or dust on their negatives, these sessions naturally became known as negative feedback sessions.
The instructions that follow show how to leave feedback about the Informix documentation – either negative or positive.
For best results, use Microsoft® Internet Explorer Version 6.x or Version 7.x or Mozilla Firefox Version 2.x or Version 3.0. Mozilla Firefox Version 3.5 or later might provide inconsistent behavior.
Rate topics
You can rate topics based on your level of satisfaction by clicking a star at the top of the topic pane. Ratings are based on a 5-star scale.
Comment on an entire topic or selected text within the topic
There are three kinds of comments:
* Comments on the topic in general
* Comments on an element of the topic (for example, a heading or sentence)
* Comments on a section of content that you select
To add a comment:
Reply to comments
To reply to an existing comment, click the Reply link under the comment in the comment pane, and add your response to the comment in the pop-up window.
Delete your comments
You can delete the comments that you added before authors or other reviewers reply to them. Click the Delete link below the comment.
Subscribe to pages or the entire site, to be notified of new comments
You can watch specific topics to get email notification of any comments to them. Click the Watch this Page link in the upper right corner of the topic pane.
To stop watching topics, use one of the following methods:
Click the RSS Subscribe link to receive updates in your RSS feed reader.
You can also get notification of major updates in the information center by subscribing to the information center RSS feed.
Fragment-level statistics and how to use them
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  fragment statlevel statistics 2,706 Views
I recently looked through the list of new DeveloperWorks articles and discovered an excellent article about how to use fragment-level statistics. Fragment-level statistics, which are a new IBM Informix version 11.70xC1 feature, affect the way UPDATE STATISTICS MEDIUM and HIGH operations gather data and generate column distributions on fragmented tables. For information on the circumstances under which you might want to use fragment-level statistics as well as details about setting up your system to use fragment-level statistics, see:
Incidentally, the DeveloperWorks article includes the following code example for forcing the use of fragment-level statistics. This example includes the new STATLEVEL property of a fragmented table. See the DeveloperWorks article and the Informix documentation for more details about the code:
CREATE TABLE tab1(col1 integer, col2 char(10))
Get printed Quick Reference Cards at IIUG!
Howard Glaser will be handing out printed copies of our version 11.70 Quick Reference Cards at IIUG next week, including the new SQL administration API card:
Grid queries for Informix
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 2,836 Views
IBM® Informix® version 12.10.xC1 added support for grid queries. A grid query selects data from multiple servers in a grid and consolidates the results. After you define a grid and designate which tables can be used in grid queries, all you have to do is identify the grid name with the GRID keyword in the FROM clause of a SELECT statement. The query then runs on all the grid servers.
The result of a grid query are qualifying rows from a logical UNION or UNION ALL of each table in the FROM clause across tables with the same names and the same schema in every grid server. This union can include tables across all nodes in the grid, or across a subset of those grid nodes, called a region.
So how useful are grid queries? Check out this example.
The following example is based on the stores_demo database. A grid named grid1 has eight servers, named store1 through store8. The example assumes that you defined the items, orders, and customer tables as grid tables.
Suppose you want the total sales and number of sales for each customer across all stores. You use subquery to return information by grid server. The main query aggregates the results of the subquery.
You run the following statement to return the total sales and number of sales per person:
The ALL keyword in the GRID ALL 'grid1' clause indicates that duplicate results are allowed.
The query returns the following results:
Look at other grid query examples.
Find out all about grid queries.
Explore the syntax for grid queries.
Happy Checklist Day!
jasna 110000T2XC Tags:  checklists informix upgrade migrate 2 Comments 4,965 Views
During my commute to work today, I heard on the radio that October 30 is Checklist Day. So I decided to do my part by reminding you about the Pre-migration checklist for diagnostic information. Use this checklist before you migrate to Informix® 12.1 to gather diagnostic information that you can use to verify database server behavior after migration. This checklist is useful especially if you have large, complex applications.
Have you made or found a checklist that helps you to take care of things in your Informix environment, or to avoid problems? If so, we'd love to hear about it. Also, let us know if you would like a checklist to help you as you work with Informix. Send your thoughts to email@example.com, or add a comment below.
As for me, I can check off one item from my to-do list:
Happy New Year from the Informix ID team
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  11.70 ibm 11.50 infocenter comments informix 3,415 Views
The Informix ID bloggers are taking a break during the last two weeks of December. We'll be back in January, 2012.
Looking over all of our bog entries, we've found that to date, the entry with the highest number of hits is:
We'd like to note that the Informix ID team's efforts this year, besides contributing some 40 new postings to the blog, included:
Features in the latest version of IBM Informix: If you haven't looked at what's new in the latest version of Informix, do consider doing that. For information on all new version 11.70 features, see What's new in Informix.. If you think you might upgrade to the new version, you can follow the links to the IBM Informix Information Center topics that contain more information on each new feature to see how those features might be beneficial for you.
Your comments and contributions: We welcome your comments and contributions to the Information Center. For information on how to submit comments and view the comments of other users, see Become a site contributor.
Best wishes for 2012!
Health Advisor for Informix
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix monitor storage alarms oat configuration performance administer database health 5,631 Views
The IBM® Informix® Health Advisor Plug-in for OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) analyzes the state of the Informix database server. The Health Advisor plug-in gathers information about the database server, the databases, and the operating system, and creates a report that contains the results and recommendations.
The Health Advisor plug-in includes a series of alarms that check conditions on the database server: configuration, Enterprise Replication (ER), operating system (OS), performance, and storage. You can create profiles that specify the alarms that are enabled and the thresholds for the alarms. You can schedule a task to run the Health Advisor with a specific profile at regular intervals. You can specify who receives an email notification of the results. You can also run the Health Advisor on demand on the current profile and view the report.
Here's an example of some of the types of advice the Health Advisor can give you:
Red Alarm DBSPACETEMP
Red Alarm Logical Log File StorageThe DBAPCETEMP configuration parameter is not set. For best performance with temporary tables and sort files, use the DBSPACETEMP configuration parameter to specify two or more dbspaces on separate disks.
Red Alarm Physical Log StorageThe logical log files are stored in the root dbspace (rootdbs). Move the logical-log files out of the root dbspace to a dbspace on a disk that is not shared by active tables or the physical log.
Yellow Alarm OS Virtual ProcessorsThe physical log is stored in the root dbspace (rootdbs). Move the physical log out of the root dbspace to a dbspace on a disk that is not shared by active tables or the logical log files.
Yellow Alarm Disk SortsThe number of CPU virtual processors is less than 50.00 % of the CPUs in the operating system. Increasing the number of CPU virtual processors might improve performance. Take appropriate action to increase the number of CPU virtual processors.
The number of disk sorts is greater than 1.00 % of total sorts. The current number of disk sorts is 1.22 %. Investigate options for adding additional shared memory for sorts.
How to find a list of defects fixed in each release and how to find open APARs
A list of fixed defects is published for each release. To navigate to the list of defects that were fixed for a particular release:
You can also find open APARs to find out if the problem you see is a known problem. For example, you might want to check for APARs before calling support.
To find both open and closed APARs:
How to quickly find new information in an Informix user guide
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY 1,915 Views
Okay, you've skimmed the release notes and see that the new release has a number of new features. Then you see that the description of each new feature refers you to one or more user guides. You're especially interested in one new feature, but think, "I still have dozens of things to do and don't have time to try to look through whole the book or parts of it."
All you need to do is go to the IDS Information Center and expand a category, such as "Administering" or "Security." Then find the "What's New" topic in each book. In some books, it's the first topic; in other books, it's in the Introduction chapter.
Each row in the table of new features in the "What's New" topic contains the same short feature description that you saw the release notes. The row also contains links to the topics that have been added for the new feature or updated to include information on the new feature. Just click the link to go to the new or updated topic.
If you're using PDFs, just open the PDF and navigate to the "What's new" topic or search for the words "What's New." Then find the row you want and click the link to jump to the desired topic.
Here's an example of the "What's New" topic in the Administrator's Guide:
Howard Glaser's IIUG experiences
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  ids iiug informix 3,517 Views
This post is from Howard Glaser, the Informix usability expert. He attended the IIUG conference last week.
I want to thank all of the 2010 IIUG Conference attendees who provided feedback in our Usability Sandbox and customer sessions at the conference. Your feedback is invaluable in making IDS even better! Below is a list of the usability sessions that were held at the conference. Let us know if there are additional usability topic areas that you would like to see at future conferences (please write to firstname.lastname@example.com).
Sessions include:
• Hands on experience test driving the latest Schema and Storage Manager UIs for the OpenAdmin Tool
• A sneak peak and feedback on the new IDS Installation and Configuration Tooling/UI: A group walkthrough discussion with the IDS Dev team
• A sneak peak and feedback on the new IDS Deployment Tooling/UI: A group walkthrough discussion with the IDS Dev team
• Your opportunity to give your input on useful sources and resources for solving problems encountered while using IDS: An examination of current and future resources followed by a group exercise to provide your preferences
• How Optim may be used for problem determination and resolution with IDS: A walkthrough and group discussion
IBM Informix 11.10 End of Service: this month!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  eos informix migration upgrade 3,275 Views
IBM® Informix® 11.10 enters end of support status on September 30, 2012. See this article for details and information about upgrading to Informix 11.70.
If you're still not convinced that you need to upgrade, read this excellent blog post by Fernando Nunes about why to upgrade.
IBM Informix 11.50 Information Center updates
AnaB 110000H1JJ 2,148 Views
The following documentation notes have been updated:
IBM Informix and the Internet of Things
Joel_SF 110000ECNB Tags:  informix json nosql internet-of-things ids12 informix-roadshow 12 3,413 Views
Gartner recently released its 2014 Hype Cycle report, showing the Internet of Things (IoT) at the peak of the Hype Cycle. The Hype Cycle report tracks emerging technologies from infancy to widespread adoption. With IoT at peak hype, companies must be ready to hit the ground running with this technology.
A huge amount of data is already being generated by IoT devices, and much of this data is unstructured. IBM Informix can natively handle NoSQL and structured data simultaneously, providing the enterprise-level capabilities of an structured database system. The capabilities offered by IBM Informix include transaction support, backup and recovery, high availability, compression, enhanced scalability, security, and access control.
To learn more about IBM Informix, JSON/NoSQL, and the Internet of Things, you can:
IBM Informix Genero version 2.40 documentation is available
For the first time, the IBM® Informix® Genero® documentation is available in the Informix 11.70 Information Center. The doc is fully indexed and searchable.
See the Release Notes for Informix Genero new feature information.
IBM Knowledge Center is in open beta. Check it out, and let us know what you think.
jmcdavid 270003BVSW 2,497 Views
Knowledge Center, which is soon to replace Information Centers all across IBM, is now in open beta (until February 2014), meaning you can see all the information in each of the 11.50, 11.70, and 12.10 Information Centers in IBM Knowledge Center... and then let us know what you think!
What is IBM Knowledge Center?
New functionality in Knowledge Center now let's you:
Try IBM Knowledge Center today at:
http://ibm.biz/IBMKCgo (landing page)
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSGU8G/welcomeIfxServers.html (Informix family - landing page)
And then let us know about your experience:
Importing huge tables into Informix
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  migration administration dbimport tables informix 4,125 Views
Starting with IBM® Informix® 12.10.xC4, you can allocate space efficiently when you import tables that have large rows by setting a default extent size of 16 KB. Include the new -D option of the dbimport utility to specify a default extent size of 16 KB. Extent sizes that you specify in the CREATE TABLE statement override the -D option. The -D option is useful especially when you import huge tables that contain large LVARCHAR columns.
Information Center tip: Reading multiple topics
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  database informix 2,628 Views
Here's a tip on how to read a set of contiguous topics, for example a chapter, without having to select each one in the information center: use the Print selected topic and all subtopics option.
To view multiple topics in the information center:
A new browser window appears will all the topics shown one after another, with a table of contents that reflects the topics.
Here's an example of the chapter in the Installation Guide shown selected in the previous image:
Information portals in the information center
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  information_center migration administration embeddability programming warehouse portal informix extensibility 4,553 Views
Recently we've added information portals to the Informix® 11.70 information center. Information portals have links to key documentation both within and outside the information center. For example, we'll include links to interesting developerWorks® articles and Redbook® publications. Most of these portals are the top level nodes in the left hand navigation pane of the information center.
Here are the ones we've done so far:
Let me know if you have suggestions for additions to these portals or other portals you would like to see!
Informix "pocket" books
Today I learned about a Google search option that helps me view websites on my smartphone. Next to a search result I just click Options -> Mobile formatted (IMAGE 1). Simple, eh? The page loads rather quickly and is optimized for viewing on my teeny, tiny screen.
I can see this option being useful for viewing the IBM® Informix® information portals, such as the onconfig portal (IMAGE 2) that we've heard customers like. You can search for "onconfig portal 11.70" or you can start at the Informix information center (IMAGE 3) and select the portal that you want to use. If you try this option with our documentation let me know what you think by posting a comment to our blog. Now you can take Informix documentation "to go".
Informix 11.70.xC4: Focus on the Informix TimeSeries solution
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix time_series data_loading time-based database timeseries smart_meters 3,556 Views
One of the main focus areas for the IBM® Informix® 11.70.xC4 release is the Informix TimeSeries solution. You can read about all the new features for the Informix TimeSeries solution here, but I want to expand a bit on the new way to load time series data. In previous releases, you could load time series data in a number of different ways, such as by using virtual tables, by creating a load file with a very specific format, or by using a TimeSeries function. In 11.70.xC4, you can use the IBM Informix TimeSeries plug-in for Data Studio to load data from a standard, delimited input file or an LSE file.
After you create your Informix TimeSeries table, all you have to do to load data into it with the TimeSeries plug-in is to:
This example leads you through implementing the Informix TimeSeries solution with the data in the stores_demo database.
Informix 11.70.xC6 is ready for you!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  connection manager oat transactions spl database server features xid timeseries high-availability genero fixpack cluster administration warehouse inout informix 4,544 Views
Here's a summary of the IBM® Informix® 11.70.xC6 new features:
· Administration
· · Enhancements to the OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for Informix
· · Support for the same XID for transactions on different databases
· · Coordinating transactions within a high-availability cluster
· · Easier failover configuration for Connection Managers in a high-availability cluster
· Application development
· · Enhanced support for OUT and INOUT parameters in SPL routines
· · Additional functions for spatial data
· · Return the default values of columns
· · SPL routines for application compatibility
· Time Series data
· · Load time series data faster through a virtual table
· Data warehousing
· · Refresh dimension-table data without reloading the whole data mart
The What's new in Informix topic has short descriptions of each of these features and links to more information.
Also, we've added some interesting links to the portal topics in the information center (those are the top-level nodes in the left-side navigation pane). We've split up SQL, client API, and Informix Genero® information into separate nodes to make it easier for you to find what you need.
Informix 11.70.xC8: check out the new features!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  cluster availability backup lateral restore administration deduplication informix database replication constrainsts 4,877 Views
IBM Informix 11.70.xC8 has a great set of new features!
What's new in version 11.70.xC8 of IBM Informix
Informix 12.10.xC1 product documentation is available in many languages
jasna 110000T2XC Tags:  translation version_12 informix documentation information_center 4,663 Views
To view the Information Center in a specific language:
Informix 12.10.xC3 is available!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  sharding compression timeseries automatic autonomic administration warehouse database json informix installation spatial nosql performance hertz tuning configuration replication quarter 5,319 Views
We have some very exciting new features in IBM® Informix® 12.10.xC3!
What's new IBM Informix version 12.10.xC3
Informix 12.10.xC5 fixpack
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  spatiotemporal backup informix timeseries oat rest mongodb bson upgrade nosql java json installation jdbc 9,325 Views
Here is the list of new features for IBM® Informix® 12.10.xC5!
What's new in IBM Informix version 12.10.xC5
Go to What's new in Informix for links.
Informix 12.10.xC5 on Mac OS X!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  osx informix mac database 2,903 Views
IBM® Informix® 12.10.xC5 is now available on Mac OS X in Passport Advantage. Informix is the only enterprise-class database server that supports Mac OS X.
Informix allows dots in JSON field names
Unlike MongoDB, which does not allow dots, ( . ), in JSON or BSON field names, IBM® Informix® conforms to the JSON standard and allows dots. For example: {"user.fn" : "Jake"}. However, you can't run a query or an operation directly on a field that has a dot in its name. That's because in queries, a dot in between field names indicates a hierarchy.
SELECT data::json FROM tab1;
Note: This information is not yet documented in the Informix JSON Compatibility Guide.
Informix Best Practices
hntran 120000AF2P Tags:  iiug informix best_practices 2 Comments 6,291 Views
This is Hai-Nhu Tran and I'm the manager of the Informix Information Development team. I was lucky enough to go to San Diego for the IIUG conference last weekend! Well, technically, I almost made it to the conference -- I was there on Saturday for the IIUG Customer Advisory & Business Partner Council meeting and for part of Sunday. As this was my first time (almost) going to the IIUG conference, it was a great opportunity to meet many customers and business partners for the first time, get re-acquainted with ones that I'd met before, and to just hear directly from our users.
I had a chance to talk with a number of folks about best practices content, and I'd like to extend the conversation here and ask for your opinion too! Help shape the priorities for best practices content by providing your input through a short survey.
Thanks for the feedback!
Informix Installation Guide redo
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  linux informix installation unix windows mac 4,310 Views
For IBM® Informix® 12.10.xC5, we rewrote the database server installation information. Previously, we had two installation guides: one for UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X, and one for Windows platforms. For 12.10.xC5, we combined the two guides into one guide and while we are at it, we condensed the information and corrected out-of-date information.
Take a look at the new Installation Guide!
Here's a teaser: the new Preparing for installation topic:
Preparing for installation
Before you install Informix database server products, you must prepare your system and plan for choices that you must make during the installation process.
Preparing for installation includes reviewing system requirements, planning how to upgrade, deciding on the installation owner and the installation directory, reviewing installation options, and gathering information if you want to create a database server during installation. It also includes preinstallation tasks such as obtaining the software and reviewing the machine notes.
To prepare for installation:
Log files are created during the installation process. You can use the log files to troubleshoot installation errors.
After you install the database server, you can create the demonstration databases that are included with the database server. Many examples in the documentation and in the $INFORMIXDIR/demo (UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X) or the %INFORMIXDIR%\demo (Windows) directory are based on the demonstration databases. You can use the demonstration databases to explore database server features. You can create the demonstration databases at any time after installation by running the dbaccessdemo command. See Demonstration databases.
Informix installation keeps getting better
fwelsch 06000203CP Tags:  informix_connect installation installer informix client_sdk 3,767 Views
As an information developer who has documented and completed numerous Informix® installations in GUI mode for over 4 years, I've really liked how the installer has evolved. First, with version 11.10, the custom setup of the installer let you peel away the features of the database server that you did not want. This functionality, known as the deployment wizard, helps you save on disk space when you want to minimize the footprint of the installation. The revised interface also provided a short description of each feature—just enough information to let you know whether or not it was a component that you needed.
Client SDK and Informix Connect are fully integrated into the IBM® Informix Software Bundle version 11.70 installer in such a way that there is no need for separate standalone and bundle media. The major client programs appear in the feature tree in custom setup, so that in one step of the installation process you can exercise your right to exclude whatever client programs and whatever base server features that you don't need. (See the IBM Informix Software Bundle screen capture below.) Unlike previous versions, there is one unified interface after launching the installation of the Informix server with either Client SDK or Informix Connect. No more watching installers of separate products open and close.
Right after you select products and features, the installer puts you back in the driver seat again. You can choose whether the installer should automatically create a working instance of the database server—and if you do, you can opt to specify major configuration parameters yourself or let the installer calculate working configuration settings based on the host environment.
And perhaps the best part is that you can still complete a product installation with the media in less than 30 minutes!
Informix is essential for mobile development
Informix was recently ranked as number 10 in the top 20 in-demand mobile skills by job search site Dice.com. The site listed the top 20 search subjects that hiring managers and recruiters use when they request people with mobile experience (http://www.zdnet.com/top-20-mobile-skills-in-demand-7000023318/). This may be surprising news to some, considering that Informix is known for being a traditional RDBMS. However, with the introduction of Informix JSON support in 12.10.XC2, aimed specifically at mobile development support that leverages the MongoDB API, Informix is stronger than ever!
To learn more the Informix JSON capability, see these resources:
Informix onconfig.std portal
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix onconfig configuration 4,352 Views
The Informix onconfig.std portal is a handy way of finding functionally related configuration parameters. The configuration parameters are listed together, in the same order as in the onconfig.std file, with links to the individual topics for each configuration parameter. You might want to bookmark this portal:
The onconfig.std portal topic is in the Administrator's Reference, in the Configuration Parameters chapter.
If your list of bookmarks is disorganized like mine, you can find the link on the home page of the v11.50 information center, or just type "onconfig portal" into your favorite search engine.
Informix onstat portal
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  onstat informix administration database 5,305 Views
Can't remember which onstat command shows you the information about the server that you are looking for? Try the onstat portal.
The onstat portal organizes onstat commands by functional area, with links to the individual topics for each command.
The onstat portal topic is in the
Informix Quick Reference Cards for 12.10
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  replication sql administration informix onstat cdr onconfig 5,560 Views
The ever-popular quick reference cards for configuration parameters, onstat commands, and SQL adminstration API command are updated for 12.10, plus we have a new card for Enterprise Replication cdr commands:
You can find these links on the home page of the IBM® Informix® 12.10 information center. If you are going to IIUG, we'll be handing out hard copies of these cards.
And, of course, if you have ideas about other quick reference cards, please let us know! Email email@example.com.
Informix supports parallel sharded queries
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  json performance sharding informix nosql 4,952 Views
IBM® Informix® shard cluster architecture is very flexible:
As of Informix 12.10.xC6, you can now run SELECT statements in sharded queries in parallel instead of serially on each shard. Parallel sharded queries return results faster, but also have the following benefits:
To enable parallel sharded queries, set the new SHARD_ID configuration parameter in the onconfig file to a unique value on each shard server in the shard cluster. Also set the new sharding.parallel.query.enable=true and sharding.enable=true parameters in the wire listener configuration file for each shard server. You can customize how shared memory is allocated for parallel sharded queries on each shard server by setting the new SHARD_MEM configuration parameter. You can reduce latency between shard servers by increasing the number of pipes for SMX connections with the new SMX_NUMPIPES configuration parameter.
See documentation about JSON sharding.
Also see this cool demo of parallel sharding: https://ibm.biz/BdHaru
Informix Survey - win an Apple iPad - 1 week left
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  survey informix availability 2,973 Views
IBM Informix Survey for Continuous Availability White Paper
Complete the Survey to win an Apple iPad! - 1 week left
Every response matters. - Start Survey here!
IBMR Informix is the database software voted #1 in customer satisfaction.
Clients choose Informix because it is reliable, low cost, and hassle free.
Solution providers choose Informix for its best-of-breed embeddability.
Yet, there are some people that still don't 'get' Informix, or realize the
many benefits of deploying it. Help us gather data to support this claim.
- Informix is exceptionally hardware efficient, which means that (in the
REAL world) you need to spend MUCH less on hardware to get the same
performance as other products.
- Informix is exceptionally reliable, which means that (in the REAL world)
you don't need to pay lots of people to make sure it stays 'up'.
- Informix is exceptionally scalable, which means that (in the REAL world)
it can be idling one moment and then processing thousands of transactions
the next with no apparent stress.
Advanced DataTools is working with Oninit, to gather data about what happens
in the REAL world to support these assertions with empirical evidence in the
REAL world.
The data collected will be used to compile a report that will be made
available to every CTO, IT Director and IT Manager. Along with this, they
will receive a list of all the major application vendors that are now
porting their applications to Informix V11.5 and a document outlining the
key reasons to choose Informix.
Every response matters. - Start Survey here!
Win an Apple iPad. One randomly selected participant in the data collection
phase of this research will win an Apple iPad, provided by Advanced
DataTools Corporation, an Advanced IBM Informix Business Partner.
Note: Public Sector Employees are not eligible
Informix TimeSeries benchmark: Amazing results!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix timeseries database benchmark 3,721 Views
Because I write the IBM® Informix® TimeSeries Data User's Guide, I was lucky enough to be able to read this benchmark as it was being written. It truly is amazing! Check out how fast and efficient the Informix TimeSeries solution is for meter data management.
Informix Version 12.10 is available!
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  performance olap backup embed high-availability upgrade iwa cluster sensor restore time-series replication grid informix usability warehouse compression oat administration 6,034 Views
The 12.10 documentation is in a new information center: http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/informix/v121/index.jsp
Check out the amazing list of new features for IBM Informix version 12.10.xC1!
Here's a summary, but be sure to look at all new feature descriptions:
Installation and migration
Informix version 12.10.xC4 new features
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  bson geojson informix jdbc json performance administration text time-series rest spatial multitenancy database replication 5,576 Views
What's new IBM® Informix® version 12.10.xC4
Informix videos on YouTube channels
jasna 110000T2XC Tags:  informix_4gl informix openadmin_tool demos informix_warehouse_accele... videos 3,382 Views
Consider subscribing to the following Informix channels on YouTube to learn more about our technology and how you can benefit from it.
Informix won't start? New oninit return codes will tell you why
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  database server informix oninit 6,196 Views
The 59 new oninit return codes introduced in Informix® 11.70 describe exactly why the server didn't start. We also document what your next move should be.
For example, oninit return code 175 says: The database server failed to initialize the root dbspace. What you should do if you get this return code is to check the root dbspace related parameters in server configuration file (onconfig) to make sure that the path for the root dbspace is valid.
The oninit return codes are documented in the Administrator's Reference.
Introducing the Informix Documentation Team
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix ids 1 Comment 6,026 Views
We are very excited about our new blog, as it gives us a way to let you know what's on our minds, share info that might find useful, and give you a chance to post your own comments and thoughts on the Informix documentation. Let us know where you'd like to see us go next with the product information, or just visit regularly and learn more about the things that keep the information developers awake at night!
We work hard on delivering what we think you, our customers, need in product information (which includes but is not limited to the product documentation that you see in our information centers and PDFs). We know that there's no shortage of things we can be working on, whether it's new documentation about the latest features, improvements to existing documentation, or new info resources like our onstat or onconfig Quick Reference Cards. So anytime we can get some direction and feedback from you, it makes a big difference in how we decide on what we do, and how we do it.
Here's the Informix Documentation Team:
Inge Halilovic
I've been writing Informix documentation since 1996 (aka "the good old days"). I work on DataBlade module, Enterprise Replication, and embeddability documentation. I used to be the team lead of the Informix doc team and work on release notes, but (thank goodness) I'm only the technical lead now. Being the technical lead means, among other things, that I'm supposed to know the IDS doc set inside and out. I can honestly say I know the outside really well. I'm also the moderator for the 11.50 information center, so if you leave a comment, you might hear from me! My hobbies include driving my kids around and making up words I'm not allowed to use in Informix doc.
Hai-Nhu Tran (pronounced like the movie High Noon, but without the N at the end)
I'm the newly minted manager of the Informix Information Development team. I started at IBM in 2000, joined the Informix ID team as the Team Lead in 2007, and earlier this year I had the good fortune of becoming the manager of this dedicated group. I studied English literature in college and never would have guessed that I'd end up in software documentation! I'm currently working on instilling a life-long love of books in my 3 year old daughter, and so far I've been 100% successful. When I'm not reading Dr. Suess, I'm working through my own book list (which happens to occasionally include children's books, oddly enough), sampling the seemingly endless supply of restaurants and farmers' markets in San Francisco, and dreaming of being able to sleep in again at some point in my life.
Bill Belisle (pronounced: bell-eye-L)
People have been mis-pronouncing my name at IBM since June of 2006. I concentrate on writing about Informix high-availability (sometimes known as MACH-11) features. I'm also responsible for the Informix Administrator's Guide, the Backup and Restore Guide, virtual appliance, and cloud documentation. I have a degree in journalism from Boston University and have written several college-level textbooks on Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Office and Excel. My hobbies include (in no particular order): astronomy, machining and metalworking, woodworking, CNC, photography, reading, seismology, and high-vacuum thin-film deposition.
Pat Smith
I've also been writing Informix documentation since 1996, initially specializing in online help. Currently, I'm concentrating on updates to the Migration and Performance Guides and on new feature documentation (such as compression). In the past, I've worked on the Common Criteria certification guide, the Administrator guides, and MTK documentation.
Karin Moore (pronounced car-in)
I've been on the Informix documentation team since 1996, and am currently the infrastructure lead. What that means is that I create, update, and deliver the information centers, documentation CDs, and techdocs. I also manage source file control, automated builds of the documentation sets, and translation. It's a nice variety of work that lets me dabble in all the Informix products. My hobbies include birdwatching, hiking, gardening, and caring for injured animals at a local wildlife rehabilitation center.
Johanna Turaj (pronounced tour-eye)
I joined the documentation team in February of this year. Though I've been doing Information Development since 19<mumble>, I'm the new kid on the Informix block. In my role as Team Lead for IDS, 4GL, and some other acronyms, I get to learn about all the products and develop plans to help the team deliver helpful information you need when you need it. I enjoy travel, knitting, and keeping my cats off the keyboard.
Jasna Krmpotic
I'm the technical editor for the Informix writing team. I work with the writers to produce the best possible documentation for our customers. I'm not an expert in the technology we write about (that's my team's job), but I'm familiar with the technology and terminology, and I review the documentation to ensure that it tells customers what they need to know as accurately, concisely, and clearly as possible in a consistent manner. Rest assured, I won't be editing this blog (phew!) so the writers will get to express themselves in their own "voice". Oh, and my name is pronounced as it's spelled (http://www.medjugorje.org/croatianlanguage.htm).
Frank Welsch
Information development is my "second" career. I launched my career in book publishing production and project management--a good foundation for handling a lot of the behind-the-scenes work in creating technical documentation. During the Sturm-und-Drang of the dot-com era, I gained experience documenting database migration and a few end-user applications. Along the way, I earned a B.A. degree at Oberlin College and a Technical Writing Certificate at San Francisco State University. I speak German as a second language, and have a beginner/intermediate knowledge of Spanish.
Laura Stewart
Hi! My path to technical writing was the "road less travelled". I graduated with a degree in Economics and went to work for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington DC. Through various twists and turns there I moved into courseware development and teaching computer applications, which eventually lead me to IBM about 10 years ago where I have worked on Informix and DB2. With the Informix team I work on a wide range of documentation from the Administrator's Reference and SQL Reference to the Common Client information. Most recently I have been working on improving our warehousing documentation.
Tom Houston (pronounced the opposite of the similarly-spelled street in Manhattan)
I was employee #237 when Informix was still called "RDS Software" in Menlo Park, California, and I have been monitoring the Informix Technical Publications external email alias since it was called "firstname.lastname@example.com" (but it is now spelled "email@example.com"). I mostly work on the IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Syntax, which keeps me busy documenting new SQL features and correcting the errata that I create while documenting new SQL features (or while correcting older errata). Among my hobbies are photography, dreaming, and trying to outwit spelling-checker software.
Susan Becker
I've been with IBM Informix since 2008. I write the UI text and help for OAT. I once wrote longer sentences.
Howard Glaser
I'm not officially a member of the Informix Documentation Team. I've been responsible for usability and user interface design on Informix products since 2006 and am heavily involved in the UI design of OAT. I am a professionally trained Human Factors Engineer/Psychologist and have been working in the human computer interaction and design field for more than 25 years.
George Kanesta
I'm currently a remote co-op or supplemental employee on the Informix ID team working in Socorro, NM. I have been with the Informix team since 2008 and have worked both full- and part-time. A majority of my tasks deal with DITA markup such as migrating books from SGML to DITA. Recently, I have begun to work with development teams in India to produce documentation for the 4GL and CSDK components of IDS. I am responsible for all documentation with in 4GL and CSDK. I'm currently pursuing a degree in Technical Communication from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
IOD is in Las Vegas, November 3 -7
jasna 110000T2XC 1,868 Views
Only 3 weeks until the Information on Demand (IOD) conference. I know that they say "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", but if you attend any of the Informix sessions, you are going to want to bring home what you learned!
Search for "Informix" in the session preview tool to see a list of the lectures and labs that you can choose from. For example, one (or all!) of these labs might interest you:
IDX-1344A: How to use sharding to improve performance and availability of distributed applications
For more reasons to go to IOD 2013, check out Jerry Keesee's invitation.
It's easier to find older Informix publications with our new Informix Products information center
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  documentation 4gl ids informix 3,142 Views
The new Informix Products information center has all the documentation for older Informix server and CSDK versions, 4GL, DataBlade modules, and other tools.
Instead of clicking around over 2000 Pubs Library web pages, you can now find all the titles on one site!
To find the title you are looking for, just enter it in the search box in the upper left-hand corner and click Go.
These URLs are now redirected to the new information center:
If you have any feedback on the new information center, please let us know!
Like Informix on facebook
Want to hear about news, events, and other fun stuff about Informix? Like IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) on facebook.
Limit session resources for Informix
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  administration memory dba database locks informix sessions onstat logspace tempspace transactions 4,878 Views
With IBM® Informix® 12.10.xC5, you have a lot more control over session resources. Besides setting session environment variables to control the current session, you can set configuration parameters to limit all sessions and prevent blocked transactions.
You can specify to end sessions that exceed a specified amount of shared memory or temporary storage space:
You can specify to roll back transactions that are too large or take too long:
Starting in 12.10.xC4, you can set the SESSION_LIMIT_LOCKS configuration parameter (and the IFX_SESSION_LIMIT_LOCKS environment option) to limit the number of locks.
Session limits do not apply to a user who holds administrative privileges, such as user informix or a DBSA user.
Transactions and sessions that exceed a set limit are terminated by the session_mgr thread. The session_mgr thread starts when the database server starts, and remains inactive until a session limit is exceeded.
Monitor sessions with the onstat -g ses command.
List of forums and wikis for more information about Informix
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  groups discussion forum wiki 3,430 Views
Did you know that multiple forums and wikis are available to the IBM Informix community, including users and developers, to share information, solutions to problems, and new ideas? For a list and description of these, see Forums and wikis in the Version 11.70 Information Center.
Make a new year's resolution to check out Informix 11.70!
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY 2,173 Views
If you haven't already looked at IBM Informix Version 11.70, which was released last quarter, you can easily do that now, just by reading about the new features in the "What's new in Informix" topic in the IBM Informix 11.70 Information Center. You'll find that this release has many new installation, migration, administration, embeddability, Enterprise Replication, high-availability, performance, security, and warehousing features. When you open the 11.70 Information Center, expand "Product Overview" to navigate to the "What's new in Informix" topic.
Migrating high-availability clusters
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY 2,311 Views
For Version 11.50xC6 of IBM Informix, we added a new Migration Guide chapter on high-availability cluster migration. This information helps you coordinate the migration of all servers in a high-availability cluster or, if necessary, revert all servers in a cluster to the previous version of the server. Chapter topics include information on the additional steps you must perform when preparing to migrate, migrating, and reverting clusters.
If you use high-availability clusters, refer to the information when you upgrade to a new version of Informix, PID, or fix pack, migrate or, if necessary, when you revert to the previous version.
For more information, see High-availability cluster migration.
More control over your tenants! Improvements to Informix's multitenancy feature
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  memory informix database sessions administration oat multitenancy 7,645 Views
The multitenancy feature in IBM Informix, which was introduced in version 12.10.xC4, gives you even more control in version 12.10.xC5.
Control tenant resources
You can further control the resources that are available for each tenant database to improve performance and restrict the tenant database size. You can include new optional properties in the tenant definition when you run the admin() or task() SQL administration command with the tenant create or tenant update arguments. Tenant properties take precedence over related configuration parameters.
For example, the following statement creates a tenant database that is named company_A:
The tenant database has the following attributes:
Limit access to tenant databases in OAT
As an Informix administrator, you can assign a tenant database to a tenant owner in the IBM OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for Informix. A tenant owner can access only the assigned database.
More dynamically updatable configuration parameters for Informix 11.70.xC4
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  onmode dynamic informix database onconfic configuration 3,759 Views
For IBM® Informix® 11.70.xC4, you can update the following additional configuration parameters while the server is running by using the onmode -wf or onmode -wm commands: ALARMPROGRAM, AUTO_REPREPARE, BLOCKTIMEOUT, CKPTINTVL, DBSPACETEMP, DEADLOCK_TIMEOUT, DEF_TABLE_LOCKMODE, DIRECTIVES, DRINTERVAL, DRTIMEOUT, FILLFACTOR, LOGSIZE, LTAPEBLK, LTAPEDEV, LTAPESIZE, MSGPATH, ONDBSPACEDOWN, OPTCOMPIND, RA_PAGES, SHMADD, STACKSIZE, SYSALARMPROGRAM, TAPEBLK, TAPEDEV, TAPESIZE, TBLTBLFIRST, TBLTBLNEXT, TXTIMEOUT, and WSTATS.
See the full list of configuration parameters that you can update dynamically with the onmode -wf or -wm command for Informix 11.70.xC4.
MQ Messaging functions enable communication between Informix and IBM WebSphere MQ
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY 2,024 Views
You can use MQ messaging functions to enable Informix applications to exchange data directly between the application and IBM WebSphere MQ. Applications can send and receive messages from local or remote queue managers that reside anywhere in the network and participate in a transaction.
IBM Informix Version 11.70 includes several new MQ messaging functions, which simplify administrative tasks and reduce the number of WebSphere MQ licenses that are needed.
For more information, see What's new in Database Extensions for IBM Informix, version 11.70 in the Database Extensions Users Guide.
Multitenancy in Informix
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  database informix administration tenant multitenancy 5,311 Views
As of IBM© Informix© 12.10.xC4, you can deploy an Informix server that supports multiple tenants. A tenant is a set of users in a client organization that needs to access the same data and system resources. You create a dedicated tenant database, and assign storage and processing resources for that database based on the service-level agreements with the client organization. For example, you can provide services to multiple companies that run efficiently in a single Informix instance.
When you configure multitenancy, you segregate the following aspects of a database server:
To create a tenant database, run the tenant create argument with the admin() or task() function. The user that creates the database is granted DBA privileges. You can view the tenant database properties in the tenant table in the sysadmin database.
The following statement creates a tenant database that is named companyA:
The tenant database has the following properties:
The tenant database does not have a blobspace, stores temporary smart large objects in the sbspace that is specified by the SBSPACETEMP configuration parameter, and is case-insensitive.
For more information, see Multitenancy.
My personal thoughts on 10 years at IBM (almost 15 working with Informix)
IngeHalilovic 060000MPB8 Tags:  informix time_series database 3,210 Views
Today is the 10th anniversary of the Informix acquisition by IBM. I'm very happy to be employed, and by a stable company like IBM! About half the current Informix doc team came over in the acquisition. What can I say--we're very loyal to Informix! One of the best things about working on Informix is working with a development team that is really passionate about their product.
One of the other best things about Informix is the amazing customers. Every time I talk, email, or just listen to a customer, I find it very valuable. IBM really emphasizes the importance of customer perspective in its writers, as well as an understanding of customer business needs and improving time to value. We all try very hard to translate the information about functionality that we get from development into a clear statement of customer value. Please keep the feedback coming!
This year, I feel like I've come a full circle with Informix. When I started at Informix almost 15 years ago, one of my first projects was working on the TimeSeries DataBlade documentation with Kevin Brown. It has always been one of my favorite parts of Informix to work on. But after that initial assignment, I didn't get many chances to work on the TimeSeries documentation again, until this year. With 11.70.xC3, the TimeSeries extension, as it is now known, has been significantly enhanced, and I was lucky enough to be able to do the documentation for it. The TimeSeries data type technology was very cool 15 years ago, but today it is really coming into focus as a solution for the ubiquitous monitoring of everything that seems to be happening these days. Here's a couple of case studies that I found particularly interesting:
Hildebrand solves a key problem in smart metering research
Coldset Printing Partners: The IBM Informix TimeSeries solution helps company track usage trends and analyze data over time
I'm looking forward to seeing what the next 10 years of Informix at IBM will hold!
Narrowing your searches in the IBM Knowledge Center
jasna 110000T2XC Tags:  ibm_knowledge_center search filter ibmkc 3,291 Views
Even though the IBM Knowledge Center contains the technical product documentation for thousands of IBM products, you can easily and quickly get information about only the products and topics that you are interested in.
To reduce the number of results returned about a particular subject area, you can refine your search by using the intitle operator. The intitle operator restricts results to words or phrases that appear only in the title of a topic. Use this operator when you are looking for the main topics about a subject area. For example, compare the following two searches for Informix 12.1:
1. basic text search error
2. basic text search intitle:error
You can also search for a phrase in the title. For example:
New 11.70 user guide provides information to help you embed Informix in your applications
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY 1,287 Views
The 11.70 documentation set includes a new user guide, the IBM Informix Embeddability Guide, which contains information on customizable deployment options and configurable administration features that you can use to achieve an end-to-end deployment solution. Some examples of the topics in this guide, which are also available in the Embedding IBM Informix section of the IBM Informix 11.70 Information Center, are:
We encourage you to look at the information in the new guide when you browse through the IBM Informix 11.70 Information Center to see what else is new.
New 11.70xC3 and 11.50xC9 features for managing low memory
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  database informix memory server 3,013 Views
If you upgrade to either version 11.70xC3 or 11.50xC9 of IBM Informix, you can:
For more information, see "What's New in Informix" topic in the 11.70xC3 Information Center or the 11.50xC9 Information Center.
New 11.70xC3 feature for enabling automatic read-ahead operations
96QY_Pat_Smith 27000196QY Tags:  read-ahead automatic auto_readahead 2,781 Views
If you have version 11.70xC3, you can enable the database server to use read-ahead operations automatically to improve performance. Automatic read-ahead requests for pages to be brought into the bufferpool cache during sequential scans of data records improves the performance of a query, including OLTP queries and index scans, when the server detects that the query is encountering I/O.
You use the new AUTO_READAHEAD configuration parameter to configure automatic read-ahead operations for all queries, and use the SET ENVIRONMENT AUTO_READAHEAD statement to configure automatic read-ahead operations for a particular session. For more information, see Automatic read-ahead operations.
Note: View the prior blog entry for a list of new Version 11.50xC9 features!


text:
Artist description:
This is Yachiru from bleach and also my first drawing!! I know its not the best but ill keep trying! ^_^
Flash Draw Created Sep 13, 2009 470 x 338px Unless noted Copyright 2009 Black-Cat-Freak.
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lolol i luv ur drawings there way better then what any of my other friends can do
Awwwhh she's so adorable. :3 This is a great effort for your first drawing. ^^ Welcome to RmD and I hope you enjoy your stay. :)
woowww!! THIS IS YOUR FIRST DRAW?! your amaaaaazingggg!!! shes so cute ^^ your gunna be a great artist on here! :D please comment and rate my new draw :) thankyouuu , keep up the gooood work, happy drawingg! 5/5 for sureee! XD xxx

subset: commoncrawl