Transcript No Slide Title

Connecting Client Applications
to Informix Databases using IBM
Informix Connect and ODBC
James Edmiston
Database Consultant
Quest Information Systems, Inc.
www.questinfosys.com
[email protected]
July 17, 2015
Purpose
Identify Informix connectivity products and
explain how to configure the related
components for Microsoft Windows clients to
enable client applications to access Informix
databases through ODBC
July 17, 2015
Outline
• Overview of the latest IBM Informix Client SDK
• Informix client connectivity components
• Client configuration
• Testing connection
• Potential problems
• Documentation
July 17, 2015
Client SDK 2.81 Overview
IBM Informix Client SDK provides a single packaging of several
application programming interfaces (APIs) needed to develop
applications for Informix servers as well as components for client/Informix
database connectivity.
• Provides choice of programming environments
• Promotes easier development of applications for Informix servers
• Reduces application development costs
• Decreases application development time
• Reduces training needed for new programming language
• Provides APIs for Java™, C++, C, or ESQL, OLE/DB and ODBC
July 17, 2015
Client SDK 2.81 (cont)
• Improved performance with a newly re-architected OLE DB
provider
• UniCode support to Microsoft Visual Basic or Visual C++
applications
• Supports JDBC V2.21 Type 4 driver
• Java Driver is Optimized to work with IBM WebSphere
Application Server
• Support Unicode standard 3.1.1 in OLE DB and ODBC
July 17, 2015
Client SDK 2.81 (cont)
• High performance OLE DB
– Supports Microsoft Visual Basic
– Supports Visual C++
• UniCode Enabled ODBC Driver
• Robust, Feature rich ESQL/C module
• ODBC/ OLE DB
• Supports .NET applications via Visual Studio .NET bridge
• IBM Informix JDBC driver 2.21 and embedded SQL/J JDBC 2.0
July 17, 2015
Client SDK 2.81 Components
• IBM Informix ESQL/C V9.53
• IBM Informix ODBC driver V3.82
• IBM Informix OLEDB Provider V2.81 (Win32 only)
• IBM Informix Object Interface for C++ V2.8
• IBM Informix JDBC driver V2.21 (Type 4) and IBM
Informix Embedded SQLJ V1.01
• IBM Informix Connect V2.81
July 17, 2015
Client SDK 2.81 Windows
• Windows NT V4.0 (Service Pack 5, or higher)
• Windows 98/ME/XP, Windows 2000
Professional, or Windows 2000 Server
• TCP/IP protocol that is Windows Sockets 1.1
compliant
• Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler V6.0
• MTS 2.0 (to enable use of the MTS feature for ODBC
and OLEDB)
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Client SDK 2.81 Unix
• Sun Solaris 2.6, 7, 8, and 9 (32 bit)
• Sun Solaris 7, 8 and 9 (64 bit)
• HP-UX 11.0 and 11i Version 1 (also known at 11.1) (32 and 64
bit)
• AIX 4.3.3, 5.1, and 5.2 (32 bit)
• AIX 4.3.3 (64 bit)
• AIX 5.1 and 5.2 (64 bit)
• Compaq Tru64 5.1, 5.1a, and 5.1b
• Linux 2.4 (kernel 2.4, glibc 2.2.x) (32 bit), Caldera SCO
UnixWare 7.1.3 + LKP
• SGI IRIX 6.5 (32 bit)
• SCO OpenServer 5.05
July 17, 2015
Client Server Architecture
INFORMIXSERVER
ODBC DSN
IBM Informix Client
SDK/Connect
ODBC Enabled
Client Application
Network
Connection
Client
Server
July 17, 2015
Client Applications
Examples of Different types of Client Applications
• Application development tools
– PowerBuilder, Visual Basic
• Query and reporting tools
– BrioQuery
• Other
– Microsoft Access
– Custom Applications
July 17, 2015
Using ODBC
What is ODBC?
• Microsoft Open Database Connectivity
• Enforces standards that allow an application to
access different database vendors
• Portable across platforms - may not be seamless
because of individual features of the database
products
What Informix products need
to be installed?
July 17, 2015
IBM Informix CSDK
The IBM Informix Client Software Developer’s Kit
(CSDK) database connectivity components
• ODBC driver
• ODBC Driver Manager
• Informix Connect
July 17, 2015
Informix Connect
• Consists of the runtime connection libraries
• Bundled with IBM Informix Client SDK
• Informix Connect allows distribution of runtime
versions with completed applications
Once Installed, know what to configure
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Configure
Client Components
– Setnet32
• Network service
– ODBC data source (Data Source Name = DSN)
– Client application referencing DSN
July 17, 2015
Setnet32
• Configuration tool included in Informix products
• Sets INFORMIX environment variables on the
client machine
• Creates a server entry with server identification
and network parameters
• Setnet32 configures on the Windows client what
the UNIX SQLHOSTS file and environment
variables are to the Informix server
July 17, 2015
Setnet32 (cont)
• Records entries in the Windows registry
• Allows save/load of entries to/from a file
• Server entries used in other Informix admin client
tools (ServerStudio, SQL Editor, etc.)
• Test Client/Server connection Using ILogin Demo
Tool
select * from customer
July 17, 2015
Network Services file
Network ‘services’ file
• 9x - c:\windows\services
• NT/2K/XP - c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\services
• ASCII text
– Service name
– Port number
– Protocol
• Service name corresponds to ‘Service’ value from
the Setnet32 entry
Example services file entry
Demonstration of Setnet32
and Test Connection
July 17, 2015
ODBC Data Source Name
(DSN)
• Consists of:
– Database name
– ODBC driver specification
– Database server
– Host name
– Network protocol
• Configured using the ODBC administrator
• Test database connection
Demonstration of ODBC DSN
July 17, 2015
Client Application
• Reference ODBC DSN
– Brio Query demo
– MS Access demo
July 17, 2015
Potential Problems
• May need to reboot the client machine after installing
CSDK/Connect before creating the ODBC data
source
• Informix error message text may reference the UNIX
environment, while the problem really applies to the
Windows environment
• Informix error -908
Verify the listening port number defined on
the server matches the client
July 17, 2015
Potential Problems (cont)
• Informix error -931
Verify the service file entry matches the service name
in the Setnet32 ‘Server Information’ tab
• Informix error -951 or -956
Enter client machine name in the /etc/hosts.equiv file
and/or in the .rhosts file on the server
July 17, 2015
Potential Problems (cont)
• System error code 126
client environment problem
– NT/2K/XP - Using the Control Panel, System
properties, set system variables in the
‘Environment’ tab
– 95/98 - make entries in the autoexec.bat file
– Variables to set (example):
INFORMIXDIR=c:/informix
PATH=c:/informix/bin;...
July 17, 2015
Documentation
•
Embedded SQLJ User's Guide, Version 1.01 (G251-1270-00)
This manual contains information about using IBM Informix Embedded SQLJ.
IBM Informix Embedded SQLJ enables you to embed SQL statements in your
Java programs. It consists of the SQLJ translator, which translates SQLJ code
into Java code, and a set of Java classes that provide runtime support for SQLJ
programs. When you run a SQLJ program, it uses IBM Informix JDBC Driver to
connect to an IBM Informix database.
•
IBM Informix Client Products Installation Guide for UNIX, Linux, and Windows
(G251-1269-00)
This manual explains how to install IBM Informix Client Software Developer's Kit
(Client SDK), Version 2.5, and IBM Informix Connect, Version 2.5, on computers
that use UNIX, Linux, and Windows.
•
IBM Informix ESQL/C Programmer's Manual, Version 9.53 (G251-1342-00)
This manual describes the features that make up the IBM Informix
implementation of embedded SQL for C.
•
IBM Informix GLS User's Guide, Version 9.4/8.4 (G251-1241-00)
This manual describes the Global Language Support (GLS) feature, which
allows IBM Informix application-programming interfaces (APIs) and database
servers to handle different languages, cultural conventions, and code sets.
July 17, 2015
Documentation (cont)
•
IBM Informix OLE DB Provider Programmer's Guide, Version 2.81
This manual describes the software requirements for using IBM Informix OLE
DB Provider, shows how to install and configure the provider for your use, and
explains how to use IBM Informix OLE DB Provider to enable client applications,
such as ActiveX Data Object (ADO) applications and Web pages, to access data
on an IBM Informix server.
•
IBM Informix Object Interface for C++ Programmer's Guide, Version 2.5
This guide describes the architecture of the C++ object interface and provides a
complete class reference.
•
JDBC Driver Programmer's Guide, UNIX and Windows Environments, v2.21
This guide describes how to install, load, and use Informix JDBC Driver to
connect to an Informix database from within a Java application or applet. You
can also use Informix JDBC Driver for writing user-defined routines that are
executed in the server.
•
ODBC Driver Programmer's Manual, Version 3.82
This manual is a user guide and reference manual for Informix ODBC Driver,
which is the Informix implementation of the Microsoft Open Database
Connectivity (ODBC) interface, Version3.0. This manual explains how to use the
Informix ODBC Driver application programming interface (API) to access an
Informix database and interact with an Informix database server.
July 17, 2015
Summary
• Latest IBM Informix CSDK 2.81
• Client connection to Informix databases
• Install Informix client connectivity products
• Configure Setnet32, ODBC, service file
• Test connection
• Potential problems
• Documentation
– For accompanying article:
http://www.questinfosys.com/article/waiug_article.htm
July 17, 2015
Questions?
James Edmiston
Database Consultant
Quest Information Systems, Inc.
www.questinfosys.com
[email protected]
July 17, 2015