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Extending Informix®Beyond standard relational database objects, HCL Informix® can be extended to handle specialized data types, access methods, routines, and other objects. Informix® includes many built-in extensions that are fully integrated in the database server. Informix® also provides DataBlade® modules, which are packages of extended database objects for a particular purpose and that are installed separately from the database server. Alternatively, you can create your own user-defined objects for Informix®.
Creating extensionsYou can create user-defined data types, routines, access methods, and other database objects to suit your needs. You can use application programming interfaces to write user-defined routines and applications that access data in Informix® databases.
DataBlade® API Programmer's GuideThe Informix® DataBlade® API Programmer's Guide describes information about the DataBlade® API, the C-language application programming interface (API) provided with HCL Informix®.
Data manipulation
Date and time data typesThis section describes the date and time data types and the functions that the DataBlade® API supports to process date and time data.
Date dataDate data is a calendar date. The DataBlade® API provides support for date values in both their text and binary representations.
Date binary representationThe SQL DATE data type holds the internal (binary) format of a decimal value. This value is an integer value that represents the number of days since December 31, 1899. Dates before December 31, 1899, are negative numbers, while dates after December 31, 1899, are positive numbers.

Date binary representation

The SQL DATE data type holds the internal (binary) format of a decimal value. This value is an integer value that represents the number of days since December 31, 1899. Dates before December 31, 1899, are negative numbers, while dates after December 31, 1899, are positive numbers.

Tip: The internal format of the DATE data type is often referred to as its binary representation.

The DataBlade® API supports the SQL DATE data type with the mi_date data type. Therefore, the mi_date data type also holds the binary representation of a date value.

The mi_date data type is guaranteed to be four bytes on all computer architectures. All mi_date values can fit into an MI_DATUM structure and can be passed by value within C UDRs.

All data types, including mi_date, must be passed by reference within client LIBMI applications.

Because the binary representation of a DATE (and mi_date) value is a proprietary format, you cannot use standard system functions to obtain date information from mi_date values. Instead, the DataBlade API provides the following support for the DATE data type.

Conversion functions
Operation functions

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