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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
Complex data typesThis section describes the complex data types and the functions that the DataBlade® API supports to process collection and row-type data.
CollectionsA collection is a complex data type that is made up of elements, each of which has the same data type. A collection is similar to an array in the C language. The DataBlade® API provides support for collections in both their text and binary representations.
Collection binary representation

Collection binary representation

The database server supports the following collections data types.

LIST: An ordered group of elements that can contain duplicate elements
MULTISET: An unordered group of elements that can contain duplicate elements
SET: An unordered group of elements that cannot contain duplicate elements

All collection data types use the same internal format to store their values.

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

The DataBlade® API supports the following SQL collection data types and data type structures:

A collection structure (MI_COLLECTION) holds the binary representation of the collection.
A collection descriptor (MI_COLL_DESC) provides information about the collection.

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