C Shared-Object File

To specify the location of a C shared-object file, you can specify the path to the dynamically-loaded executable file within a quoted pathname or as a variable.

The C shared-object filename is specified by the following syntax:


Element	Description	Restrictions	Syntax
environment_var	Platform-independent indicator	Must begin with a dollar sign ( $ )	Identifier
pathname	Pathname to the file	See notes that follow this table	Must conform to operating system conventions
quote	Either single ( ' ) or double ( '' ) quotation mark symbol	Opening and closing quotation mark symbols must match	Literal symbol (either ' or '')
symbol	Entry point to the file	Must be enclosed in parentheses	Must conform to operating system conventions
variable	Platform-independent indicator	Must begin with a dollar sign ( $ )	Must conform to C language conventions

The following rules affect pathname and filename specifications in C:

A filename (with no pathname) can specify an internal function.
You can omit the period ( . ) symbol if pathname is relative to the current directory when the CREATE or ALTER statement is run.
On UNIX™, an absolute pathname must begin with a slash ( / ) symbol, and each directory name must end with a slash ( / ) symbol.
On Windows™, an absolute pathname must begin with a backslash ( \ ) symbol, and each directory name must end with a backslash ( \ ) symbol.
The filename at the end of pathname must have the .so file extension and must refer to an executable file in a shared object library.
Use a symbol only if the entry point to the dynamically loadable executable object file has a different name from the UDR that you are registering with CREATE FUNCTION or CREATE PROCEDURE.
If you specify a variable, it must contain the full pathname to the executable file.
You can include white-space characters, such as blank spaces or tab characters, within a quoted pathname.