Chapter 8. Informix Connectivity Products

In earlier chapters we have looked at both the database servers and the GUI clients. In this chapter, we will investigate the connection between the client and server components of the client/server applications and will look at the tools provided by Informix to connect these two applications. These Informix tools are currently called Informix-Connect and Informix-CLI. In OnLine (pre version 6) systems, Informix-Connect was called I-Net or I-Star. Whatever the name, these programs are the glue that holds the clients and servers together. This chapter was written with Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) as its primary inspiration. Older OnLine engines can be connected to in much the same way as can IDS engines, with the exception that connections to OnLine systems lack many of the more advanced options and complexities of IDS. Read this entire chapter with IDS in mind, but refer to your manuals for specific OnLine information.

Informix engines operate as a client/server system no matter whether the client and server are running on the same physical computer system or on separate systems connected over a network. The client application formulates a request and sends it to the server, and the server delivers the result back to the client over the connecting link.