IIUG Insider (Issue #217) July 2018

Highlights: Where is InformixHQ

Welcome to the International Informix Users Group (IIUG) Insider! Designed for IIUG members and Informix user group leaders, this publication contains timely and relevant information for the IBM Informix community.

Contents:
1) Editorial
2) Highlights
   2.1 Where is InformixHQ
3) Conference Corner
   3.1 IIUG World 2018 – Sessions are being posted to the website
4) RFE Corner
5) Informix Corner
   5.1 Informix CSDK and more
   5.2 The 2018 Informix Roadshow
6) Informix Resources
   6.1 Informix Blogs and Wikis
   6.2 Social Media
   6.3 Forums, Groups, Videos, and Magazines

1) Editorial

The IIUG Board of Directors met in Bucharest August 10-11.

We had many serious issues to solve.

We continued planning our upcoming IIUG World event in October. I hope to meet you there.

We also discussed the state of Informix and the IIUG after HCL took over Development and Support. I will update in the next Insider.

Gary Ben-Israel
IIUG Insider Editor
IIUG Board of Directors
gary@iiug.org

2) Highlights

2.1 Where is InformixHQ

We are starting a new Informix watch. Every month we will point to features and software that are needed but no longer exist. This month is about InformixHQ.

InformixHQ was supposed to be “a modern web console for visualizing, monitoring, and managing your Informix server instances”. It has vanished. At first all links to it ended in a 404 – page not found error. Now it is no longer mentioned. HCL did not even have the decency to put a proper page explaining why it no longer exist only a month after it has been announced and are there any future plans. This is not a mistake it is a proof of HCL’s attitude to existing Informix customers. Now that OAT is no longer supported we have no alternative.

I urge you all to ask about it in any discussion you have with IBM or HCL.

This is not an attempt to bash HCL it is an attempt to make them support Informix customers.

We need your help.

Gary Ben-Israel

3) Conference Corner

3.1 IIUG World 2018 – Sessions are being posted to the website

IUG World 2018 will be held October 28, 2018 – November 1, 2018 at the beautiful Renaissance Marriott Arlington Capital View (Washington, DC, USA area).

This is the Premier Informix event to attend. You may have missed the early bird price but, you can still save $100 if you register by September 15, 2018. Your paid registration includes 3 full days of technical content, all the evening events, breakfast, lunch and the Thursday in-depth tutorials. You can save an additional $100 by using your IIUG membership when you register for a total savings of $200. Surprise! If you are taking the time to read the August Insider we want to offer you additional savings. Enter AUGINSIDER in the registration code field when you register and you can save an additional $100 for a total of $300. But, register soon! This code will only be available through then end of August 2018.

What you have all been waiting for… Presenters and topics have been selected for IIUG World 2018 and we are receiving confirmation from our presenters. Sessions are now being listed on the IIUG World website as presenters confirm their selection. Take a look at this list of great topics and you will see this is an event you do not want to miss. The session list can be found at /iiugworld/sessions.php. Please note: as always, the schedule is subject to change.

Don’t forget, a limited number of rooms have been reserved at the Renaissance Marriott Arlington Capital View with the special event rate of $189 per night. Make sure to reserve your room before they are gone. Even if you are not ready to register you can still reserve a room to ensure you receive the event rate.

Everything you need the register and book your room can be found at www.iiug.org/iiugworld.

We look forward to seeing you at IIUG World 2018.

TO THOSE WHO HAVE REGISTERED: If you did not receive a receipt or email notification, please send us an email to the address below the email signature with your name and email address and we will send you a new receipt. Remember to book your hotel room at the official conference hotel at /iiugworld/marriott

The IIUG World Planning Committee
email us at: conference@iiug.org

4) RFE Corner

IBM created a public website to collect the requests for new features directly from users. The RFE (Requests For Enhancements) website is included in developerWorks. You can access it here.

Once you logged in with your usual IBM ID, choose “Information Management” in the Brand dropdown box and “Informix Servers” or “Client Products” in the Products dropdown box.

The idea of the RFE corner is to provide a digest on new Informix RFEs and make those RFEs more visible and accessible to the community, so you can vote on those that are also important to you. By actively participating in this website, IBM will have solid and useful elements from the customer base to introduce new functionality to Informix product.

Also in the area of IBM website, a new functionality has been released: MyNotifications. You will want to register this webpage in order to receive the notifications of your choice (new product defects, new patch release, new versions etc…, on the frequency of your choice (daily, weekly). I have registered and will definitely remain registered, due to the value of the information delivered.
Check at this place.

TOP 15 RFE’s

Abstract Status Votes Progr.
In-Place Alter for varchar, lvarchar and boolean Under Consideration 65 +1
Backup from RSS or HDR Secondaries using ontape, onunload, onbar, dbexport Under Consideration 60 +1
SQL interface to obtain the temporary space usage (tables, hash, sorts…) Under Consideration 50 0
Obtain the query plan of a running query Under Consideration 49 0
Request to track and save a time stamp for last time an index was used. Nee… Delivered 40 0
Backup Individual database, not entire instance Submitted 36 +1
Informix should be able to change owner on tables and any other objects Submitted 33 +2
Implement CREATE OR REPLACE option for stored procedures Under Consideration 31 +1
ALTER owner of database objects after creation Submitted 29 0
New feature to have FORCE_DDL_EXEC functionality for all DDL changes Submitted 26 +2
Implementation of regular expressions (adding to LIKE/MATCHES functions) Under consideration 23 0
Ability to re-create views and procedures without dependent objects being dropped (34762 Under consideration 20 0
Need an onmode option to terminate orphaned, tightly coupled global transac… Under Consideration 19 0
SQL interface to obtain the temporary space usage (tables, hash, sorts…) Declined 19 0
allow repack of TBLSpace extents Under Consideration 18 0

You can access each RFE by clicking on the above links. At the bottom of each RFE page you will find a hyperlink to vote for it. You will see the Request stats, including number of votes for this request, on the right side of the request page. The more votes, the greater the chance an enhancement will be addressed by the Development Team.

Gary Ben-Israel

5) Informix Corner

5.1 Informix CSDK and more

Thank you Milind for the great work.

CSDK – https://www-01.ibm.com/marketing/iwm/iwm/web/preLogin.do?source=ifxdl
Innovator C – https://www-01.ibm.com/marketing/iwm/iwm/web/preLogin.do?source=swg-ifxnce
Developer https://www-01.ibm.com/marketing/iwm/iwm/web/preLogin.do?source=ifxids(includes old 11.xx editions)
JDBC https://www-01.ibm.com/marketing/iwm/iwm/web/preLogin.do?source=ifxjdbc

Milind Tamaskar
Senior Offering Manager
Hybrid Data Management, IBM Analytics
Informix focal

5.2 The 2018 Informix Roadshow

Informix 12.1 is Simply Powerful
Coming to a Location near you

What is the Informix Roadshow?

The 2018 Informix Roadshow is a one or two-day, deep-dive technical event that gives you hands-on experience with the latest IBM® Informix® release features, and Informix Warehousing technology. This roadshow is designed to help you gain fresh, innovative ideas for optimizing your business performance and creative competitive advantage – and it’s absolutely free to attend these events.

The Roadshow topics include:

  • Latest features of IDS 12
  • Encryption at Rest
  • Informix on Cloud
  • Replication Technologies
  • Compression
  • Storage Manager
  • Time Series – Smart Metering
  • Informix Warehouse Accelerator
  • Embed and Autonomics
  • NoSql
  • Internet of Things
  • Roadmap
  • GDPR

The current Informix Roadshow presentations and agenda, both of which are subject to change, and the last four years Informix Roadshow presentations are available here.

The current Informix Roadshow Agenda is here subject to change.

If you would like to try Informix for free, links to various software downloads are here:

Register for the 2018 Informix Roadshow near you, stay tuned for more details.

Date Location
September 24-25, 2018 Paris, France @IBM Bois-Colombe
September 27-28, 2018 Zagreb, Croatia @ Alfatec
October 1-2, 2018 Zagreb, Croatia @ Alfatec
November 27, 2018 Munich, Germany @Informix Germany User Group

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en-us#/wiki/Informix%20Roadshow%20-%20Informix%20is%20Everywhere

6) Informix Resources

IBM Informix home page www.informix.com or directly at: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/informix/

6.1 Informix Blogs and Wikis

Blogs and Wikis that have been updated during the last month

More Blogs and Wikis

6.2 Social Media

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25049
Twitter : https://twitter.com/iiug
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/IIUG.Informix
Informix IoT Channel : https://ibm.biz/BdH2nm

6.3 Forums, Groups, Videos, and Magazines

  • The IIUG forums at /forums/technical.php
  • Informix Marketing channel on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/informixmarketing?feature=results_main
  • IBM DATABASE MAGAZINE at http://www.ibmdatabasemag.com
  • Credentials, the IBM Certification Newsletter at http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/email/201307credentials.shtml
  • There is now an Informix group on LinkedIn. The group is called “Informix Supporter”, so anyone loving Informix can join, from current IBM employees, former Informix employees, to users. It will also be a good occasion to get in touch with others or long-time-no-seen friends. If you fancy showing the Informix logo on your profile, join. To join, simply go to: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/25049/5E4B2048E558

Closing and Credits

The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is an organization designed to enhance communications between its worldwide user community and IBM. The IIUG’s membership database now exceeds 25,000 entries and enjoys the support and commitment of IBM’s Information Management division. Key programs include local user groups and special interest groups, which we promote and assist from launch through growth.

Sources: IIUG Board of Directors

IBM Corp.

Editor: Gary Ben-Israel

For comments, please send an email to gary@iiug.org

Published
Categorized as Insider

By Vicente Salvador

Board member since 2014, a user since 1989 and Informix fan. I'am software architect which allow me to combine technical and business skills.