Highlights: IBM Informix a Proven Database with a Bold Roadmap
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.
Table of Contents
Editorial
As you can see in the highlights Informix is a proven database with a bold roadmap.
The Insider editorial team is doing its best to provide you with technical information, event promotion and news. As I said many times, I’m always looking for content. If there is anything you want to know about, any news, or any technical content. Let me know. Starting with this issue I added a corner named HOW TO. Where I will share tips that helped my development team. Any comments or your own contribution will be blessed.
Gary Ben-Israel
IIUG Insider Editor
IIUG Board of Directors
gary@iiug.org
Highlights
IBM Informix a Proven Database with a Bold Roadmap
IBM Informix remains a core asset for organizations demanding performance, reliability, and innovation. This new blog highlights its legacy, ongoing roadmap, and forward-looking features—from containerization to AI-readiness—as it moves confidently into versions beyond v15.
Rest assured, IBM Informix isn’t going anywhere-it’s here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Anup Nair
IBM
Conference Corner
IBM TechXchange Conference 2025 – Orlando, FL, USA
October 6-9, 2025
Orlando, Florida USA
Preview the IBM TechXchange 2025 Session Catalog! A sneak peek of the conference catalog is now live!
Mark your calendars for 13 dedicated Informix sessions, meticulously curated by IIUG. These sessions promise to offer valuable insights and practical knowledge, with a sneak peek coming soon. You can also explore the more than 500 sessions and activities being offered.
- Lots of Ways to Learn – Varied session types to suit many learning styles
- Role-based Navigation – Easily discover sessions that apply to your role and the work you do daily
- Technical Tracks and Topics – Curriculum organized by technical tracks and specific topics helps you build your agenda
- World Class Experts – Look for the leading lights of Enterprise AI and Hybrid Cloud in our Speaker Catalog
- Get Certified – Prepare for your next certification and take advantage of online assessments, sample tests and study guides
- Soft Skills – A technologist needs capabilities beyond technical mastery, including good communication, project management, leadership and more
This is a fantastic opportunity to network with fellow Informix enthusiasts, learn from industry experts, and stay updated on the latest trends and best practices.
For those of you who missed the 30% last month’s registration discount, don’t despair! We are working to get another discount. Watch for future emails regarding this.
We can’t wait to see you in Orlando!
#IIUG #IBMTechXchange #Informix
Rhonda Hackenburg
IIUG Board
Informix Corner
Informix Tech Talks on YouTube
Upcoming Informix Tech Talks
There is no Tech Talks scheduled for June!
Rhonda Hackenburg
IIUG Board
Last Informix Tech Talks Replay
Replay of the Last Informix Tech Talks: Everything You Need to Know About Statistics and Data Distributions – Art Kagel, May 2025
Informix Tech Talks YouTube Channel
Our YouTube Channel now has:
-
560 subscribers (8 new subscribers)
-
113 videos (1 new videos)
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23,203 views (366 additional views)
Informix Tech Talks YouTube Channel Videos
Past Informix Tech Talks Replays
In Search of Tech Talks Speakers
We are looking for additional speakers and especially any new speakers to share your Informix knowledge with our user Community via the IIUG Tech Talks. We will assist you in preparing for your Tech Talks presentation by prerecording your session. This will allow you to be available to answer any questions that come up in the chat during you presentation.
If you are interested in producing a 15 – 45-minute presentation, please contact either Art Kagel or Rhonda Hackenburg for additional information.
Rhonda Hackenburg
IIUG Board
Informix Training
Free Informix Tutorials Videos – a step by step approach to using Informix Database Servers are available at https://advancedatatools.com/tech-info/informix-tutorials/
RFE Corner
IBM has an RFE – Request For Enhancements website.
Please visit the RFE site to vote for your favorite enhancements and place new requests. It is friendly and has a nice look and feel.
Recent
Implement st_distance_sphere funtion
Popular
Informix should be able to change owner on tables and any other objects (108 votes)
Backup Individual database, not entire instance (94 votes)
IBM Informix Forum Corner
Join and visit the IBM Informix Community Forum
Recent Posts:
Query using temp table is much faster then join/subquery
is there a rowsize function in SQL similar to rowid?
What triggers a blocking checkpoint?
Gary Ben-Israel
IIUG Board
How To
In this corner I will write about things that can help in your day-to-day work.
Most DBAs probably have their own ways to perform these tasks which may be different than the way I do them. So, if you find an error or can think of a better way, please let me know. If not feel free to use these tips as is or modify them to fit your needs.
back_ref_view
This is a view you can use to find which tables are referencing the table you are dealing with. Some SQL editors can display this information but even when they do it is not always intuitive or easy.
In DBACCESS for instance it takes you six steps. At least that’s what it takes me. Needless to say, developers are usually not familiar with DBACCESS and are not logged in to an Informix server.
Performing this with a simple select statement can be helpful.
Using the following view.
create view back_ref_view
(referenced_table, referenced_column, referencing_table, referencing_column,
cascading_delete, constraint_name, back_ref_view_ik) as
select a.tabname, d.colname, g.tabname, i.colname,
case
when e.delrule = “C” then
“Yes”
else
“No”
end,
f.constrname, f.constrid
from systables a, sysconstraints b, sysindexes c, syscolumns d,
sysreferences e, sysconstraints f, systables g, sysindexes h,
syscolumns i
where b.tabid = a.tabid
and b.constrtype = “P”
and c.idxname = b.idxname
and d.tabid = c.tabid
and d.colno = c.part1
and e.primary = b.constrid
and f.constrid = e.constrid
and g.tabid = f.tabid
and h.idxname = f.idxname
and i.tabid = h.tabid
and i.colno = h.part1;
grant select on back_ref_view to “public”;
Gary Ben-Israel
IIUG Board
Informix Resources
IIUG Website
Not a member? Become an IIUG member and keep updated on all things Informix. It’s free.
IBM Informix Community
Not a member, join the IBM Informix community and connect with other Informix data experts.
Blogs
Art Kagel – https://informix-myview.blogspot.com/
IBM Informix RFE
IBM Informix RFE – Informix Requests for Enhancements.
Technical Articles
Oninit Group
WAIUG (Washington Area Informix User Group) Tech Tips
Over 10 Years of Informix Webcast Replays
Over 30 Years of Informix Blog Posts
Social Media
| YouTube | X |
IIUG’s own Art Kagel was recently features on the Tech Sharmit Podcast to talk about his life and involvement with Informix and database systems.
Catch the podcast here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l81pLa7i-J0)
Forums, Groups, Videos, and Magazines
Informix Marketing channel on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/informixmarketing?feature=results_main
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 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.
Editors: Gary Ben-Israel, Rhonda Hackenburg
For comments, please send an email to gary@iiug.org or rhonda@iiug.org