Integrate the Informix ODBC application on Mac OS x with Informix Dynamic server 1

Brief introduction

The recently released 32-bit Informix client-sdk for the Mac OS X platform provides improved Open Database connectivity (ODBC) capabilities to seamlessly integrate an ODBC-aware application with Informix D Ynamic Server (IDS) integrated.

ODBC drivers are available in two forms on Mac OS X, dynamic libraries and application plug-ins. Developers who call the ODBC API directly through an application can use dynamic libraries, while Apple's ODBC data source management utility uses Plug-ins. The product installer replicates the library, creates the required configuration files, and automatically updates the system configuration.

All applications can share a single instance of the driver. After the driver configuration is complete, you can add data sources through the ODBC Administrator utility built into the operating system, allowing ODBC-aware applications such as Microsoft®excel and Apple's native data source utilities (such as FileMaker Pr O, OpenOffice.org, and Iodbctest in the iODBC SDK) can use them.

Understanding the Informix ODBC driver file types available for Mac

Packaged files:. bundle (Plug-in file)

The. bundle extension is the file name extension used by the plug-in file, which adds additional features to the operating system or application in Mac OS X. The example in this article uses the Packaging Module (iclit09b.bundle) of the Informix ODBC driver, which is built using a MAC-specific package flag,-bundle-flat_namespace-undefined suppress. Listing 1 shows the format of the plug-in file.

Listing 1. Format of the plug-in file

iclit09b.bundle:
Mach　header
　　　magic　cputype　cpusubtype　caps　　filetype　ncmds　sizeofcmds　　　flags
MH_MAGIC_64　X86_64　　　　ALL　0x00　　　BUNDLE　　10　　　　1920　　DYLDLINK

Dynamic library file:. dylib (Dynamic library file)

A file with a. dylib extension is a dynamic library file that contains the declarations and functions referenced by the MAC OS X application. The example in this article uses the Dynamic Library module (iclit09b.dylib) of the Informix ODBC driver, which uses the MAC-specific dynamic build flag-dynamiclib-dynamic-undefined Dynamic_lookup constructs Built. Listing 2 shows the format of the dynamic library file.

Listing 2. Format of dynamic Library files

iclit09b.dylib:
Mach　header
　　　magic　cputype　cpusubtype　caps　　filetype　ncmds　sizeofcmds　　　flags
MH_MAGIC_64　X86_64　　　　ALL　0x00　　　　DYLIB　　12　　　　1976　　NOUNDEFS　DYLDLINK
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　TWOLEVEL
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　NO_REEXPORTED_DYLIBs

Informix ODBC driver files are distributed in CSDK products on Mac OS X

Two Informix ODBC driver files (iclit09b.bundle and iclit09b.dylib) for CSDK Mac OS X 32-bit and CSDK Mac OS x 64-bit products are located in $INFORMIXDIR/lib/c Li

Installing and registering an ODBC driver

The Informix CLIENT-SDK installer automatically installs and configures an Informix ODBC driver on Mac OS x. This process consists of two phases: installation and registration. The installation process is explained in the IBM Informix Client products Installation Guide (see Resources). Here are some key points to remember:

Registration configures the system to allow the system to recognize the Informix ODBC driver.

Drivers can be installed in multiple locations on the same system.

Registers only the first installation of the Informix ODBC driver with the system.

To register plug-ins from different locations, you can use one of the following two methods:

Uninstall the registered plug-in and install the product in the new location.

Manually reconfigure the system to use the new location (explained later in this article).

When you uninstall a product, you can choose to keep the global informixsqlhosts file for later use by the Informix client installation.

Figure 1. Uninstall application prompts to delete informixsqlhosts file