> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mindsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# IBM Informix

This is the implementation of the IBM Informix data handler for MindsDB.

[IBM Informix](https://www.ibm.com/products/informix) is a product family within IBM's Information Management division that is centered on several relational database management system (RDBMS) offerings. The Informix server supports object–relational models and (through extensions) data types that are not a part of the SQL standard. The most widely used of these are the JSON, BSON, time series, and spatial extensions, which provide both data type support and language extensions that permit high-performance domain-specific queries and efficient storage for data sets based on semi-structured, time series, and spatial data.

## Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

1. Install MindsDB locally via [Docker](/setup/self-hosted/docker) or [Docker Desktop](/setup/self-hosted/docker-desktop).
2. To connect IBM Informix to MindsDB, install the required dependencies following [this instruction](/setup/self-hosted/docker#install-dependencies).
3. Install or ensure access to IBM Informix.

## Implementation

This handler is implemented using `IfxPy/IfxPyDbi`, a Python library that allows you to use Python code to run SQL commands on the Informix database.

The required arguments to establish a connection are as follows:

* `user` is the username associated with database.
* `password` is the password to authenticate your access.
* `host` is the hostname or IP address of the server.
* `port` is the port through which TCP/IP connection is to be made.
* `database` is the database name to be connected.
* `schema_name` is the schema name to get tables.
* `server` is the name of server you want connect.
* `logging_enabled` defines whether logging is enabled or not. Defaults to `True` if not provided.

## Usage

In order to make use of this handler and connect to the Informix database in MindsDB, the following syntax can be used:

```sql theme={null}
CREATE DATABASE informix_datasource
WITH
    engine='informix',
    parameters={
      "server": "server",
      "host": "127.0.0.1",
      "port": 9091,
      "user": "informix",
      "password": "in4mix",
      "database": "stores_demo",
      "schema_name": "love",
      "loging_enabled": False
    };
```

You can use this established connection to query your table as follows:

```sql theme={null}
SELECT *
FROM informix_datasource.items;
```

<Note>
  This integration uses `IfxPy`. As it is in development stage, it can be install using `pip install IfxPy`. However, it doesn't work with higher versions of Python, therefore, you have to build it from source.

  <AccordionGroup>
    <Accordion title="On Linux">
      1. This code downloads and extracts the `onedb-ODBC` driver used to make connection:

      ```bash theme={null}
      cd $HOME
      mkdir Informix
      cd Informix
      mkdir -p home/informix/cli
      wget https://hcl-onedb.github.io/odbc/OneDB-Linux64-ODBC-Driver.tar
      sudo tar xvf  OneDB-Linux64-ODBC-Driver.tar -C ./home/informix/cli
      rm OneDB-Linux64-ODBC-Driver.tar
      ```

      2. Add enviroment variables in the `.bashrc` file:

      ```bash theme={null}
      export INFORMIXDIR=$HOME/Informix/home/informix/cli/onedb-odbc-driver
      export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}${INFORMIXDIR}/lib:${INFORMIXDIR}/lib/esql:${INFORMIXDIR}/lib/cli
      ```

      3. This code clones the `IfxPy` repo, builds a wheel, and installs it:

      ```bash theme={null}
      pip install wheel
      mkdir Temp
      cd Temp
      git clone https://github.com/OpenInformix/IfxPy.git
      cd IfxPy/IfxPy
      python setup.py bdist_wheel
      pip install --find-links=./dist IfxPy
      cd ..
      cd ..
      cd ..
      rm -rf Temp
      ```
    </Accordion>

    <Accordion title="On Windows">
      1. This code downloads and extracts the `onedb-ODBC` driver used to make connection:

      ```bash theme={null}
      cd $HOME
      mkdir Informix
      cd Informix
      mkdir  /home/informix/cli
      wget https://hcl-onedb.github.io/odbc/OneDB-Win64-ODBC-Driver.zip
      tar xvf  OneDB-Win64-ODBC-Driver.zip -C ./home/informix/cli
      del OneDB-Win64-ODBC-Driver.zip
      ```

      2. Add an enviroment variable:

      ```bash theme={null}
      set INFORMIXDIR=$HOME/Informix/home/informix/cli/onedb-odbc-driver
      ```

      3. Add `%INFORMIXDIR%\bin` to the PATH environment variable.

      4. This code clones the `IfxPy` repo, builds a wheel, and installs it:

      ```bash theme={null}
      pip install wheel
      mkdir Temp
      cd Temp
      git clone https://github.com/OpenInformix/IfxPy.git
      cd IfxPy/IfxPy
      python setup.py bdist_wheel
      pip install --find-links=./dist IfxPy
      cd ..
      cd ..
      cd ..
      rmdir Temp
      ```
    </Accordion>
  </AccordionGroup>
</Note>