Highlights: Using Informix on the Cloud!
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:
- Editorial
- Highlights
- Conference corner
- Works for me
- RFE corner
- Informix corner
- Calendar of events
- Informix resources
- Useful Links
Table of Contents
Editorial
Sorry for being late. My Laptop broke down. I’m editing this issue on my phone. It will be short but I promise to get back to normal for the September issue.
Gary Ben-Israel
Highlights
Using Informix on the Cloud!
Please reserve a slot in your agenda for the Webcast dedicated to Informix on the Cloud, presented by the IBMer Nick Geib.
Date: Monday, September 26, 2016
Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight
Duration: 1 hour
Summary: Does your business depend on core database solutions for mission critical operations? Are you considering or are you already doing business with systems in the cloud? Join this webcast and learn about IBM’s latest offerings for using Informix in the cloud.
Speakers: Nicholas Geib Solution Architect IBM Analytics
Nicholas develops software in and related to the IBM Informix database. He has contributed to Informix’s high-availability and replication functionality and more recently helped bring Informix to the cloud.
Link to registration: http://bit.ly/2cf3KIq
Gary Ben-Israel
Conference corner
IBM World of Watson 2016, October 24–27 in Las Vegas
In a world awash with data, simply being a digital business isn’t enough. To meet market expectations, leading companies are infusing digital intelligence into the equation. We call this cognitive business.
Unleash your company’s cognitive potential at IBM World of Watson 2016, where we’ll equip you with the capacity to extract knowledge from data, enhance personal expertise, and outthink the needs of the market at amazing speeds. Become a cognitive business, and see how data, analytics, and Watson can change your world.
Register now and save!
IIUG 2017
Since our last Insider there has been another Hotel interested in hosting the IIUG in 2017. Because of this a decision has not yet been made on the location and dates.
All I can tell you is that it will be on the Mid-Atlantic Coast of the USA. We will make the formal announcement as soon as a contract is signed.
IIUG Planning Committee
IIUG 2016 Presentation Slides are Available
We have been seeing some activity on the IIUG list serv asking where to find the presentation slides from IIUG 2016, held this past May in Jacksonville, Florida.
IIUG 2016 slides can be found at http://www.iiug2016.org/sessions.zip. The presentations that have been submitted to the IIUG are listed by session number and title. The conference schedule is still available at www.iiug2016.org/schedule if you need any help finding the session you are looking for.
PLEASE NOTE: Most of the speakers provided the IIUG Planning Committee with their slides. However, if you do not see the presentation you are looking you will have to contact the speaker to obtain this information.
IIUG Planning Committee
Works for me
In this section I will write about things that help me in my 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.
Today’s topic is calculating the difference in seconds between two datetime columns.
Let’s create a table with two datetime columns.
create temp table dt_vals (t1 datetime year to second, t2 datetime year to second);
Now let’s insert to two values into the table.
insert into dt_vals (t1,t2) values ("2016-08-28 10:14:47","2016-08-28 11:18:58");
If we use the minus operator
select t2-t1 from dt_vals;
The result will be correct but the format, a character string, cannot be used in calculations.
0 01:04:11
If we want the difference in seconds as an integer we should use the following select statement.
select (((t2 - t1)::interval second(9) to second)::char(10))::int from dt_vals;
This will return an integer.
3851.
Gary Ben-Israel
RFE corner
Just in case you are not aware, some time ago 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 interesting thing is that any request, including your request, if you place one, is submitted to be voted on. This means the RFEs that receive more votes have a greater chance of being considered by the architecture and development teams for further consideration. In other words, this IS the opportunity to provide enhancement ideas even if you are not the biggest IBM customer on the planet earth.
Some RFEs will be of great interest, others will not seem useful to you. This is why your opinion is important. Do not hesitate to vote and place comments!
The idea of the RFE corner is to provide a digest on new Informix RFEs and make those RFEs more visible and accessible for the community, so that you can vote for them in a faster and easier way. By participating actively 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 a few days ago and will definitely keep registered, due to the value of the information delivered.
Check at this place.
New RFEs for August 2016
Some activity for new RFEs in August. The top 14 have been significantly moving and demand for new functionality or enhancement is consistent to be heard be IBM product Marketing and R&D J
| ER CDR Sync for local reorg | Votes: 1 |
A means to use cdr sync internal to an instance.
Request to add the possibility for cdr sync command to work from an instance to the same instance, namedly for tables with an identical schema, all for reorgs time time saving and reliability purpose.
| insert into table default values | Votes: 8 |
A number of database vendors offer the following syntax: insert into table values() or even insert into tables default values.
Request to add this syntax This will bring important time savings when performing migrations from mysql, postresql,mssql to Informix.
TOP 14 RFE’s
Do not forget to vote for one or several of those RFE’s if they fit your requirements. The more votes, the more chances the Development Team will seriously consider the request.
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.
Take some time to examine the full list and vote for the enhancements you would like to see implemented.
Eric Vercelletto
Informix corner
Welcome to the 2016 Informix Roadshow
Informix 12.1 is simply powerful.
Coming to a Location Near You
What is the Informix Roadshow?
The 2016 Informix Roadshow is a 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
- Replication Technologies
- Compression
- Storage Manager
- Time Series – Smart Metering
- Informix Warehouse Accelerator
- Embed and Autonomics
- NoSql
- Internet of Things
- Roadmap
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:
Stay tuned for upcoming events:
| Date | Location |
| September 12-13 | Zagreb, Croatia |
| September 15-16 | Zagreb, Croatia |
| September 29-30 | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| October 3-4 | Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| October 6-7 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| October 11-12 | Mexico City, Mexico |
Calendar of events
September – 2016
| Date | Event | Location | Contact |
| 12-13 | 2016 Informix Roadshow | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| 15-16 | 2016 Informix Roadshow | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| 29-30 | 2016 Informix Roadshow | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
October – 2016
| Date | Event | Location | Contact |
| 3-4 | 2016 Informix Roadshow | Sao Paulo, Brazil | |
| 6-7 | 2016 Informix Roadshow | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| 11-12 | 2016 Informix Roadshow | Mexico City, Mexico |
Informix resources
IBM Informix home page
www.informix.com or directly at: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/informix/
Informix Blogs and Wikis
Blogs and Wikis that have been updated during the last month
- Blogs, Videos, News and more at http://planetids.com *** Up to date feeds from many blogs ***
- Fernando Nunes at http://informix-technology.blogspot.com/
- Andrew Ford & Tom Girsch http://www.informix-dba.com/
More Blogs and Wikis
- Art Kagel http://informix-myview.blogspot.co.il/
- Informix documentation team https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/idsdoc
Social media
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25049
Twitter : https://twitter.com/IBM_Informix
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/IBM.Informix
YouTube : https://ibm.biz/BdH2nb
Informix IoT Channel : https://ibm.biz/BdH2nm
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 - The Informix Zone at http://www.informix-zone.com
- 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
Useful Links
In response to your input, we have created a new page on IIUG web site containing all the links we use to include. Please find it at /quicklinks.html
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
