Informix and PHP

DavidA. Bernhardt
IBM Technical SalesSpecialist
October2, 2015
1 | P a g e
Adding Informix support to an existing PHP
development environment
Beingan IBMer andhavingusedLinux,Apache,MySql andPHP(LAMP) fairlyextensivelyoverthe last
decade or so,I decidedthe otherdaythat I wantedtodo some PHPdevelopmentusingInformixinstead
of MySql. I lookedtothe Internetforinstructionsonhow toenable InformixwithmycurrentLAMP
developmentenvironmentandwasa bitsurprisedthatI didn’tsee instructionsonhow toplugInformix
intoan existingPHPenvironment. BeingaproblemsolverIwasdeterminedtofigure thisout. Itonly
occurredto me afterI solvedthisparticularpuzzle thatotherfolksmayhave the same questionand
wouldlike toknowhowtogo about addingInformix totheircurrentPHPenvironmenttoo. This
documentwill describe the stepsneededforaddingInformixtoyourPHPenvironment.
Prerequisites
There are a few thingsyouneedtogetstartedwiththis. ObviouslyyouneedaLAMP,WAMP (Windows,
Apache,MySql,andPHP),or otherApache and PHPdevelopmentsystem. Youwill alsoneedthe
PDO_Informix PECLpackage and,of course,an Informix database instance toworkwith. I’ll gothrough
the stepsI performedforsettingupmyPHP/Informixdevelopmentsystemfromscratchto illustrate
howto make thiswork. You’ll justneedtodeterminewheretostartin thisprocessif youalreadyhave
parts of thisin place.
Getting Started
I builtmydevelopmentsystemusingRedHatEnterprise Linux 5 64-biton a virtual machine using
VMWare Workstation10. AlthoughIuseda virtual machine,Icouldhave createda new hard drive
partition,installedLinuxinthatpartition,andmodifiedmycomputertoallow dual-bootintoLinux as
well. You can also buildthisenvironmentusingWindows. Theyonlydifferencewillbe the install
methodsforthe products. It reallydoesn’tmatterhow youhostthe operatingsystem. RedHatisa
specificvendorimplementationof Linux sothese instructionsshouldhelpyouwithotherversionsof
Linux as well.
Once I had my Linux desktopupandrunning,Ithenneededafew othersoftware packagestohelpme
move forwardwithbuildingmyenvironment. MostLinux versionscome withApache butitmaynot be
installedaspartof the base operatingsystemconfiguration. Mysystemdidnothave Apache installed
so I had to start fromthere.
I like quickandeasyas longas it islegal andcomplete. Giventhis,Ichose touse XAMPPto helpme with
the installationof the Apache webserveralongwithPHP,Perl,andMySql (eventhoughIdon’tneedthis
component). XAMPPisapreconfigured,opensource PHPdevelopmentenvironmentthatprovidesa
verynice install forall the components. Of course,youcanget eachcomponentindividuallyandinstall
themseparatelyif youwish(andI’ve done thatmanytimesinthe past),butI wantedtoget thisdone
quicklysoI chose the XAMPProute for easyinstallation.

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
2 | P a g e
To get startedwithXAMPP, logintoyourLinux systemasroot, opena browserandnavigate to
http://www.xampp.org. Onthe mainpage (at leastas of thiswriting),there isanoptiontodownload
XAMPPfor Windows,XAMPPforLinux,andXAMPPforOS X. Clickonthe linktodownloadXAMPPfor
Linux andyour browsershouldautomaticallystartdownloadingthe install package. If,forsome reason,
the Linux browsercan’topenthe XAMPP.orgmainpage (redirectstoapachefriends.org),thenthe
XAMPPpackage can alsobe obtainedfromSourceForge.net(whichiswhatIhad to do). For the Linux
package,itis namedsomethinglike xampp-linux-x64-5.6.11-1-installer.runorsomethingsimilar(the
numbersmaybe different –noworries). My downloadplacedthe fileonmyLinux desktop,however,it
may be placedina differentlocationonyoursystemdependingonthe downloadlocationsettingsfor
your browser.
The firstchallenge Iencounterediswhattodowiththisdownloadedfile. Since the .runextensionon
the file isnota commonlyknownextension,Linux reallydoesn’tknow whattodowithit. Beingold
school,I openeda terminal window toinvestigate thisfurther. Itturnsout the downloadedfileisan
executable butitdoesn’tdownloadwiththe correctfile permissions toexecuteit. If youaren’tfamiliar
withLinux file permissions,justfollowthesestepsanddon’tgetconcernedoverit. Fromthe terminal
window,Ichangeddirectorytomydownloadlocation(/root/Desktop) andlistedthe filetolookatthe
currentpermissions. Itshouldlooksomethinglikethe following:
Figure 1 - examining XAMPP file permissions
The permissionsforthe file are indicatedinthe first10 characters of the file listing. Inthiscase,the
ownerof the file (root) hasreadand write permissions,the groupmembers(root) have read
permissions,andeveryone else hasreadpermissions. Inorderto execute thisfileasaninstall program
we needtoadjustthese permissions. The image below showsyouhow tomake thisan executablefile:

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
3 | P a g e
Figure 2 - changing XAMPP*.run file permissions
Don’tworry if youdon’tknowexactlywhathappenswiththe ‘chmod’command. Youcan see the
permissionshave changedonthe file anditcan now be run as an executable program. Atthispointwe
wantto run the program. The followingfigureshowshow torunit:
Figure 3 - XAMPP installation

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
4 | P a g e
Followthe installationwizardpromptsto install XAMPPonyoursystem. If youchose the defaults,the
install programwill installthe productsinthe /opt/lamppdirectory(onLinux)orinC:xampp(on
Windows). Aspartof the installationprocess,XAMPPwill startthe Apache webserver. However,the
install scriptdoesnotmodifythe systemstartupscriptssothatApache (andthe otherprograms) will
restartwhenthe systemisshutdown. Itisveryeasyto start/stop/restartXAMPPonLinux. Opena
terminal andchange directoryto/opt/lampp (orthe install directoryif youchose somethingdifferent
duringthe initial install). The directorywill looksomethinglike the following:
Figure 4 - /opt/lampp directory listing
The greenfilenamesinthe directorylistingare executables. TostartApache and MySql,justtype
‘/opt/lampp/lamppstart’onthe commandline. To stopApache and MySql,justtype
‘/opt/lampp/lamppstop’onthe commandline. There are otheroptionstoowhichcan be listedby
typing/opt/lampp/lamppwithoutanyparameters. The commandwill displaythe availableoptions.
As a final checkforthe installation,openawebbrowserandopen http://localhost. Youshouldsee the
followingif XAMPPwasinstalledcorrectly andeverythingisrunningcorrectly.

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
5 | P a g e
Figure 5 - XAMPP start page
Once you have XAMPPinstalled,youwill now be able todevelopPHPapplications. The directorywhere
all the webpagesfor yourlocal serverare foundis/opt/lampp/htdocs –alsoknownasthe
DocumentRootdirectoryforyourwebserver. Ialwaystestmyinstallationtoensure PHPisrunningand
workingcorrectlybycreatinga simple test.phpfileinthe /op/lampp/htdocsdirectory. Myfile usually
lookslike the following(Ishowthe file openwithvi):
Figure 6 - test.php
Once you create and save the file,openyourwebbrowserto http://localhost/test.php andyoushould
see the followingoutput(justthe topisshown).Thisinformationwill be veryuseful aswe workon
installingthe Informix databasemodules.

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
6 | P a g e
Figure 7 - output of test.php (phpinfo)
Nowthat we have a workingweb server(Apache) andPHPwe canmove on to gettingInformix setupto
workwithit.
Download and Install Informix
If you alreadyhave a workingApache andPHPenvironment,installingthe Informix engine orClient
Software DevelopmentKit (CSDK) maybe the correctstartingpointforyour particularsituation. With
my developmentbuild,IdecidedIwantedthe Informix database enginetorunlocallyonmy
developmentserver. Havingthe Informix database enginelocallyinstalledisconvenientfordeveloping
Informix basedapplicationssince Ihave control of database objects(databases,tables,views,indexes,
storedprocedures,etc…) andcan make changesto anyof these objectsquicklyduringthe development
lifecycle. If youare workingwithanexistingInformix database locatedonadifferentserver,the only
componentyouwill needisthe Informix ClientSoftware DevelopmentKit.
Informix isafull-featured,enterprise capable database productandcomesinseveral different bundles
or packages. For my simple developmentenvironmentIuse the Informix Innovator-CEditionsince itis
free todownloadfromIBM. AnyapplicationsIdevelopthataccessInformix Innovator-CEdition will
workwithany of the otherInformix editionswithoutanymodificationsorchanges,sousing Innovator-C
Editionfora developmentenvironmentisagreat wayto get started. Justto be complete,Ishouldpoint
out that the Informix DeveloperEditionisalsoafree productand will workfordevelopmentpurposesas
well.
In additiontoinstallingthe Informix database engine,youwillalsowanttoinstall the Informix Client
Software DevelopmentKit. The CSDKhasthe librariesneededforPHPtorun the PDO_Informix plug-in.
We’ll deal withthe CSDKandhowto set that upafterwe getthe Informix database installed. Imention
the CSDK aheadof time because youmightas well downloaditwhile youare onthe IBMwebsite to
downloadthe Informix databaseengine.
Informix software downloadsare available from the IBMInformix website athttp://www-
01.ibm.com/software/data/informix/download.html. Youwill see linkstoboththe Developerand

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
7 | P a g e
Innovator-Ceditions(no-charge database)aswell as90-daytrialsfor boththe Informix Enterprise
EditionandInformix AdvancedEnterpriseEdition. Below the Informix databasessection,youwillalso
see a linkforthe Informix ClientSoftware DevelopmentKit(CSDK). Downloadboththe database and
the CSDK to yourXAMPP server. You shouldhave twocompressedarchive fileswhenthe downloadis
complete. AsImentionedbefore,mysystemplacesdownloadedfilesonmydesktopandthe image
belowshowsyouwhatthe downloadedpackageslooklike.
Figure 8 - Informix software packages (on the desktop)
Both the Informix database andthe CSDKare downloadedasarchive filesintape archive (tar) format. In
orderto access the filesinthe archive we needtoextractthem. Since Idon’twant all the Informix files
placedonmy desktop,Icreate a folder,copythe archive to the folder,andextractthe files. The stepsI
take to do that are illustratedinFigure 9:

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
8 | P a g e
Figure 9 - extracting and starting the Informix database install
Once the filesare extractedyouwill see the ids_install (IDSstandsforInformix DynamicServer)
commandin the directorylisting. Since the currentdirectoryisnotinmy currentsystempath,I start the
install usingthe command“./ids_install–i gui”whichwill invokethe graphical userinterface (thereisa
console andsilentinstalloptiontoobutIwon’tcoverthat here). Follow the promptsinthe GUI to
complete the install. Also,allowthe installscripttocreate yourInformix instance foryousoyouwill
have a workingdatabase serverwhenthe install iscomplete. Also,the GUIwill promptyoutoopena
terminal window toaccessthe database whencomplete. Repond‘yes’toopenthisterminal soyoucan
verifythe installation. IinstalledmyInformix databasetothe /opt/informix directory. Iwill use this
locationthroughoutthe remainderof thisdocument. Make note of the passwordyoucreate forthe
Informix usersince youwill needthatlater.
Once the database installationiscomplete,repeatthe processforthe CSDKarchive file. Use the
‘installclientsdk’commandinsteadof the ‘ids_install’command. Followthe GUIpromptsto complete
the installation. Note:some distributionsof the Informixengine come withthe CSDKincluded inthe
package. If the CSDKinstallationdiscoversanexistingCSDKalreadyinstalled,youcanabort or cancel
the install since youalreadyhave all the componentsyouneedforInformix.
The last stepinthe Informix installation isverifyingthe installationof the database. If youopenedthe
terminal window duringthe Informixengine install (ids_install process),the correctenvironment
variableshave beensetwithinthe terminal toenable accesstoInformix. Checkthe installationby
typing‘onstat–‘ at the terminal windowcommandprompt. Youroutputshouldlooklike the following:

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
9 | P a g e
Figure 10 - verify the Informix installation
As the image shows,InformixDynamicServer(myversion - 12.10) iscurrentlyonline. Thismeans
Informix isrunningandsharedmemoryisinitializedforthe database instance. We are now ready for
the nextstepof the process.
PHP and Informix – PDO_Informix module
There are a fewpre-requisitesforaddingPDO_Informixtothe PHPconfiguration. First,yoursystem
needstohave a compiler– usuallyGCCor CC – installed. Forthe RedHatserverI usedformy server,the
compilerwasinstalledaspartof the initial operatingsystem. Manyversionsof Linux will have the
compilerautomaticallyinstalledaspartof the operatingsysteminstall,however,youshouldcheckyour
Linux servertobe sure.
Anothercritical componenttoinstallingPDO_Informix isthe PHPDevelopmentcomponents. If you
installedXAMPP(orLAMPPonLinux),thenthisPHPextensionwasinstalledaspartof the package. If
youinstalledPHPusinganothermethod,youwill have tocheckyourPHPinstall tosee if thisextension
was included. Specifically,we will needthe command‘phpize’tocreate the pdo_informix.solibrary. If
youare uncertain,doa quickfilesystemcheckforthe ‘phpize’command. Iuse the command‘find/ -
name phpize –print’froma terminal tolocate the file. If youcan’tfindthe commandyou will needto
downloadthe PHPDevelopmentpackage fromthe Internetandinstall itaccordingtothe instructions.
One itemto mentionissome PHPinstallationsincludePEARandPECL. If you have PEARand PECL
installed,youcaninstall PDO_Informix using‘peclinstallpdo_informix’fromaterminal. If there are any
missingdependencies,the commandwillinformyouwhatismissing. Iwon’tgo intoPEARand PECL
install since those applicationsare well documentedonthe Internet.
So,for the RedHat server,Ididnot have PEARor PECL available soinstallingthe PDO_Informix extension
takesa bit of work. The firstitemonour lististo downloadthe PDO_InformixPECLpackage fromthe
PECL repositoryonthe Internet. Usingyourfavorite searchengine, simplysearchforPECL
PDO_Informix. Asof thiswriting,the PDO_Informix package islocatedat

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
10 | P a g e
https://pecl.php.net/package/PDO_INFORMIX withacurrentversionof 1.3.1. Downloadthe
PDO_INFORMIX-1.3.1.tgzbyclickingonthe linkinthe download sectionof the page.
Since the PDO_Informix package isanextensionof PHP,the correctplace to place the filesinthe
package is inthe PHP extensionsdirectory. FormyLAMPP install,the directorywhere PHPextensions
are storedis/opt/lampp/include/php/extsothatis where Iextractedthe PDO_Informix archiveI
downloadedfromthe PECLrepository. If youare unsure of where the extensionstoyourPHPserver
are locatedjustlookforany of the installedpackages(GDisa goodone since itisthe extensionthat
allowsthe servertoworkwithimagesandit isextremelycommoninPHPinstalls). Use the find
commandto locate one of the installedextensionsanditwill show youwhere toplace the
PDO_Informix extractedfiles. Figure 11 showsyouhow to find,move andextractthe PDO_Informix
package in the PHPextensionsdirectory.
Figure 11 - finding the extension directory and unpacking PDO_Informix
As youcan see,the package containsfilesthatrequire youtocompile the programwithaC compiler.
Thisisn’toverlydifficult. However,thereisacritical stepto compilinganythingforInformix thatmany
of the instructionsonthe Internetoverlook. Inorderto compile PDO_Informix,the compilerneedsto
knowwhere the appropriate Informix librariesare located. Also,PHPneedstoknow somethingabout
the Informix environmentinordertoworkwiththe installeddatabase engine. Thisisall accomplished
throughenvironmentvariables. So,let’sgetthose setup.
Whenyou installedInformix (probablyinthe /opt/Informixdirectory),the install programcreatedsome
sample shell scriptsthatsetthe appropriate environmentvariables. Figure 12showsthe directory
listingof /opt/Informix,the shell scriptsthatwere created (withabox aroundthem),anddisplaysthe
environmentvariablesthatare set(forthe K-Shell script):

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
11 | P a g e
Figure 12 - scripts for setting Informix environment variables
Since I use the BASH shell,Ihave tosetthe environmentvariablesexactlyasshownabove (if youare
usingthe C-Shell youwoulduse the ol_informix1210.cshfile). Asageneral rule,Ieitheraddthese
globally (mostLinux systemuse /etc/profile forsettingglobal environmentvariables) soall userswill
have themsetautomatically(if itisa sharedserverandmultiple people are usingit) orI addthe
INFORMIXDIR,INFORMIXSERVER,ONCONFIG,INFORMIXSQLHOSTS,GL_USEGLU, and PATH environment
variable settingsshownabove tomylocal .bash_profilesothatmy local account will automaticallyset
these whenIlogin. Inthiscase, I editedthe .bash_profile in$HOME (formy rootaccount) andalso
editedthe .bash_profileforthe Informix useraccount. Withthese environmentvariablesset,youcan
type any of the Informix command(onstat,oninit, onmode, onspaces,ontape,etc…) directlyfroma
terminal commandline andtheywill work,regardlessof yourcurrentdirectory.
There isone more extremelyimportantenvironmentvariable thatisrequiredforcompilinganything
Informix related (oranyotherClibraryadditionsforthatmatter). Thisenvironmentvariableisthe
LD_LIBRARY_PATH. If you checkthe http://localhost/test.php webpage,youwillfindthisenvironment
variable inthatlisting,however,therewon’tbe anythingInformixrelatedassociatedwithit. We need
to fix thisif PHPis goingto be able to use Informix. So,the challengeis –where dowe set this
environmentvariablesothatPHP can use it? Well,since PHPisrunningwithinthe Apache webserver,
we have to setthe environmentforthe webservertoinclude thisvariable. If youusedXAMPP(LAMPP)
to install the Apache webserverwithPHP,the startupscriptswill lookforanyadditionalenvironment
variablesinthe /opt/lampp/bin/envvarsfile. If youare notsure where additional environmentvariables
can be setfor yourApache/PHPstartup,youcan examine the startupscriptstofindit. Figure 13 shows
the part of the apachectl shell script(locatedin/opt/lampp/bin) thatloadsadditional environment
variables. Ifoundthe apachectl shell scriptbyexaminingthe lamppstartupscript(/opt/lampp/lampp)
and findingthe commandtostart the Apache webserver.

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
12 | P a g e
Figure 13 - apachectl shell script environment variables section
Since the apachectl scriptisspecificallylookingforthe envvarsfile inthe /opt/lampp/bindirectory,all
we needtodo is addthe necessaryenvironmentvariablestothisfile. Figure 14showsthe contentsof
the envvarsfile. Ialsoensure the INFORMIXDIRenvironmentvariable issetforApache/PHP since many
of the entriesinthe LD_LIBRARY_PATHreferto it.

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
13 | P a g e
Figure 14 - contents of the /opt/lampp/bin/envvars file
In orderfor these changestotake effect,youwill needtorestartthe Apache webserver. Use the
command‘/opt/lampp/bin/apachectl restart’torestartApache. AftersuccessfullyrestartingApache,
the outputof http://localhost/test.php will show the changestothe LD_LIBRARY_PATH(figure 15).
Figure 15 - LD_LIBRARY_PATHafter restart

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
14 | P a g e
Nowthat we knowhowto setthe LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable,itwouldbe goodtoknow whatto include
inthe LD_LIBRARY_PATH to ensure everythingworkscorrectly. InFigure 14, part of the
LD_LIBRARY_PATH includescomponentsof the OpenAdminTool (OAT) whichinstallsitsownweb
serveras part of the install process. If youare usingOAT,youwill wantto keep these directoriesinthe
LD_LIBRARY_PATH. For our installation,we onlyneedtoinclude the followingaspart of the
LD_LIBRARY_PATH (rememberwe setthe $INFORMIXDIRenvironmentvariable to/opt/Informix):
$INFORMIXDIR/lib
$INFORMIXDIR/lib/cli
$INFORMIXDIR/lib/esql
$INFORMIXDIR/incl
$INFORMIXDIR/incl/cli
$INFORMIXDIR/incl/esql
/lib(if notalreadyset)
/usr/lib(if notalreadyset)
/usr/local/lib(if notalreadyset)
Followthe syntax inFigure 14 to setthe LD_LIBRARY_PATH for yourserverenvironment.
Nowthat we have setall the environmentvariables,we canfinallymove ontocompilingthe PHP
PDO_Informix extension. Openaterminal windowandchange the directorytothe locationwhere you
unpackedthe PDO_INFORMIX-1.3.1.tgzfile. Execute the followingcommands:
If your phpize commandislocatedina differentdirectorythan/opt/lampp/bin,thensubstitute that
directoryinyourpath. The outputof the phpize commandwill looksimilartoFigure 16:
Figure 16 - output of phpize command
The ./configure commandwill produce several pagesof informationasitchecksto ensure necessary
componentsare available. Whenthe commandcompletesyou’llsee anoutputsimilartoFigure 17 and
you’ll see config.status:creating config.h:
exportPATH=/opt/lampp/bin:$PATH
phpize
./configure
make

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
15 | P a g e
Figure 17 - end of configure command output
The last commandinthe sequence isthe make command. ThiscommandtellsLinux to“make”or
compile all the applicablefilesintoasharedlibrarythatcan be usedby PHP. Just like the configure
command,make producesseveral pagesof informationasthe compilationtakesplace. The final output
will looksimilartoFigure 18:
Figure 18 - make command output (last page)
As youcan see inFigure 18 (nearthe top),the compiledlibraryfilesare placedinthe
/opt/lampp/include/php/ext/pdo_informix/modulesdirectory. If we lookat the directorylistingyouwill
see the resultsinFigure 19:

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
16 | P a g e
Figure 19 - pdo_informix.so shared library
The file we needtoallowPHPto connectto Informix database isthe pdo_informix.solibraryfile. The
final stepswe needtotake are puttingthisfile inthe extensionsdirectoryandenablingthe extension
withinPHP.
Enabling the PHP Extension
Goingback to http://localhost/test.php webpage,we canfindthe directorywhere PHPlooksforall the
currentextensions. Thisdirectoryislistedasthe extension_direnvironmentvariable. Whenyoufindit
inon the webpage (see Figure 20),take note of the directory – we will needitforinstallingthe
pdo_informix.sosharedlibrary.
Figure 20 - PHP extension_dir location
For my installation,Isimplycopythe pdo_informix.sofilefromitscurrentlocation
(/opt/lampp/include/php/ext/pdo_informix/modules)tothe PHPextensiondirectory
(/opt/lampp/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20131226) using:
cd /opt/lampp/include/php/ext/pdo_informix/modules
cp pdo_informix.so /opt/lampp/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20131226

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
17 | P a g e
Next,we needtomodifythe PHPsettingsinphp.ini toenable the extension. Todetermine where the
currentphp.ini file islocated,we canagainlookat the http://localhost/test.php webpage. The current
configurationfileislistedinthe topof the phpinfo() output(seeFigure 21).
Figure 21 - current php.ini file location
From a terminal window,we canuse ‘vi’toeditthe php.ini file oryoucanuse a texteditorof your
choice. You will notice thatthe php.ini file isquite lengthyanditisorganizedintosections. Youwill
needtofindthe DynamicExtensionssectionandenterthe following2linestothe file:
Your entrieswill looksomethinglike Figure22 (below):
extension=”pdo_informix.so”
extension=”pdo_dblib.so”

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
18 | P a g e
Figure 22 – adding extensions to the php.ini file
Once you have completed the editsandsavedthe file,youwill needtorestartthe Apache webserver
againto allowPHPto loadthe dynamicextension. Simplyissue arestartcommandas described
previously.
If everythinghasworkedproperly,the new pdo_informix dynamicextensionwill be enabledandthe
phpinfo() outputwill show the extensionloadedandavailable(Figure23):

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
19 | P a g e
Figure 23 - pdo_informix installed, loaded, and enabled

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
20 | P a g e
Of course,itisalwaysgoodpractice totest yourwork andwe do thisby creatinga simple PHPpage that
accessesourInformix database server. Ensure thatthe Informix serverisrunningusingonstat(you
shouldsee itonline) andthensave the followingcode inaphpfile under/opt/lampp/htdocs:
Of course,there isalwayssomethingelseyouneedtodoto getcopied code to workon your specific
server. Inthiscase, youneedtofindthe service numberforthe Informix database engineandchange
<Informix password>tothe actual Informix user’spassword. Tofindthe service numberforyour
Informix database engine simplytype the followingatthe commandline:
<html>
<head>
<title>Informix PDOTest</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
try {
$db = new
PDO("informix:host=localhost;service=<Service>;database=sysmaster;server=ol_informix1210;proto
col=onsoctcp;EnableScrollableCursors=1;","informix","<Informix password>");
print"ConnectionEstablished!nn";
$stmt = $db->query("select* fromsystables");
print("<table><tr><th>Table Name</th><th>Owner</th><th>PartNumber</th><th>Table
ID</th></tr>");
foreach($stmtas $row){
print("<tr><td>".$row[0]."</td><td>".$row[1]."</td><td>".$row[2]."</td><td>".$row[3]."</td></tr>
");
}
print("</table>");
} catch (PDOException$e)
{
print("Error!:" .$e->getMessage() ."<br/>");
die();
}
?>
</body>
</html>

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
21 | P a g e
You shouldsee somethingsimilartothe following(Figure 24):
Figure 24 - finding the Informix database server port number
For my Informix server,the servicenumberis30503. Yours will probablybe different. Justmake sure
youchange <Service>tothe actual numberforyour server. If youdon’tget anyresultsfromrunning
thiscommand,thenyourDBA probablyuseda non-standardservice name forthe Informix install. You
can modifythe commandto justlookforInformix (cat/etc/services|grepInformix) andsee if thatgives
youresults. If not,ask your Informix DBA forthe port numberforyour Informix engine.
Now,forthe momentof truth. Openthe php file (Inamedmine test_ifx.php) inawebbrowsertosee if
youcan connectto Informix,queryadatabase,andreturnresults. If successful,youroutputwill look
like the following:
cat /etc/services|grep ol_informix

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
22 | P a g e
Figure 25 - successful output from test_ifx.php
Conclusion
AddingInformix databasesupporttoyourexistingPHPenvironmentisfairlystraightforwardonce
you’ve identifiedall the necessarycomponentsandinstalledthem. Aswithmostserversandsystems,
there are variationsinarchitecture anddirectorystructure whichmayrequire youtoalterthese
instructions. Withalittle researchandusingavailableresourcessuchasIBMDeveloperworks,you’ll be
able to adjustforthese differencesandgetthe mostoutof yourInformix PHPenvironment.

DavidA. Bernhardt
October2, 2015
23 | P a g e
Appendix A – List of Figures
Figure 1 - examining XAMPPfile permissions........................................................................................2
Figure 2 - changing XAMPP*.run file permissions..................................................................................3
Figure 3 - XAMPP installation...............................................................................................................3
Figure 4 - /opt/lampp directorylisting..................................................................................................4
Figure 5 - XAMPP start page................................................................................................................5
Figure 6 - test.php ..............................................................................................................................5
Figure 7 - output of test.php (phpinfo).................................................................................................6
Figure 8 - Informix software packages (on the desktop) ........................................................................7
Figure 9 - extracting and starting the Informix database install..............................................................8
Figure 10 - verify the Informix installation............................................................................................9
Figure 11 - finding the extension directory and unpacking PDO_Informix.............................................10
Figure 12 - scripts for setting Informix environment variables .............................................................11
Figure 13 - apachectl shell script environment variables section..........................................................12
Figure 14 - contents of the /opt/lampp/bin/envvars file......................................................................13
Figure 15 - LD_LIBRARY_PATH after restart........................................................................................13
Figure 16 - output of phpize command ..............................................................................................14
Figure 17 - end of configure command output....................................................................................15
Figure 18 - make command output (last page)....................................................................................15
Figure 19 - pdo_informix.so shared library.........................................................................................16
Figure 20 - PHP extension_dirlocation...............................................................................................16
Figure 21 - current php.ini file location...............................................................................................17
Figure 22 – adding extensions to the php.ini file.................................................................................18
Figure 23 - pdo_informix installed, loaded, andenabled .....................................................................19
Figure 24 - finding the Informix database server port number.............................................................21
Figure 25 - successful outputfrom test_ifx.php..................................................................................22

Informix and PHP

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

La actualidad más candente

La actualidad más candente (7)

Destacado

Destacado (20)

Similar a Informix and PHP

Similar a Informix and PHP (20)

Informix and PHP