Viewing IBM Informix Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer

Embarcadero RAD Studio provides a development environment for Delphi and C++Builder applications. With the CData ODBC Driver for IBM Informix, you gain access to live IBM Informix data within RAD Studio, abstracting the data into tables, views, and stored procedures that can be used to both retrieve and update IBM Informix data. This article will walk through connecting to IBM Informix using the Data Explorer.

Configure a Connection to IBM Informix

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Set the following properties to connect to IBM Informix

• Server: Set this to the name of the server running IBM Informix.
• Port: Set this to the port the IBM Informix server is listening on.
• Database: Set this to the name of the IBM Informix database.
• User: Set this to the username of a user allowed to access the database.
• Password: Set this to the password of a user allowed to access the database.

Connecting to IBM Informix Data Using Data Explorer

You can create a simple application for displaying IBM Informix data by utilizing the CData FireDAC Components for IBM Informix and a new VCL Forms Application:

1. Open the Data Explorer in RAD Studio and expand FireDAC.
2. Right-click the ODBC Data Source node in the Data Explorer.
3. Click Add New Connection. 👁 Adding a New Connection. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
4. Enter a name for the connection.
5. In the FireDAC Connection Editor that appears, set the DataSource property to the name of the ODBC DSN for IBM Informix. 👁 Setting the Connection Parameters. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
6. Back in the Data Explorer, expand the tables for the connection.

7. Create a new VCL Forms application and drag a table (for example: Books) onto the form.

   👁 Placing the Table on the Form. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
8. Select the BooksTable object on the form and set the Active property to true.

9. Right-click on the object, bind visually, and link everything (*) to a new control (TStringGrid).

   👁 Visually Binding the Table. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

10. Arrange the TStringGrid on the form and run the application to see the Books data.

    👁 The Table data on a Form. (Salesforce is shown.)
    

Related Articles

Below you can find other articles for using the CData ODBC Driver with RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++ Builder.

• DataBind Controls to IBM Informix Data in C++Builder
• DataBind Controls to IBM Informix Data in Delphi
• Build a Simple VCL Application for IBM Informix Data