How to create screen form in Informix SQL? - informix

Question

I am new to Informix-SQL. I am trying to create form in Informix. I referred to some resources online
This is how I am accessing my database at the moment dbaccess database_name. I can't see the 'form' menu for me to create the form. I am an absolute beginner. I would appreciate it if someone could guide me to the right direction (correct commands that I should run and documentations that I can refer to). Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

The DB-Access program is not ISQL. Indeed, the main distinguishing feature of DB-Access compared with ISQL is precisely that DB-Access does not support reports or forms.
To create forms, you need the development version of Informix SQL, and you either run the isql program (choose the Forms option, and then Generate, and follow the prompts), or you run the sformbld program with options to create a default form:
sformbld -d formname database table1 ...
Either way, you normally end up editing, often extensively, the form source file (.per extension, for the Perform (aka sperform) program which will run it). Use the plain text editor of your choice (vim, emacs, pico, etc - anything that's OK for C code will work for ISQL too.
What is the difference between isql and sformbld?
$ ls -il isql sformbld sperform saceprep sacego
212302 -rwxr-xr-x 5 informix informix 844005 2010-09-17 11:24 isql
212302 -rwxr-xr-x 5 informix informix 844005 2010-09-17 11:24 sacego
212302 -rwxr-xr-x 5 informix informix 844005 2010-09-17 11:24 saceprep
212302 -rwxr-xr-x 5 informix informix 844005 2010-09-17 11:24 sformbld
212302 -rwxr-xr-x 5 informix informix 844005 2010-09-17 11:24 sperform
$
Different names for the same executable. However, the executable behaves differently depending on the name it is invoked by. When invoked as sformbld, it compiles forms; with the -d option, it generates a form and then compiles it. When invoked as sperform, it runs a form. When invoked as saceprep, it compiles an ACE report; when invoked as sacego, it runs a report. (The 's' prefix indicates the SQL version of ACE and Perform (and FormBuild); when it was first released in 1985, there was also a non-SQL product called Informix 3.30 with these programs as part of the suite.)
When invoked as isql, the program behaves as an interactive menu IDE for creating and running forms and reports - unless invoked with options to make it run a form or compile a report or whatever.
isql -fc form # Compile form
isql -fr form # Run form
isql -rc report # Compile report
isql -rr report # Run report
isql dbase [-|script] # Runs SQL script, rather like DB-Access does
(Actually, once upon an evening back in the very early 90s - or perhaps very late 80s - DB-Access was created by stripping unneeded code from ISQL. So, DB-Access behaves like ISQL does, rather than vice versa.)