IBM Informix C-ISAM

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IBM Informix C-ISAM (also C-ISAM or cisam) is an

Description

C-ISAM is an

C Programming Language

functions for managing data files organised with a

Relational Database Management System

(RDBMS).

History

C-ISAM was first created by

RSAM

). Informix initially called this the "Turbo" engine, but that name was later abandoned in favour of the name "OnLine".

Many

.

C-ISAM was primarily used for business applications, which were at the time often written in the C language. For business purposes, development in a low level 3GL such as C could be too slow and error prone, requiring very high skill levels. Another significant limitation was in networked applications, since the use of C-ISAM on a client to access a remote file system resulted in heavy network traffic.

Both problems could be resolved by use of the SE to provide an SQL interface to C-ISAM, using Informix's embedded SQL (ESQL/C and ESQL/COBOL) or 4GL products for client development. The SE could be used on a server to support networked use without the performance penalty.

This allowed

. Unfortunately, Informix made some strategic errors by not adapting to the next generation of "Visual" or "GUI based" programming tools. Competitors like Microsoft and Oracle supplanted these products by vertically integrating theirs, while Informix focused mainly on developing their RDBMS. New use of these products went into decline with the company. As of 2006, they were still in wide use around the world and are also available and supported.

Informix was acquired by IBM in April 2001. IBM still recommends the use of the Informix Standard Engine for embedded applications.

See also

• Embedded system
• Joint Inter-Domain Management

References