Connecting to the Database

Server Studio uses the IBM Informix JDBC driver to connect to the database.

IDE allows multiple physical and logical database connections for simultaneous connections to different database servers and different databases from opened application components, such as SQL Editors and Table Editors. For example, the user can explore object properties on one database server and execute SQL statements from the SQL Editor against a different database server.

The Connection Manager dialog box allows you to define new database connections and maintain existing database connections. The connections can be organized into logical groups to simplify multiple server access. For example, database servers can be organized in groups geographically or on database server hardware platforms.

After a connection is defined within the Connection Manager dialog box, it is added to the Object Explorer, and is also displayed in the list of available connections in the Connect dialog box. The Connect dialog box  opens when the user attempts to launch an application tool, such as Table Editor or SQL Editor, out of context of the Object Explorer, for example, using the Tools menu. The Connection Manager dialog box also opens when the user attempts to connect to a database from the Object Explorer and the login information is not saved as part of database connection.

 Database Connection Sharing

Database connection sharing allows you to reduce the number of physical database connections from Server Studio JE to the database servers. It also significantly improves tools initialization time.

The sharing of physical database connections is enabled if two documents, such as a Table Editor document and another document, connect to the same database server using the same login information and the same JDBC driver extended properties, such as client locale or date format.

Each SQL Editor document always creates a new physical connection to a database and does not share it with any other Server Studio documents. Each SQL Editor maintains its own independent transactional state.

The Object Explorer always shares its connections with the Properties Inspector document and the Table Editor documents.

The Table Editor document shares its connection with the Object Explorer and other Table Editor documents opened against the same database server.

Other Server Studio documents, created by add-on modules, can share their databases connections with the Object Explorer or open their own independent physical connections.