We know EF (Entify Framework) has many benefits working with Databases. Particularly from a development and performance stand-point. There are 2 versions of client connectivity SDK’s for working with Informix Databases:
IBM.Data.Informix.dll— Also referred to as the Common IDS .NET Provider. This assembly has been specifically created to help existing applications that were developed using the CSDK .NET Provider (SQLI protocol) to use the latest DRDA protocol support. It has additional support for some of the earlier Informix client features and is targeted only for .NET application development for Informix.
IBM.Data.DB2.dll— Also referred to as the DB2 .NET Provider. Although the name of the provider indicates DB2, it is in fact the single .NET provider for IBM database servers including DB2 and Informix. It is the recommended and preferred .NET provider for all clients targeting DB2 and new application development targeting Informix (Version 11.10 or later).
These are referenced from IBM’s website:
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/data/library/techarticle/dm-1007dsnetids/
IBM.Data.DB2.dll is the preferred approach and uses Entity Framework. More importantly, this is the version that IBM will support for new enhancements in conjunction with Entity Framework.
Note: In order to use the .Net Data Provider (DB2) for Entity Framework 6.0, you need to ensure that DRDA protocol has been enabled on the Informix Server. For more information on DRDA overview and troubleshooting, see the following articles:
Overview of DRDA
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSGU8G_11.50.0/com.ibm.admin.doc/ids_admin_0206.htm
TCPIP communication errors with DRDA
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21164785
To get started with the .Net Data Provider for IBM Informix V11.10+ in Visual Studio 2015
1) Download and install the latest updates for Visual Studio 2015 (As of writing this blog post, the current updates is version 3)
2) Download and Install the DSDriver Package (Data Server Driver Package) from IBM’s site:
Specifically, this version” Special Build 35279 for IBM Data Server Driver Package (Windows/x86-64 64 bit) V10.5 Fix Pack 6” (special_35279_ntx64_dsdriver_EN.exe)
NOTE: As of writing on this blog, there could be more fix pack versions of the DS Driver Package, however the fix pack version above works well in VS 2015
3) Download and Install VSAI (IBM Database Add-Ins for Visual Studio) from IBM’s site:
Specifically, this version” Special Build 35192 for IBM Database Add-Ins for Visual Studio (Windows/x86-32 32 bit) V10.5 Fix Pack 6” (special_35192_nt32_vsai.zip)
NOTE: As of writing on this blog post, none of the Add-Ins for Visual Studio work on machine running Windows 10. IBM hasn’t provided a solution for this problem. Also, do not use DS Driver Package V11. Use DS Driver Package version 10.5+. This version is specifically compiled for EF 6.0
4) Install IBM Entity Framework 6.0 in your projects. Right click on the Project and Select “Manage Nuget Packages” and install latest EntityFramework.IBM.DB2
Sample Project to verify that you can use EF 6.0 connecting to IBM Informix Database (V11.10+):
- Start of by creating a sample project in Visual Studio 2015. Any project would be fine, however for testing purposes, create a test project. This will allow you to generate Unit Tests to verify EF on Informix Database V11.10+
- Right click on the project and Select “Add” then “New Item”.
- From the list of items, select “ADO.NET Entity Data Model”, “Select IBM DB2 and IDS Servers”
- Follow the wizard but on the first step, select: “EF Designer from database”
- Click on “New Connection” and provide the proper server settings for the Informix DB server. Note that DRDA protocol needs to be enabled on the target server. Refer back to the top section of this post.
- Click “OK” then click on “Next”
- Select the appropriate Tables then click “Finish”
Once completed, your test project should have generated EF files which you can use to connect and work with Informix Server. Here’s an example of an auto generated file which is the actual context file that “inherits” DbContext from EF
The tools in VS also generates the entities for you. Since we’ve used the “EF Designer from database” template, all the of table to entity mappings is actually stored in the .EDMX file. You can explore this file visually or to see raw data, open the file in a text editor such as notepad
As an example, I’ve written some unit tests to verify some data from a table in Informix V11.10+.
With EF, we can greatly improve how are applications integrate on Informix. We can have better design principles and patterns using EF. A common design pattern with Databases is called “UNIT of Work”. Here’s a great article on how to implement Unit of Work design pattern with ASP.Net MVC
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