Getting Started with the CData Connect AI Python SDK for IBM Informix

The CData Connect AI Python SDK (cdata-connect-ai) is a DB-API 2.0 (PEP 249) compliant client that lets you fetch and act on live IBM Informix data with standard Python database code. Because Connect AI provides the connectivity: you install one package, authenticate with a Personal Access Token, and query IBM Informix (and every other source connected in Connect AI) using the same familiar connect() / cursor() / fetchall() pattern you already know from libraries like sqlite3 and psycopg2.

This guide walks through connecting IBM Informix in Connect AI, generating a Personal Access Token, installing the SDK, and reading (and, where supported, writing) live IBM Informix data.

Prerequisites

• An account in CData Connect AI
• Python 3.8 or higher
• An active IBM Informix account with valid credentials

Connect to IBM Informix in Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "IBM Informix" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to IBM Informix.

   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.
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab and update the user-based permissions.

Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT)

The Python SDK authenticates to Connect AI with your account email and a Personal Access Token (PAT). It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each application to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the Settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The PAT is only visible at creation, so copy it and store it securely.

Install the SDK

Install the SDK from PyPI with pip:

pip install cdata-connect-ai

Connect and Run Your First Query

Connect with your account email and PAT, then query sys_tables to discover every table available across your connected sources. Identifiers in Connect AI are three-part: <Connection>.<Schema>.<Table>, where the connection name defaults to the source name (for example, Informix1).

import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)
cur = conn.cursor()

# Discover what's available across your connected sources
cur.execute("SELECT CatalogName, SchemaName, TableName FROM sys_tables LIMIT 25")

for row in cur.fetchall():
    print(row)

Pick any table from the results and query it directly:

cur.execute(
    "SELECT Id, Price "
    "FROM [Informix1].[Informix].[Books] "
    "LIMIT 10"
)

for row in cur.fetchall():
    print(row)

Write Back to IBM Informix

When the data source and your connection permissions allow it, the same cursor runs INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements. Bind values with pyformat (%(name)s) parameters, exactly as you would for a filtered read, and check cursor.rowcount for the number of affected rows.

# Insert a new record
cur.execute(
    "INSERT INTO [Informix1].[Informix].[Books] (Id) "
    "VALUES (%(newvalue)s)",
    {"newvalue": "Example value"},
)
print(f"Rows inserted: {cur.rowcount}")

# Update existing records
cur.execute(
    "UPDATE [Informix1].[Informix].[Books] "
    "SET Price = %(newvalue)s "
    "WHERE Category = 'US'",
    {"newvalue": "Updated value"},
)
print(f"Rows updated: {cur.rowcount}")

conn.close()

Note: Even for writable sources, a read-only PAT or connection permission will reject write operations. The same parameterized pattern also covers DELETE statements and stored procedures through cursor.callproc().

That is the entire workflow: one package, a PAT, and standard DB-API calls. Because the SDK returns a normal DB-API connection, it drops straight into the rest of the Python data ecosystem. From here you can load IBM Informix data into pandas, build ETL pipelines with petl, or power a Dash web app, all using this same connection.

More Information and Free Trial

Now you can query live IBM Informix data from Python through the CData Connect AI Python SDK. For more information on connecting to IBM Informix (and hundreds of other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live IBM Informix data in Python.