You must configure the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) data source names (DSN) to transfer the data in the proper locale and make the correct code page conversions that may be required when the operating systems of the client and server are different.
An Informix database must be created with a specific Global Language Support (GLS) locale before data can be stored in it. A GLS locale is a set of Informix files that bring together the information about data that is specific to a given culture, language, or territory. If the locale is not set when the database is created, the database locale defaults to U.S. English: en_us.8859-1 for UNIX and en_us:1252 for Windows. To determine what the proper locale is for your database, consult the Informix document Informix Guide to GLS Functionality.
If you are using ArcSDE 9.2 or higher, you do not have to set the CLIENT_LOCALE and DB_LOCALE variables on the client. However, if you are using a server and/or client prior to ArcSDE 9.2, to properly convert and preserve the characters, you must set the Informix CLIENT_LOCALE and DB_LOCALE variables in the client application's system environment. You also need to configure the ODBC DSN. Consult the ArcSDE 9.1 Configuration and Tuning Guide for Informix .pdf file installed with ArcSDE for information on setting these variables.
