Informix Error -1226: Decimal or money value exceeds maximum precision.

Reasons / Common Causes

-1226 fires when a number being converted into a DECIMAL/MONEY variable has more digits to the left of the decimal point than that variable's declared precision allows — per the official guidance, this is a digit-count problem, distinct from -1200/-1201's magnitude-range errors.

1. A DECIMAL/MONEY variable declared with fewer integer digits than the value being assigned actually has, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Revise the program to assign the converted number to a variable with an appropriate precision, per the official guidance.

Examples

A value with more integer digits than the declared precision

DEFINE v_amount DECIMAL(5,2);
LET v_amount = 123456.78;
-- -1226: 123456 has 6 integer digits, exceeding what DECIMAL(5,2) allows (3 integer digits)

Corrected

DEFINE v_amount DECIMAL(9,2);
LET v_amount = 123456.78;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Compare the number of integer digits in the value against the variable's declared precision (accounting for the digits reserved for the fractional part).

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -1200 — "Number is too large for a DECIMAL data type." A related DECIMAL error, about the type's overall magnitude ceiling rather than a specific variable's declared precision.
• -1201 — "Number is too small for a DECIMAL data type." The mirror-image magnitude error.

The value has more integer digits than the target DECIMAL/MONEY variable's declared precision allows — widen the variable's precision.