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Informix Error -1360: No PROGRAM= clause for this field.

Cause and resolution

No PROGRAM= clause for this field.

You pressed the exclamation-mark key (!) while the cursor was in a TEXT or BYTE field. However, no external program has been designated for this field (with the PROGRAM attribute in the form-specification file). If this field is a TEXT field, you can set the DBEDIT environment variable before you start the program to specify a text editor.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-1360 fires when the user presses ! on a TEXT/BYTE field, but no external program has been designated for that field via the PROGRAM attribute — per the official guidance, this is the failure case of -1353's !-to-edit mechanism when no program is configured.

  1. No PROGRAM attribute defined for the field in the form specification, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Add a PROGRAM attribute for the field in the form specification, per the official guidance, if external editing should be supported.
  2. For TEXT fields specifically, set the DBEDIT environment variable before starting the program, per the official guidance, as a workaround specifying a text editor.
Examples
Adding a PROGRAM attribute
ATTRIBUTES
  notes = order_notes,
    PROGRAM = "/usr/bin/vi";
Or, for TEXT fields, setting DBEDIT
$ export DBEDIT=/usr/bin/vi
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check whether the field has a PROGRAM attribute defined, and add one (or set DBEDIT for TEXT fields) if external editing is needed.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -1353 — "Use '!' to edit TEXT and BYTE fields." The informational message that names this same !-to-edit mechanism, which -1360 reports as unconfigured for this specific field.

No PROGRAM attribute is configured for this TEXT/BYTE field — add one, or set DBEDIT for TEXT fields specifically.