Informix Error -2856: The TODAY attribute may be assigned only to date columns.

Cause and resolution

The TODAY attribute may be assigned only to date columns.

The TODAY function (not attribute) returns the value of today's date. That value can be assigned only to a field that has the DATE or DATETIME data type. The field in this statement has a different type. Automatic data conversion is provided in 4GL programs, but not in the context of a form.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-2856 fires when the TODAY attribute is assigned to a field that isn't DATE/DATETIME — per the official guidance, TODAY returns the current date, so it can only apply to date-typed fields; unlike 4GL programs (which support automatic conversion), forms don't convert it for other types.

TODAY assigned to a non-DATE/DATETIME field, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Assign TODAY only to DATE/DATETIME fields, per the official guidance — forms don't perform the automatic conversion 4GL programs do.

Examples

TODAY on a non-date field

ATTRIBUTES
  status = order_status, DEFAULT = TODAY;
-- -2856: order_status is CHAR, not DATE/DATETIME

Corrected

ATTRIBUTES
  order_date = order_date, DEFAULT = TODAY;

Diagnostic Checks

Check the declared type of any field assigned TODAY, and confirm it's DATE/DATETIME.

Related Errors / Related Topics

-2867 — "The CURRENT attribute may be assigned only to datetime columns." The same no-auto-conversion rule applied to CURRENT/DATETIME instead of TODAY/DATE.

TODAY was assigned to a non-date field — forms don't auto-convert it, unlike 4GL programs.