Informix Error -2990: The columns column1 and column2 are not in the same database table.

Cause and resolution

The columns column1 and column2 are not in the same database table.

All columns that are cited in a single LOOKUP attribute must belong to the same table. Check the spellings of the names, and make sure that they are the columns you intended.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-2990 fires when a single LOOKUP attribute cites columns from more than one table — per the official guidance, all columns cited in a LOOKUP attribute must belong to the same table.

A LOOKUP attribute citing columns from two different tables, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Check the spellings of the names, per the official guidance.
Make sure they're the columns you intended, per the official guidance.

Examples

A LOOKUP citing columns from two tables

ATTRIBUTES
  item_code = item.item_code, LOOKUP = (item.item_code, supplier.item_code);
-- -2990: the second column belongs to "supplier", not "item"

Corrected

ATTRIBUTES
  item_code = item.item_code, LOOKUP = (item.item_code, item.description);

Diagnostic Checks

Check every column cited in a LOOKUP attribute, and confirm they all belong to the same table.

Related Errors / Related Topics

-2989 — "The column name is a reference column, but it is not indexed." A related LOOKUP-attribute warning, about a missing index on the reference column rather than the cited columns spanning multiple tables.

A LOOKUP attribute cites columns from two different tables — check the column names and confirm they all belong to the same table.