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Informix Error -339

-339 The audit trail file name must be given in full directory path.

The audit-trail file that is specified in the CREATE AUDIT statement requires a full directory path. Because it is not required to be in a particular directory, the database server cannot use the current directory or the DBPATH variable to search for it.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-339 is the audit-trail-specific instance of the same full-path requirement seen in -325: since an audit-trail file doesn't need to live in any particular directory, the server has no default location to fall back on — it can't rely on the current working directory or DBPATH to resolve a relative name.

  1. A relative path or bare filename given to CREATE AUDIT/START AUDIT, instead of an absolute path.
  2. A path assembled programmatically that omits the leading directory structure.
  3. Copy-pasted syntax from a context where a relative path was assumed to work (such as a different, path-resolving statement), without adjusting for this statement's requirement.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Always specify the complete, absolute path to the audit-trail file, per the official guidance.
  2. When generating the path programmatically, verify it's built as an absolute path before using it in the statement.
Examples
A relative path rejected
CREATE AUDIT USING 'audit_trail_1';
-- -339: not a full directory path

Fix — use the complete absolute path:

CREATE AUDIT USING '/informix/audit/audit_trail_1';
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check that the audit-trail filename argument begins with a full path (e.g. starts with / on Unix-style systems) rather than a bare filename or relative path.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -334 — "Cannot create audit trail." A related audit-trail creation failure — this specific full-path requirement is one of the common underlying causes behind it.
  • -325 — "Filename must be specified with a full path name." The same full-path requirement, applied to transaction log files instead of the audit trail.

Always give the audit-trail file a complete, absolute path — there's no default directory or DBPATH fallback for it.