Informix Error -342

Reasons / Common Causes

-342 is a distributed-query version-compatibility error: a statement sent to a remote database server for execution uses a feature the remote server's version doesn't support — most commonly because the remote server is running an older Informix version than the local one issuing the statement.

1. A distributed query using a newer SQL feature or function not implemented on the remote server's (older) version.
2. Version skew across a multi-server topology, where application code was written/tested against the newer server and only later run against an older remote node.
3. A feature that's version-gated on both servers independently, where the local server silently accepts the syntax but the remote server, still on an earlier release, rejects it at execution time.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check the remote server's version and compare against the feature/function being used in the statement, per the official guidance.
2. Avoid the newer feature for statements that need to run against that remote server, rewriting the query using more broadly compatible syntax.
3. Upgrade the remote server if using the newer feature there is a genuine long-term requirement, rather than working around it indefinitely.

Examples

Checking remote server version before using a newer feature

-- Confirm the remote server's version supports the feature in use
-- before relying on it in a distributed query, e.g. via
-- onstat -- version equivalents against the remote node.

Rewriting to avoid an unsupported feature

-- If a newer function isn't available on the remote server,
-- rewrite the distributed portion of the query using more
-- broadly compatible syntax, then apply any newer processing
-- locally on the results instead.

Diagnostic Checks

1. Identify the specific feature or function in the statement that's likely unsupported.
2. Check the remote server's actual version and compare against that feature's minimum required version.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -329 — "Database not found or no system permission." Another remote/distributed-database connectivity-related error, though about locating the database rather than feature support once connected.

Version skew across a distributed topology is the most common cause — check the remote server's actual version before assuming the statement itself is wrong.