Informix Error -3761: ERROR -- attempt to divide by zero has occurred.

Cause and resolution

ERROR -- attempt to divide by zero has occurred.

A division expression in the INSTRUCTIONS section has a zero divisor. Review all uses of division in the INSTRUCTIONS section, and look for any that might have a denominator of zero (possibly the denominator is a field into which the user entered a zero). Protect these expressions with tests for zero using IF-THEN-ELSE.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-3761 fires when a division expression in INSTRUCTIONS has a zero divisor at runtime — per the official guidance, the denominator might be a field into which the user entered a zero.

A division expression whose denominator evaluates to zero, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Review all uses of division in the INSTRUCTIONS section, per the official guidance.
Protect these expressions with tests for zero using IF-THEN-ELSE, per the official guidance.

Examples

An unprotected division

INSTRUCTIONS
  AFTER QUERY OF orders
    LET avg_price = total / qty;
    -- -3761: qty may be zero
  END
END

Corrected

INSTRUCTIONS
  AFTER QUERY OF orders
    IF qty <> 0 THEN
      LET avg_price = total / qty;
    ELSE
      LET avg_price = 0;
    END IF
  END
END

Diagnostic Checks

Check every division expression in INSTRUCTIONS for a denominator that could be zero, and guard it with IF-THEN-ELSE.

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -3761 in this set yet.

A division expression's denominator evaluated to zero at runtime — guard it with IF-THEN-ELSE.