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Informix Error -385

-385 Data value out of range.

This statement attempts to put data into a view that was defined WITH CHECK OPTION, so new data has to satisfy the tests in the WHERE clause in the view. However, one or more of the data values in this current statement does not meet that test, so the alteration was not performed. Roll back the current transaction. To see what tests new data must satisfy, display the definition of the view, as follows:

SELECT seqno, viewtext FROM sysviews, systables WHERE systables.tabname = 'viewname' AND systables.tabid = sysviews.tabid ORDER BY seqno

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-385 fires on INSERT/UPDATE against a view created WITH CHECK OPTION: the new or modified row's values don't satisfy the view's own WHERE clause, so the row would effectively "disappear" from the view immediately after being written — CHECK OPTION exists specifically to prevent that, and the operation is rejected instead.

  1. An INSERT through a WITH CHECK OPTION view supplying values that don't match the view's WHERE clause — the direct, most common cause.
  2. An UPDATE through such a view changing a column referenced in the WHERE clause to a value outside the view's defined range/condition.
  3. Application logic unaware the target is a CHECK OPTION view, and not validating input against the view's filtering condition before attempting the write.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Roll back the transaction, per the official guidance, since the operation won't be performed.
  2. Review the view's WHERE clause condition to understand exactly what values are permitted:
    SELECT v.viewtext FROM systables t, sysviews v
WHERE t.tabid = v.tabid AND t.tabname = 'active_customers';
  3. Adjust the data being written to satisfy the view's condition, or write directly to the underlying base table if the value genuinely needs to fall outside the view's filtered range.
Examples
An insert that violates the view's CHECK OPTION condition
CREATE VIEW active_customers AS
    SELECT * FROM customers WHERE status = 'active'
    WITH CHECK OPTION;

INSERT INTO active_customers (customer_id, name, status)
    VALUES (501, 'Acme Corp', 'inactive');
-- -385: status = 'inactive' doesn't satisfy the view's WHERE clause

Fix — supply a value consistent with the view's condition:

INSERT INTO active_customers (customer_id, name, status)
    VALUES (501, 'Acme Corp', 'active');
Reviewing the view's definition to understand its constraint
SELECT v.viewtext FROM systables t, sysviews v
WHERE t.tabid = v.tabid AND t.tabname = 'active_customers';
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check whether the target view was created WITH CHECK OPTION.
  2. Review the view's WHERE clause and compare it against the values being written.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -322 — "Cannot Alter view, Rename view or Create a trigger on a view." A related view restriction, reinforcing that CHECK OPTION views have their own distinct set of rules.
  • -384 — "Cannot modify non simple view." A related view-modification restriction, though about structural complexity rather than a CHECK OPTION value violation.

Check the view's WHERE clause first — the data being written has to satisfy it, or the write is rejected outright rather than silently producing a row invisible through the view.