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Informix Error -399

-399 Cannot access log file.

This query refers to a table named syslog. A row in the systables catalog has syslog in the tabname column, but it is only a convenient place to store the pathname to the transaction-log file. Under IBM Informix SE, a table named syslog cannot exist in a database with logging. (In general, you should avoid table names that start with sys-, and syslog is not allowed.)

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-399 is a specific naming collision on IBM Informix SE: syslog is a reserved name that systables uses internally to store the transaction-log file's pathname for a logged database — it isn't available as an ordinary user table name, and a query referencing a table called syslog collides with that reserved catalog entry instead of finding a real table.

  1. A user table or query genuinely named syslog — the direct, only cause, specific to Informix SE databases with logging enabled.
  2. Assuming sys-prefixed names are safe as long as they don't match a real system catalog table — syslog in particular is explicitly reserved regardless of whether it "looks" like a normal table name.
  3. A schema ported from a different database or engine where syslog was a perfectly valid table name, now colliding with this Informix SE-specific reservation.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Avoid table names beginning with sys entirely, per the official guidance — syslog specifically is disallowed on logged Informix SE databases, and the broader sys-prefix convention is reserved for system catalog objects generally.
  2. Rename the conflicting table to something outside the sys-prefix convention.
  3. When porting a schema from another system, check for any sys-prefixed table names before deploying to Informix SE.
Examples
Renaming a colliding table
-- Conflicts with the reserved syslog name on a logged Informix SE database:
CREATE TABLE syslog (event_id INTEGER, message VARCHAR(200));

-- Fix — use a non-reserved name:
CREATE TABLE app_event_log (event_id INTEGER, message VARCHAR(200));
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check whether the table name in question is exactly syslog, and whether the target server is Informix SE with logging enabled.
  2. Review the schema for any other sys-prefixed table names, as a broader precaution.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -354 — "Incorrect database or cursor name format." A related identifier-naming restriction, though about character/length rules rather than a specific reserved name collision.

Avoid the sys prefix for table names generally, not just syslog specifically — it's reserved for system catalog objects, and Informix SE enforces at least this one collision explicitly.