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Informix Error -4346: Subscripts can contain only INTEGER or SMALLINT expressions.

Cause and resolution

Subscripts can contain only INTEGER or SMALLINT expressions.

Array subscripts are integer values, and only integer variables can be used to form them. This statement contains a subscript in which a FLOAT, CHAR or some other type of variable is used. No automatic conversion of data types is performed in a subscript expression. Review the subscript expressions in the statement; perhaps you simply entered the wrong variable name. If not, you will have to revise the program to store array subscripts in integer variables only (you might expect that a DECIMAL value with a scale factor of zero would be permitted also, but this is not the case.)

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4346 fires when an array subscript expression uses a non-integer type such as FLOAT or CHAR — per the official guidance, no automatic conversion happens in a subscript expression; notably, even a DECIMAL with scale zero isn't accepted.

  1. A subscript expression using a FLOAT, CHAR, or other non-integer type, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Review the subscript expression for the wrong variable name, per the official guidance.
  2. Otherwise, store array subscripts only in INTEGER/SMALLINT variables, per the official guidance — a zero-scale DECIMAL is explicitly not accepted either.
Examples
A DECIMAL used as a subscript
DEFINE ix DECIMAL(5,0)
DEFINE items ARRAY[10] OF INTEGER
LET x = items[ix]
-- -4346: DECIMAL is not accepted for subscripts, even with scale 0
Corrected
DEFINE ix INTEGER
LET x = items[ix]
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the declared type of every array subscript variable, and confirm it's INTEGER/SMALLINT, not FLOAT, CHAR, or DECIMAL (even with scale 0).
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -4327 — "The variable variable-name is not of type INTEGER or SMALLINT. It cannot be used as a loop index." A related integer-type requirement, about FOR loop indices rather than array subscripts.
  • -4331 — "Only variables of type INTEGER or SMALLINT may be used to index display fields." A related integer-type requirement, about screen-array subscripts specifically.

An array subscript uses a non-integer type — use INTEGER/SMALLINT only.