Informix Error -4438: You cannot SELECT into a substring of a character variable.

Cause and resolution

You cannot SELECT into a substring of a character variable.

Substring notation is not allowed in the INTO clause. You can specify a substring of a column in the list of columns to select and in the WHERE clause. But you have to select into an entire variable. Define a variable to select into, and move the data into the destination substring using a LET statement.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4438 fires when a SELECT's INTO clause uses substring notation — per the official guidance, substrings are allowed in the select-list and WHERE clause, but INTO must receive an entire variable.

Substring notation used in the INTO clause of a SELECT, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Define a variable to select into as a whole, per the official guidance.
Move the data into the destination substring afterward with a LET statement, per the official guidance.

Examples

Substring notation in INTO

SELECT order_ref INTO full_ref[1,5] FROM orders WHERE order_id = 1001;
-- -4438: INTO cannot target a substring

Corrected

SELECT order_ref INTO temp_ref FROM orders WHERE order_id = 1001;

LET full_ref[1,5] = temp_ref

Diagnostic Checks

Check every SELECT's INTO clause for substring notation, and select into a whole variable instead, moving the value into the substring separately.

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -4438 in this set yet.

A SELECT's INTO clause uses substring notation, which isn't allowed — select into a whole variable, then assign the substring separately.