Informix Error -9270: Type <opaque_type_name> is unsupported in distributed queries. </opaque_type_name>

Reasons / Common Causes

-9270 fires when a query accessing more than one database uses an opaque data type that distributed queries don't support — per the official guidance.

1. A distributed query referencing the named opaque type, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause; that type can't be used in queries spanning more than one database.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Modify the query so it doesn't use the named opaque type, per the official guidance.

Examples

A distributed query using an unsupported opaque type

SELECT geom_col FROM tab@remote_db;   -- -9270: geom_col's opaque type unsupported here

Corrected — excluding the unsupported column

SELECT id, name FROM tab@remote_db;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Identify which selected column uses the named opaque type, and exclude it from the distributed query, or restructure the query to run locally instead.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -9271 — "Type <opaque_type_name> is not identically defined in all the databases used in the distributed queries." A related distributed-query UDT compatibility error, on definition mismatch rather than outright non-support.
• -9272 — "The data type <type_name> is not supported for current client/server configuration." A related type-support error, on client/server version rather than distributed-query scope.

An opaque data type used in a distributed query isn't supported across databases — exclude it from the query or restructure to run locally.