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Informix Error -1009

-1009 Bad termcap entry.

The contents of the TERMCAP environment variable, or of the termcap entry from the termcap database, are read into storage when the application is initializing. While the program was doing this, it found improper punctuation in the termcap entry. A colon separator did not appear where one was expected. Review the specified termcap, and choose a different one or correct the one that is in use.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-1009 fires when the termcap entry being read has a punctuation problem — per the official guidance, specifically a missing colon separator where the termcap format requires one.

  1. A termcap entry missing a required : separator between fields, per the official guidance — the direct, named cause.
  2. A hand-edited or copy-pasted termcap entry that introduced a punctuation error during editing.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Review the termcap entry for the missing colon separator, per the official guidance, and correct it.
  2. Or select a different, known-good termcap entry instead of repairing the malformed one, per the official guidance's alternative.
Examples
A missing colon between fields
vt100|dec vt100:co#80li#24cl=\E[;H\E[2J:
-- missing colon after co#80 and li#24
Corrected
vt100|dec vt100:co#80:li#24:cl=\E[;H\E[2J:
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the termcap entry's punctuation, specifically for a missing : field separator.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -1005 — "Your specified termcap file cannot be read." A related termcap error, about file accessibility rather than entry content.
  • -1007 — "Invalid value for the INFORMIXTERM environment variable." A related terminal- configuration error, about the facility selector rather than the entry's content.
  • -1008 — "Termcap entry too long." A related termcap-content error, about excessive length rather than punctuation.
  • -1010 — "Too many tc= indirections." A related termcap-content error, about chained references rather than a missing separator.

A missing : separator in the termcap entry — review and correct the punctuation, or use a different entry.