Informix Error -1148

-1148 Size of a window may not be negative.

The AT clause of this OPEN WINDOW statement uses a negative number. The row and column sizes must be positive integers. Revise the statement.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-1148 fires when OPEN WINDOW's AT clause contains a negative number — per the official guidance, row and column values must be positive integers.

A negative row or column value in the AT clause, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause, likely from a computed value (an expression gone wrong) rather than a literal typo.

Solutions / Resolution

Revise the statement so row and column are positive integers, per the official guidance.
If the value is computed, check the expression for what produced a negative result.

Examples

A negative computed position

LET v_row = current_line - 30
OPEN WINDOW w1 AT v_row, 1 WITH FORM "order_entry"
-- -1148: v_row evaluated to a negative number

Corrected

LET v_row = 1
OPEN WINDOW w1 AT v_row, 1 WITH FORM "order_entry"

Diagnostic Checks

Check the actual value of the row/column expression used in the AT clause at the point of failure.

Related Errors / Related Topics

-1144 — "Cannot open window. Window origin is not on the screen." A related OPEN WINDOW ... AT error, about an in-range but off-screen position rather than a negative value.

OPEN WINDOW's AT clause requires positive row/column values — check any computed expression for how it produced a negative result.