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Informix Error -1222: Value will not fit in a SMALLFLOAT.

Cause and resolution

Value will not fit in a SMALLFLOAT.

The SMALLFLOAT data type can accept numbers within a certain range of exponents. The maximum and minimum exponent values are different depending on the host operating system (the range is the same as that supported by the C compiler for float values in this system). In the current statement, a constant number is being converted for storage in a FLOAT variable or column, and the exponent is too large or too small.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-1222 fires when a numeric constant's exponent falls outside what SMALLFLOAT can represent — per the official guidance, SMALLFLOAT's acceptable exponent range varies by operating system, matching the platform's C compiler's float specification.

  1. A value with an exponent larger than SMALLFLOAT's platform-specific maximum, per the official guidance — the direct, common cause.
  2. A value with an exponent smaller (closer to zero, i.e. underflowing) than SMALLFLOAT's platform-specific minimum, per the official guidance — the mirror-image case.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Use FLOAT/DOUBLE PRECISION instead of SMALLFLOAT, if the value's exponent genuinely exceeds what the platform's SMALLFLOAT (matching C float) can hold.
  2. Check the platform's specific SMALLFLOAT exponent range, per the official guidance, since it varies by operating system/C compiler rather than being a single fixed constant.
Examples
A value with an exponent beyond SMALLFLOAT's range
DEFINE v_val SMALLFLOAT;
LET v_val = 1.0e100;
-- -1222: the exponent exceeds this platform's SMALLFLOAT (C float) range
Corrected — widen the type
DEFINE v_val FLOAT;
LET v_val = 1.0e100;
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the value's exponent against the platform's specific SMALLFLOAT/C float range, since this varies by operating system.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -1214 — "Value too large to fit in a SMALLINT." A related type-range error, for an integer type rather than a floating-point one.
  • -1215 — "Value too large to fit in an INTEGER." Another related integer type-range error.

The value's exponent falls outside SMALLFLOAT's platform-specific range — use FLOAT/DOUBLE PRECISION if a wider range is needed.