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Informix Error -1232

-1232 Message buffer too small.

4GL is reading a message text from a compiled message file but cannot resize the buffer to be large enough to hold the complete message. This situation might indicate a critical shortage of data space, but more probably it indicates a corrupted or invalid message file. Reinstall all files of type .iem from the distribution materials. If you have modified the user-message file, 4glusr.msg, recompile it as well.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-1232 fires when 4GL, reading a message text from a compiled .iem file, can't resize its buffer large enough to hold the complete message — per the official guidance, this typically suggests either a critical data-space shortage or a corrupted/invalid message file.

  1. A critical shortage of data memory, per the official guidance's named possibility — preventing the buffer from growing to the needed size.
  2. A corrupted or invalid .iem message file, per the official guidance's other named possibility — reporting a message length that doesn't reflect its actual (valid) content.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Reinstall all .iem files from distribution materials, per the official guidance, in case the file itself is corrupted.
  2. Recompile the user-message file (4glusr.msg) if it has been modified, per the official guidance.
  3. Check for a data-memory shortage, per the official guidance's other named cause, if the message file itself checks out fine.
Examples
N/A

No specific triggering statement is documented — reinstall/recompile the message files first, and check memory pressure if that doesn't resolve it.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Reinstall/recompile the message files first, per the official guidance.
  2. Check for a data-memory shortage if the issue persists after that.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -1227 — "Message file not found." A related message-file error, about the file being missing entirely.
  • -1229 — "Incompatible message file." A related message-file error, about a version mismatch.
  • -1231 — "Cannot seek within message file." Another related message-file-reading error.

4GL couldn't resize its buffer for a message text — reinstall/recompile the message files, and check for a memory shortage if that doesn't resolve it.