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Informix Error -1279: Value exceeds string column length.

Cause and resolution

Value exceeds string column length.

This message applies only to ANSI databases. You attempted to insert into a CHAR, NCHAR, VARCHAR, NVARCHAR or LVARCHAR column using a string host variable, but the string is too long.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-1279 fires on ANSI databases when a string inserted via a host variable exceeds the target CHAR/NCHAR/VARCHAR/NVARCHAR/LVARCHAR column's maximum length — per the official guidance, this check is specific to ANSI-mode databases.

  1. A host variable's string value longer than the target column's declared length, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Truncate or shorten the value to fit the column's declared length, if truncation is acceptable.
  2. Widen the target column's declared length, if the longer value needs to be preserved in full.
Examples
A host variable's value exceeding the column's length
/* status is CHAR(10) */
char v_status[100] = "a_much_longer_status_value";
EXEC SQL INSERT INTO orders (order_id, status) VALUES (:v_order_id, :v_status);
/* -1279: v_status's value exceeds status's 10-character length (ANSI database) */
Corrected — widen the column
ALTER TABLE orders MODIFY (status CHAR(30));
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Compare the host variable's actual string length against the target column's declared length.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -1278 — "Invalid escape sequence." A related ANSI-database error, about pattern-matching escape characters rather than column length.

The value exceeds the target string column's length on an ANSI database — truncate the value or widen the column.