Informix Error -1333: Strings of length > 512 cannot be returned from function calls.

Cause and resolution

Strings of length > 512 cannot be returned from function calls.

The current RETURN statement contains an expression that evaluates to a character string longer than 512 characters. This situation is not supported. Review the logic of the function, and modify it so that it does not return such a long character value. You can assign a longer string to a global variable.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-1333 fires when a RETURN statement's character-string expression exceeds 512 characters — per the official guidance, this length is unsupported for function return values.

A RETURN expression producing a string longer than 512 characters, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Refactor the function to avoid returning such a lengthy string, per the official guidance.
Assign the longer string value to a global variable instead, per the official guidance's alternative.

Examples

A function returning an oversized string

FUNCTION build_report_line()
  DEFINE v_line CHAR(1000);
  -- ... build v_line ...
  RETURN v_line;
  -- -1333: v_line's returned value can exceed 512 characters
END FUNCTION

Corrected — use a global variable

GLOBALS
  DEFINE g_report_line CHAR(1000);
END GLOBALS

FUNCTION build_report_line()
  -- ... build g_report_line directly ...
END FUNCTION

Diagnostic Checks

Check the actual length of the string produced by the RETURN expression, and confirm whether it can exceed 512 characters.

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -1333 in this set yet.

A function tried to return a string longer than 512 characters — refactor to use a global variable instead.