Informix Error -21001: Incomplete character at end of codeset conversion input.

Reasons / Common Causes

-21001 fires when code-set conversion input ends mid-character — per the official guidance, a multi-byte character was truncated at the end of the data passed between the server and the client.

1. Data truncated in the middle of a multi-byte character, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check the DB_LOCALE and CLIENT_LOCALE settings in the initialization file or environment, per the official guidance.

Examples

Checking locale settings

$ env | grep -E 'DB_LOCALE|CLIENT_LOCALE'

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check DB_LOCALE and CLIENT_LOCALE, and check whether the data was truncated before conversion (e.g. by a buffer size limit).

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -21000 — "Invalid byte in codeset conversion input." A related code-set conversion error, on an unrecognized byte rather than a truncated multi-byte character.
• -21005 — "Inexact character conversion during translation." A related, milder code-set issue — a substitution character was used rather than the conversion failing outright.

Code-set conversion input ended in the middle of a multi-byte character — check DB_LOCALE/CLIENT_LOCALE and whether the data was truncated upstream.