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Informix Error -262

-262 There is no current cursor.

This internal error should not occur. Note all the details of the network software in use and the version number of the database servers in this and the other host system. If the error recurs, note all circumstances and contact IBM Informix Technical Support.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-262 shares the same "should not occur" framing as -152, and the same recommended investigation: network software details and version numbers across hosts, rather than application-level cursor logic.

  1. An internal engine-level condition, per the official text's own framing — not expected to occur through normal operation.
  2. A distributed or client-server context (similar to -152's own territory) where cursor state tracking gets out of sync between hosts, possibly due to a version mismatch or network issue.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Note the network software in use and the version numbers of the database servers on both this host and the other host system, per the official guidance — the same first step as -152.
  2. If this recurs, note all circumstances and contact IBM Informix Technical Support.
  3. Check for version mismatches between hosts in a distributed deployment, the same investigation as -152.
Examples

There isn't a representative application-level example to give — the official framing treats this as an internal condition to report with network/version detail, not something to diagnose from application cursor logic.

-- Before contacting support, confirm and record:
-- 1. Database server version on this host
-- 2. Database server version on the remote host (if distributed)
-- 3. Network/connectivity software version on both
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Compare database server versions on both hosts involved, if this is a distributed deployment.
  2. Compare network/connectivity software versions on both hosts.
  3. Capture full circumstances for escalation if the cause isn't found in a version mismatch.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -152 — "ISAM error: Illegal message type received from remote process." The closest sibling — identical "should not occur" framing and the same network/version-focused investigation.
  • -258 — "System error - invalid statement id received by the sqlexec process." Another internal statement/cursor-tracking condition, though with a documented harmless exception -262 doesn't share.

Confirm version alignment across hosts before anything else — the same first step as -152, given the identical official framing.