Informix Error -279: Cannot grant or revoke database privileges for table or view.

Reasons / Common Causes

-279 is a clear GRANT/REVOKE syntax rule: database-level privileges (CONNECT, RESOURCE, DBA) and table-level privileges (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and similar) use mutually exclusive syntax, and mixing them in one statement isn't allowed.

1. A GRANT/REVOKE naming a database-level privilege while also including an ON table-name clause. Database-level privileges apply to the whole database, not to a specific table, so an ON clause doesn't make sense with them.
2. Confusion between database-level and table-level privilege syntax — assuming every GRANT needs an ON clause, or not realizing CONNECT/RESOURCE/DBA are a fundamentally different category from table privileges like -272/-273/-274/-275.
3. Attempting to mix a database-level privilege and a table-level privilege in the same statement — not permitted; they must be granted separately.

Solutions / Resolution

1. For database-level privileges (CONNECT, RESOURCE, DBA), omit the ON clause entirely.
2. For table-level privileges, always include the ON clause naming the specific table.
3. Never mix database-level and table-level privileges in the same GRANT/REVOKE statement — issue them as separate statements.

Examples

Database-level privilege with an incorrect ON clause

GRANT DBA ON orders TO app_user;
-- -279: DBA is a database-level privilege — no ON clause allowed

Fix:

GRANT DBA TO app_user;

Table-level privilege missing its ON clause

GRANT SELECT TO app_user;
-- -279: SELECT is a table-level privilege — requires an ON clause

Fix:

GRANT SELECT ON orders TO app_user;

Mixing the two kinds in one statement

GRANT DBA, SELECT ON orders TO app_user;
-- -279: mixing a database-level privilege (DBA) with a
-- table-level one (SELECT) in the same statement

Fix — issue as two separate statements:

GRANT DBA TO app_user;
GRANT SELECT ON orders TO app_user;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Review the GRANT/REVOKE statement for which privilege type(s) are named and whether an ON clause is present or absent appropriately for each.
2. Check for mixed privilege types in a single statement.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -272 — "No SELECT permission for table/column." Part of the same general privileges family, though about a missing grant rather than incorrect GRANT syntax.
• -201 — "A syntax error has occurred." The general SQL-parsing-error family this fits into.

Remember the rule: database-level privileges never take an ON clause; table-level privileges always do — and never combine the two kinds in one statement.