Informix Error -2841: The form must include a tables declaration before the attributes section.

Reasons / Common Causes

-2841 fires when a form specification's TABLES section is missing or appears after ATTRIBUTES — per the official guidance, the form's sections must appear in a specific order: DATABASE, SCREEN, TABLES, then ATTRIBUTES.

1. The TABLES section missing entirely, per the official guidance — the direct, common cause.
2. The TABLES section present but placed after ATTRIBUTES, per the official guidance's other named case — violating the required order.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Add (or reorder) the TABLES section so the form's sections appear in the required order: DATABASE, SCREEN, TABLES, ATTRIBUTES, per the official guidance.

Examples

Sections in the wrong order

DATABASE stores7
SCREEN { ... }
ATTRIBUTES
  order_id = orders.order_id;
TABLES
  orders
-- -2841: TABLES appears after ATTRIBUTES

Corrected

DATABASE stores7
SCREEN { ... }
TABLES
  orders
ATTRIBUTES
  order_id = orders.order_id;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the form specification's section order against the required sequence: DATABASE, SCREEN, TABLES, ATTRIBUTES.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -2800 — "The first line of the specification must be the keyword database followed by the database name..." A related structural error, about the very first line specifically.

The TABLES section is missing or out of order — it must come before ATTRIBUTES, after DATABASE/SCREEN.