Informix Error -2859

-2859 The column column-name is a member of more than one

table -- you must specify the table name.

Two or more tables that are named in the TABLES section have columns with the name shown. You must make clear which table you mean. To do this, write the table name as a prefix of the column name, as table.column, wherever this name is used in the form specification.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-2859 fires when multiple tables in the TABLES section share a column name, and that name is referenced unqualified — per the official guidance, this creates ambiguity about which table's column is meant.

A column name shared by more than one table in TABLES, referenced without a table prefix, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Qualify the column reference by prefixing it with the table name, per the official guidance, in the form table.column, wherever that column appears in the form specification.

Examples

An ambiguous unqualified column

ATTRIBUTES
  name = name;
-- -2859: both "customer" and "supplier" tables have a "name" column

Corrected

ATTRIBUTES
  name = customer.name;

Diagnostic Checks

Check the TABLES section for multiple tables sharing a column name, and qualify every reference to that name with its table.

Related Errors / Related Topics

-2844 — "The column column-name is associated with more than one field in the form specification." A related naming-conflict error, about one column mapped to multiple fields, rather than one name being ambiguous across tables.

A column name is shared by more than one table — qualify it with table.column.