Informix Error -2867: The CURRENT attribute may be assigned only to datetime columns.

Cause and resolution

The CURRENT attribute may be assigned only to datetime columns.

The CURRENT function (not attribute) produces the current date and time as a DATETIME value, but the field that is referenced in this statement does not have the DATETIME data type. Automatic data conversion is not supported in this context. Review the statement to make sure that it refers to the field that you intended, and revise the form to assign DATETIME values only to DATETIME fields.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-2867 fires when the CURRENT function is assigned to a field that isn't DATETIME — per the official guidance, CURRENT produces the current date and time as a DATETIME value, and automatic data conversion isn't supported in this context.

CURRENT assigned to a non-DATETIME field, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Review the statement to confirm it refers to the field you intended, per the official guidance.
Revise the form to assign CURRENT/DATETIME values only to DATETIME fields, per the official guidance.

Examples

CURRENT on a non-DATETIME field

ATTRIBUTES
  status = order_status, DEFAULT = CURRENT;
-- -2867: order_status is CHAR, not DATETIME

Corrected

ATTRIBUTES
  order_timestamp = order_timestamp, DEFAULT = CURRENT;

Diagnostic Checks

Check the declared type of any field assigned CURRENT, and confirm it's DATETIME.

Related Errors / Related Topics

-2866 — "The NOW attribute may be assigned only to datetime columns." A legacy sibling error for the no-longer-existent NOW attribute, which CURRENT replaced.
-2856 — "The TODAY attribute may be assigned only to date columns." The same no-auto-conversion rule applied to TODAY/DATE instead of CURRENT/DATETIME.

CURRENT was assigned to a non-DATETIME field — forms don't auto-convert it.