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Informix Error -290

-290 Cursor not declared with FOR UPDATE clause.

This statement attempts to update with a cursor that was not declared for update. The database server does not allow this action, as both a security measure that is designed to prevent program errors and a performance feature. To use a cursor with the UPDATE or DELETE statements, you must declare it for update. Review the program logic to make sure that this statement uses the intended cursor.

In an ANSI-compliant database, any cursor can be used for updating; the FOR UPDATE clause is not required (and generates a warning).

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-290 is a deliberate restriction, not just an oversight: UPDATE/DELETE WHERE CURRENT OF requires the cursor to have been declared FOR UPDATE — both as a safety measure against accidental updates through what was meant to be a read-only cursor, and as a performance feature (the engine optimizes non-FOR UPDATE cursors differently).

  1. Attempting UPDATE/DELETE WHERE CURRENT OF a cursor that wasn't declared FOR UPDATE — the direct cause.
  2. Using the wrong cursor — confusing a read-only cursor with an update-capable one when multiple cursors exist in the same program.
  3. A version- or mode-specific difference worth knowing about: in an ANSI-compliant database, any cursor can be used for updating — FOR UPDATE isn't required there at all, and including it anyway produces a warning (not an error).
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Declare the cursor FOR UPDATE if it's meant to be used with UPDATE/DELETE WHERE CURRENT OF.
  2. Review program logic to confirm the intended cursor is actually the one referenced in the failing statement.
  3. For ANSI-compliant databases, recognize that FOR UPDATE isn't required — if writing code intended to be portable across both ANSI and non-ANSI databases, be aware of this difference (including it is harmless on ANSI databases beyond the warning, so it's usually safe to include for portability).
Examples
The disallowed update through a non-FOR-UPDATE cursor
DECLARE cur1 CURSOR FOR SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'pending';
OPEN cur1;
FETCH cur1 INTO :rec;
UPDATE orders SET status = 'processing' WHERE CURRENT OF cur1;
-- -290: cur1 wasn't declared FOR UPDATE

Fix:

DECLARE cur1 CURSOR FOR SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'pending' FOR UPDATE;
OPEN cur1;
FETCH cur1 INTO :rec;
UPDATE orders SET status = 'processing' WHERE CURRENT OF cur1;
The ANSI-database difference
-- On an ANSI-compliant database, this cursor can still be used
-- for updates even without FOR UPDATE — but including it anyway
-- for portability just produces a warning, not an error
DECLARE cur1 CURSOR FOR SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'pending' FOR UPDATE;
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Review the cursor's DECLARE statement for the presence of FOR UPDATE.
  2. Confirm whether the database is ANSI-compliant, since behavior differs there.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -207 — "Cannot update cursor declared on more than one table. / Cannot declare a SELECT INTO statement FOR UPDATE." Another cursor-declaration restriction in the same general family.
  • -277 — "UPDATE table table-name is not the same as the cursor table." Another WHERE CURRENT OF-related restriction, though about table matching rather than the FOR UPDATE declaration itself.

Add FOR UPDATE to the cursor's declaration — it's generally safe to include even on ANSI databases where it isn't strictly required, so this is a reasonable default for portable code.