Oninit
Talk to an expert →

Informix Error -33052: Unmatched ELSE.

Cause and resolution

Unmatched ELSE.

A matching IFDEF or IFNDEF statement does not precede this ELSE statement. Review the source lines that precede this point; the preceding statement was omitted or might not have been recognized due to an earlier error.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-33052 fires when an ELSE statement has no preceding matching IFDEF/IFNDEF — per the official guidance, the preceding statement was either omitted or wasn't recognized due to an earlier error.

  1. An ELSE with no preceding IFDEF/IFNDEF, per the official guidance — the direct cause.
  2. A preceding IFDEF/IFNDEF unrecognized because of an earlier error, per the official guidance — an indirect cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Review the source lines preceding this point for a missing or unrecognized IFDEF/IFNDEF, per the official guidance.
Examples
N/A

No specific triggering statement is documented beyond an unmatched ELSE.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check for a preceding IFDEF/IFNDEF, and fix any earlier error that might have hidden it.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -33053 — "Unmatched ENDIF." The same class of preprocessor conditional-pairing error, for ENDIF rather than ELSE.
  • -33062 — "Missing ENDIF." The complementary error, an IFDEF/IFNDEF with no ENDIF at all, rather than a stray ELSE.
  • -33067 — "ELIF without IFDEF." A related conditional-pairing error, for ELIF rather than ELSE.
  • -33068 — "ELIF after ELSE." A related conditional-ordering error, on ELIF incorrectly following ELSE.

An ELSE had no preceding matching IFDEF/IFNDEF — check preceding source for a missing or unrecognized conditional.