Informix Error -337

Reasons / Common Causes

-337 is another member of the same family as -323 and -336: temporary tables can't back a view's defining query, because a view is a persistent, catalog-registered object and a temp table is inherently session-private and never recorded in the persistent catalog.

1. A CREATE VIEW statement whose defining SELECT references a temporary table — the direct, only cause.
2. A misspelled table name in the view definition that happens to resolve to a same-named temp table instead of the intended permanent table.
3. A workflow that builds intermediate results into a temp table and then attempts to wrap a view around it for convenience, not realizing views require a permanent underlying table.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Base the view on a permanent table instead, per the official guidance — this is a structural requirement, not something that can be worked around in the view definition itself.
2. Verify the table name's spelling if a permanent table was genuinely intended.
3. Check systables for permanent tables (tabtype = 'T') to confirm the intended target's actual name:

   SELECT tabname FROM systables WHERE tabtype = 'T' AND tabname = 'orders';
   

4. If the underlying data genuinely needs to be materialized first, use a permanent table (or a real base table) as the source, rather than a session-scoped temp table.

Examples

Attempting to view a temp table

SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'pending' INTO TEMP recent_orders;
CREATE VIEW recent_orders_view AS SELECT * FROM recent_orders;
-- -337: recent_orders is a temp table

Fix — materialize into a permanent table if a view is genuinely needed:

CREATE TABLE recent_orders_snapshot AS
    SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'pending';
CREATE VIEW recent_orders_view AS SELECT * FROM recent_orders_snapshot;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Confirm every table referenced in the view's defining SELECT is permanent, via systables.tabtype.
2. Double-check spelling if a permanent table was genuinely intended but a temp table of a similar name exists.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -323 — "Cannot grant permission on temporary table." The same underlying restriction applied to GRANT.
• -336 — "Cannot create or drop audit on a temporary table table-name." The same underlying restriction applied to auditing.

Views require a persistent, catalog-registered base table underneath — a temp table can never back one, regardless of the view's own definition.