Informix Error -4012

-4012 You can only specify a base clause for class constructors.

This function declaration is followed by a colon, class-name, and argument list (in short, a base clause). This syntax is used only when declaring the constructor function for a class (the function whose name is the same as the name of the class), in order to specify function arguments to the constructor of the base class.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4012 fires when a non-constructor function declaration is followed by a base clause (a colon, class name, and argument list) — per the official guidance, that syntax is reserved for a class's constructor function (the function whose name matches the class name), to pass arguments to the base class's constructor.

A base clause attached to a function that isn't the class constructor, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Remove the base clause from the non-constructor function, or rename the function to match the class name if a constructor was intended, consistent with the official guidance's description of where base clauses are valid.

Examples

A base clause on a non-constructor function

CLASS Order : BaseRecord
  FUNCTION save() : BaseRecord(x)
    -- -4012: save() is not the constructor (Order)
  END FUNCTION
END CLASS

Corrected

CLASS Order : BaseRecord
  FUNCTION Order() : BaseRecord(x)
    ...
  END FUNCTION
END CLASS

Diagnostic Checks

Check every function declaration using a base clause, and confirm its name matches the enclosing class name (i.e. it's the constructor).

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -4012 in this set yet.

A base clause was used on a function that isn't the class constructor — remove it or rename the function to be the constructor.