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Informix Error -4098

-4098 Type of expression that is expanded must be class or record.

This statement refers to name.* (or uses THRU notation); however, the name it refers to is not declared as a record or as an object of some class. Check the spelling of the name, and review its declaration.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4098 fires when name.* (or THRU notation) is used, but name isn't declared as a record or as an object of some class — per the official guidance, expansion only applies to records and class objects.

  1. .*/THRU used on a name that isn't a record or class object, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Check the spelling of the name, per the official guidance.
  2. Review its declaration, per the official guidance, to confirm it's a record or class object.
Examples
Expanding a plain variable
DEFINE qty INTEGER
DISPLAY qty.*
-- -4098: qty is INTEGER, not a record or class object
Corrected
DEFINE rec RECORD
  qty INTEGER,
  price DECIMAL
END RECORD

DISPLAY rec.*
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the declaration of any name used with .*/THRU, and confirm it's a record or a class object.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -4030 — "Warning: Cannot further expand an expanded expression." A related .* expansion error, about applying .* more than once rather than expanding a non-record/class name.
  • -4072 — "Cannot expand structure with no members." A related .* expansion error, about a valid class/object with no public members rather than a name that isn't a record/class at all.

.*/THRU is used on a name that isn't a record or class object — check its declaration.