Oninit
Talk to an expert →

Informix Error -4123

-4123 CALL to function "name" must have a RETURNING clause.

The function name is declared as returning a result, so the CALL statement must provide a RETURNING clause to receive the result.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4123 fires when CALL invokes a function declared to return a result, but the CALL statement has no RETURNING clause to receive it — per the official guidance, the function's declaration requires a result to be captured.

  1. A CALL to a result-returning function with no RETURNING clause, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Add a RETURNING clause to the CALL statement to receive the function's result.
Examples
A CALL missing RETURNING
FUNCTION save(id INTEGER) RETURNING INTEGER
  ...
END FUNCTION

CALL save(1001)
-- -4123: save() returns a value that isn't captured
Corrected
CALL save(1001) RETURNING status
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check every CALL to a result-returning function, and confirm it has a matching RETURNING clause.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -4063 — "Function "name" should not return any results." The mirror-image error, about a VOID function being called as if it returned a value.

A CALL to a result-returning function is missing its RETURNING clause — add one.