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Informix Error -4130: Handler can't be invoked directly.

Cause and resolution

Handler can't be invoked directly.

A handler cannot be the object of an explicit CALL statement. The only way to invoke a handler is through calling or posting the event to which the handler has been assigned by a HANDLE statement.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4130 fires when a CALL statement targets a handler directly — per the official guidance, a handler can only be invoked through calling or posting the event it's been assigned to via a HANDLE statement.

  1. A CALL statement naming a handler directly, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Call or post the event the handler is assigned to, instead of calling the handler itself, per the official guidance.
Examples
Calling a handler directly
CALL myHandler()
-- -4130: myHandler is a HANDLER, not directly callable
Corrected
CALL MyEvent()
-- MyEvent is assigned to myHandler via a HANDLE statement
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check whether a CALL statement's target is declared as a HANDLER, and if so, call or post its assigned event instead.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -4133 — "Only events can be posted." A related restriction on what POST (rather than CALL) can target, reinforcing the same handler-vs-event distinction.

A handler is called directly — call or post its assigned event instead.