Informix Error -4136

-4136 Intrinsic function name() has wrong signature.

The correct signature for a !copy() function is FUNCTION !copy (obj this_class), having one parameter whose type is an object of the containing class. The correct signature for a !derive() function has no arguments, only a pair of parentheses.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4136 fires when !copy() or !derive() is declared with the wrong signature — per the official guidance, !copy() must take exactly one parameter, an object of the containing class (FUNCTION !copy (obj this_class)), and !derive() must take no arguments at all.

!copy() declared with a parameter list other than one object of the containing class, per the official guidance — the first named case.
!derive() declared with any arguments, per the official guidance — the second named case.

Solutions / Resolution

Declare !copy() with exactly one parameter, an object of the containing class.
Declare !derive() with an empty parameter list.

Examples

An incorrectly-signed !copy()

CLASS Order
  FUNCTION !copy(a INTEGER, b INTEGER)
    -- -4136: !copy() must take one parameter of type Order
  END FUNCTION
END CLASS

Corrected

CLASS Order
  FUNCTION !copy(src Order)
    ...
  END FUNCTION
END CLASS

Diagnostic Checks

Check every !copy() declaration for exactly one parameter of the containing class, and every !derive() declaration for no parameters at all.

Related Errors / Related Topics

-4013 — "Invalid intrinsic member function "!name"." A related intrinsic member-function error, about the function's name being invalid rather than its signature.
-4014 — "You cannot specify the RETURNING type for intrinsic member functions." A related intrinsic member-function error, about an illegal RETURNING clause rather than an illegal parameter list.

!copy() or !derive() has the wrong signature — !copy() takes one parameter of the containing class; !derive() takes none.