Informix Error -4147

-4147 A RETURN statement is required in this function.

The function was declared with a RETURNING clause that specified other than VOID, but no RETURN statement occurs in the body of the function.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4147 fires when a function is declared with a RETURNING clause specifying something other than VOID, but its body contains no RETURN statement at all — per the official guidance, this is a required statement whenever a non-VOID return type is declared.

A non-VOID function with no RETURN statement anywhere in its body, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Add a RETURN statement that provides a value matching the function's declared return type.

Examples

A non-VOID function with no RETURN

FUNCTION compute() RETURNING INTEGER
  LET x = 1 + 1
  -- -4147: no RETURN statement anywhere in this function
END FUNCTION

Corrected

FUNCTION compute() RETURNING INTEGER
  LET x = 1 + 1
  RETURN x
END FUNCTION

Diagnostic Checks

Check every function declared with a non-VOID RETURNING clause for at least one RETURN statement in its body.

Related Errors / Related Topics

-4067 — "This RETURN statement must provide a value." A related RETURN-statement error, about an existing RETURN missing its value, rather than no RETURN existing at all.

A non-VOID function has no RETURN statement at all — add one that provides a value.