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Informix Error -422

-422 Flush attempted on unopen cursor.

This FLUSH statement names a cursor that has never been opened or has been closed. Review the program logic to ensure that it will open the cursor before this point and not accidentally close it. An insert cursor is automatically closed by a COMMIT WORK or ROLLBACK WORK.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-422 is the FLUSH-specific instance of the same open/close-lifecycle issue as -413/-400: a FLUSH was issued against an insert cursor that isn't currently open — never opened, already closed, or implicitly closed by COMMIT WORK/ROLLBACK WORK.

  1. A FLUSH issued before the corresponding OPEN on the insert cursor.
  2. A FLUSH issued after CLOSE, without reopening.
  3. COMMIT WORK/ROLLBACK WORK implicitly closing the insert cursor, since these automatically close insert cursors — a FLUSH after that point fails.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Review program logic to confirm the cursor is opened before the FLUSH, per the official guidance.
  2. Reopen the cursor after any COMMIT WORK/ROLLBACK WORK if further PUT/FLUSH operations through it are needed.
  3. Check for a premature CLOSE if the cursor is closing earlier than expected.
Examples
Flushing after an implicit close
DECLARE curs1 CURSOR FOR INSERT INTO orders (order_id, customer_id) VALUES (?, ?);
OPEN curs1;
PUT curs1 FROM :ord_id, :cust_id;
COMMIT WORK;
FLUSH curs1;
-- -422: COMMIT WORK closed curs1 automatically

Fix — reopen before flushing:

OPEN curs1;
PUT curs1 FROM :ord_id, :cust_id;
FLUSH curs1;
COMMIT WORK;
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Confirm the cursor was opened before the failing FLUSH.
  2. Check for an intervening CLOSE, COMMIT WORK, or ROLLBACK WORK.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -413 — "Insert attempted on unopen cursor." The closely related sibling — the same underlying open/close lifecycle issue, applied to PUT instead of FLUSH.
  • -417 — "FLUSH can only be used on an insert cursor." Another FLUSH-specific restriction, about cursor type rather than open/close state.

COMMIT WORK/ROLLBACK WORK automatically close insert cursors — flush (and reopen) before committing if more inserts are still pending.