Informix Error -4353: The type of this ORDER BY or GROUP item specified for the report is not valid for sorting.

Cause and resolution

The type of this ORDER BY or GROUP item specified for the report is not valid for sorting.

The database server does not support comparison functions on columns of such types as TEXT or BYTE. As a result, columns with such types cannot be used to order or group rows. Use other columns (usually the primary key of the table) for ordering and grouping.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4353 fires when a report's ORDER BY/GROUP clause names a TEXT/BYTE column — per the official guidance, the database server doesn't support comparison functions on those types, so they can't be used to order or group rows.

A TEXT/BYTE column used in ORDER BY/GROUP, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Use a different column for ordering/grouping, per the official guidance — usually the table's primary key.

Examples

Ordering by a TEXT column

REPORT myreport(rec)
  ORDER BY rec.notes
  -- -4353: notes is TEXT, which doesn't support comparison

Corrected

REPORT myreport(rec)
  ORDER BY rec.order_id

Diagnostic Checks

Check the data type of every ORDER BY/GROUP column, and replace any TEXT/BYTE column with a comparable one (usually the primary key).

Related Errors / Related Topics

-4354 — "Aggregate functions cannot be performed with TEXT or BYTE variables." A closely related restriction on TEXT/BYTE types, about aggregate functions rather than ordering/grouping.

An ORDER BY/GROUP clause names a TEXT/BYTE column, which doesn't support comparison — use a different column, usually the primary key.