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Informix Error -4440

-4440 name1 precedes name2 in the record/object and must also precede it when

used with the THROUGH shorthand.

The THROUGH or THRU shorthand requires you to give the starting and ending fields as they appear in physical sequence in the record. Check the spelling of the names; if they are as you intended, then refer to the VARIABLE statement where the record was defined to see why they are not in the sequence you expected. Only NewEra returns this error.

-4440 The field name1 precedes name2 in the record record-name and must also precede it when used with the THROUGH shorthand.

The THROUGH or THRU shorthand requires you to give the starting and ending fields as they appear in physical sequence in the record. Check the spelling of the names; if they are as you intended, then refer to the DEFINE statement where the record was defined to see why they are not in the sequence you expected. Only 4GL returns this error.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4440 covers two related variants, per the official guidance: THRU/THROUGH shorthand requires the starting and ending fields to be given in the same physical sequence they appear in the record — NewEra scopes this check to the VARIABLE statement's declaration order, while 4GL scopes it to the DEFINE statement's declaration order.

  1. A THRU/THROUGH range whose starting field actually appears after the ending field in the record's declared order, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Check the spelling of both names, per the official guidance.
  2. If they're as intended, review the record's VARIABLE/DEFINE statement to see why they're not in the expected sequence, per the official guidance.
Examples
A reversed THRU range
DEFINE rec RECORD
  order_date DATE,
  order_id INTEGER
END RECORD

DISPLAY rec.order_id THRU rec.order_date
-- -4440: order_id actually comes after order_date in rec's declaration
Corrected
DISPLAY rec.order_date THRU rec.order_id
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the record's declaration order for both THRU-range names, and swap them if they're given in reverse of that order.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -4019 — "The columns specified in the THRU option appear in the reverse order." A closely related error covering the same reversed-order condition in the Form Compiler context.

A THRU/THROUGH range's names are given in the reverse of the record's declared order — swap them to match.