Informix Error -4658: Constants are not allowed as cursor names.

Reasons / Common Causes

-4658 fires when a dynamic cursor name is given as a constant rather than a variable — per the official guidance, identifiers used for dynamic cursor names must be variables.

1. A constant used where a dynamic cursor name is expected, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Use a variable holding the cursor name instead of a constant, per the official guidance.

Examples

A constant used as a dynamic cursor name

DECLARE "orders_cur" CURSOR FOR mystmt
-- -4658: "orders_cur" is a constant, not a variable

Corrected

DEFINE cur_name CHAR(20)
LET cur_name = "orders_cur"
DECLARE cur_name CURSOR FOR mystmt

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check every dynamic cursor name reference, and confirm it's a variable rather than a literal/constant.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -4371 — "Cursors must be uniquely declared within one program module." A related cursor-declaration restriction, about name uniqueness rather than the name's kind (variable vs. constant).
• -4303 — "A blob variable or cursor name expected." A related cursor-name error, about the wrong kind of value entirely rather than a constant used where a variable is required.

A dynamic cursor name was given as a constant rather than a variable — use a variable instead.