Informix Error -467

Reasons / Common Causes

-467 is specific to programs compiled with the -icheck compiler flag: that flag enforces that any host variable which could receive a truncated or NULL value must have an indicator variable associated with it, so the application can actually detect when truncation or nullness occurred. This error fires when a statement returns such a value to a host variable that has no indicator variable at all.

1. A host variable receiving a NULL value from the database, with no indicator variable declared for it, while the program was compiled with -icheck.
2. A host variable receiving a truncated value (a string longer than the variable can hold) with no indicator variable to signal the truncation.
3. Code written without -icheck in mind, later recompiled with that flag for stricter safety checking, surfacing previously-silent gaps in indicator-variable usage.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Add an indicator variable for every host variable that could receive a NULL or truncated value, per the official guidance — this is what -icheck is specifically designed to enforce.
2. Review every SELECT ... INTO/FETCH ... INTO in the codebase if this surfaces broadly after enabling -icheck for the first time, since it likely points to multiple pre-existing gaps.

Examples

Adding an indicator variable

short ind_status;
EXEC SQL SELECT status INTO :status_var:ind_status FROM orders WHERE order_id = 1001;
/* ind_status will be set appropriately if status_var receives
   a NULL or truncated value */

The disallowed missing indicator (under -icheck)

EXEC SQL SELECT status INTO :status_var FROM orders WHERE order_id = 1001;
/* -467 if status is NULL or too long for status_var, and the
   program was compiled with -icheck */

Diagnostic Checks

1. Confirm the program was compiled with -icheck.
2. Check the specific host variable named in the error for a missing indicator variable.
3. Review the query for columns that can genuinely be NULL or exceed the host variable's size, to catch other similar gaps proactively.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -429 — "Indicator variables should be 2-byte integers." A related indicator-variable error, about declaring the indicator with the wrong type rather than omitting it entirely.
• -391 — "Cannot insert a null into column column-name." A related NULL-handling discipline, though on the insert/write side rather than this fetch/read-side indicator check.

-icheck is a stricter safety mode specifically designed to catch missing indicator variables — add one for every host variable that could genuinely receive a NULL or truncated value.