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Informix Error -475

-475 In a GET statement, if DATA is null, then INDICATOR must be specified.

This X/Open rule indicates that you must request the INDICATOR value in the GET DESCRIPTOR statement when DATA is null.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-475 is an X/Open-mode structural rule for GET DESCRIPTOR: if the DATA field target is NULL (meaning the caller doesn't want the actual data value returned, just other metadata), the statement must also specify an INDICATOR field — the two are paired for this specific case, similar in spirit to -467's indicator-variable requirement in embedded SQL.

  1. A GET DESCRIPTOR statement with DATA set to NULL and no INDICATOR field specified — the direct, only cause.
  2. Code written without this X/Open-specific pairing rule in mind, perhaps ported from native Informix mode or a different API where the requirement doesn't apply the same way.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Specify the INDICATOR field whenever DATA is NULL in a GET DESCRIPTOR statement, per the official guidance — this is a required pairing under the X/Open rules.
  2. If the actual data value is needed, don't set DATA to NULL — supply a genuine target for it instead, in which case INDICATOR isn't mandatory (though still often useful).
Examples
Supplying INDICATOR when DATA is NULL
GET DESCRIPTOR 'desc1' VALUE 1
    :col_name = NAME, :col_indicator = INDICATOR;
-- DATA isn't requested here, so INDICATOR is required
The disallowed combination
GET DESCRIPTOR 'desc1' VALUE 1 :col_name = NAME;
-- -475 if DATA was implicitly/explicitly null and no
-- INDICATOR field was specified
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check whether DATA is NULL in the failing GET DESCRIPTOR statement.
  2. Confirm whether INDICATOR is also specified — it must be, whenever DATA is NULL.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -474 — "Unknown field type." A related X/Open descriptor-field restriction, about valid field type keywords rather than this specific DATA/INDICATOR pairing rule.
  • -467 — "Indicator object is missing." A conceptually similar indicator-variable requirement, in embedded SQL's -icheck context rather than X/Open GET DESCRIPTOR.

This is a specific X/Open pairing rule — whenever DATA is NULL in a GET DESCRIPTOR statement, INDICATOR must also be specified.