Informix Error -487

Reasons / Common Causes

-487 fires when a cursor declaration specifies neither STATIC nor DYNAMIC — one of these two cursor scrollability categories is required whenever the declaration calls for a specific type, rather than leaving it ambiguous or specifying something else entirely.

1. A cursor declaration missing an explicit STATIC/DYNAMIC qualifier where one is required by the surrounding statement context.
2. An invalid or misspelled qualifier used in place of STATIC/DYNAMIC.
3. Code assuming a default cursor type applies when the specific statement context actually requires one of the two to be stated explicitly.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Declare the cursor as either STATIC or DYNAMIC, per the official guidance, choosing whichever type is actually needed, then retry the operation.
2. Understand the distinction before choosing: a STATIC cursor's result set is fixed at OPEN time, while a DYNAMIC cursor can reflect changes made after opening — pick based on the application's actual requirement.

Examples

Declaring a static cursor

DECLARE curs1 STATIC SCROLL CURSOR FOR SELECT * FROM orders;

Declaring a dynamic cursor

DECLARE curs1 DYNAMIC SCROLL CURSOR FOR SELECT * FROM orders;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the cursor's DECLARE statement for a missing or invalid STATIC/DYNAMIC qualifier.
2. Determine which behavior is actually needed (fixed result set vs. reflecting later changes) to choose the correct qualifier.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -482 — "Invalid operation on a non-SCROLL cursor." A related cursor-declaration restriction, about scroll capability rather than the static/dynamic distinction.
• -363 — "CURSOR not on SELECT statement." Another cursor-declaration-level restriction, in a different context (underlying statement type).

Choose STATIC or DYNAMIC based on whether the application needs a fixed result set or one that can reflect changes made after the cursor is opened.