Informix Error -492

Reasons / Common Causes

-492 is closely related to -491, but here the environment variable is actually set — just to a value the server doesn't recognize as valid, whether it's LANG or LC_COLLATE.

1. A typo or misspelling in the LANG/LC_COLLATE value.
2. A locale string not supported by the server's NLS configuration, even if it's a valid locale name in general OS terms.
3. Confusing the specific value the database's NLS setup requires (per -491's string_value guidance) with a different, generic system locale value.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Verify the exact value expected, per -490/-491's guidance, for the specific NLS- enabled database being connected to.
2. Check for typos in the LANG/LC_COLLATE environment variable's current value.
3. Confirm the locale value is actually supported by the server's NLS configuration, not just valid in general OS terms.

Examples

Checking current environment variable values

echo $LANG
echo $LC_COLLATE
-- compare against the exact value the target NLS-enabled
-- database actually requires

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the current values of LANG and LC_COLLATE.
2. Compare against the specific value the target database's NLS configuration requires.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -491 — "DBNLS not set (LC_COLLATE must be string_value)." The closely related sibling — that error covers a missing/unset variable, while this one covers a set-but-invalid value.

Verify the exact expected locale value for the specific NLS-enabled database being connected to, rather than assuming any generally-valid OS locale string will work.