Informix Error -549

Reasons / Common Causes

-549 is documented as obsolete — database servers after Version 5.01 don't produce it, having folded this case into the more general -537 ("Constraint column column-name not found in table"). It's documented here for older platforms/archival reference: it fired when a UNIQUE clause's column list named a column that isn't actually defined on the table.

1. A misspelled column name in the UNIQUE clause's column list — the direct, common cause on the platforms where this error still applies.
2. A column referenced that was dropped or renamed since the DDL was originally written.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check the spelling of all column names in the statement, per the official guidance.
2. Check the table's actual current definition, per the official guidance's pointer to -328's discussion of listing a table's columns, if the spelling looks correct:

   SELECT colname FROM syscolumns
   WHERE tabid = (SELECT tabid FROM systables WHERE tabname = 'orders')
   ORDER BY colno;
   

3. On a current-version server, expect -537 instead for this same underlying condition — the resolution is identical either way.

Examples

A misspelled column name

CREATE TABLE orders (order_id INT, status CHAR(10), UNIQUE (order_idd));
-- -549 (older servers) / -537 (current servers): 'order_idd' -- the actual column is 'order_id'

Corrected

CREATE TABLE orders (order_id INT, status CHAR(10), UNIQUE (order_id));

Diagnostic Checks

1. Query syscolumns for the table's actual column names and compare against the UNIQUE clause's column list.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -328 — referenced directly by -549's official text as the discussion of how to list a table's actual column names.
• -537 — "Constraint column column-name not found in table." The current, more general error that superseded -549 after Version 5.01.

Obsolete since Version 5.01 — on current servers this same condition surfaces as -537 instead.