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Informix Error -585

-585 Cannot rename column in system catalog.

This RENAME COLUMN statement cannot be carried out because it would rename a column of one of the tables that make up the system catalog. The database server relies on these column names for internal queries, and you cannot change them.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-585 fires when RENAME COLUMN targets a column of one of Informix's own system-catalog tables — the same protection as -584, applied at the column level: the server's internal queries depend on these exact column names.

  1. RENAME COLUMN issued against a column of a sys* catalog table, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
  2. A misunderstanding of what's actually being renamed, if the intended target was an application table's column rather than a real catalog table's column.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Don't attempt to rename system-catalog columns — per the official guidance, this is a fixed restriction with no workaround, since the server's internal queries rely on these exact column names.
  2. Confirm the intended target is actually the application table/column meant, if the rename was aimed at something else.
Examples
The disallowed attempt
RENAME COLUMN systables.tabname TO systables.table_name;
-- -585: tabname is a system-catalog column
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Confirm the table named in the RENAME COLUMN statement is a sys* catalog table before assuming the rename should be possible.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -511 — "Cannot modify table-name." The same system-catalog protection extended to direct DML writes.
  • -521 — "Cannot lock system catalog table-name." The same protection extended to explicit locking.
  • -584 — "Cannot rename system catalog." The same restriction applied to a table rename rather than a column rename.

There's no workaround — system-catalog column names are fixed and depended on internally by the server, same as -584 for table names.