Informix Error -650

Reasons / Common Causes

-650 fires when a VARCHAR(m, r) column definition's maximum width m exceeds 255 — per the official guidance, 255 characters is the hard ceiling for VARCHAR.

1. A VARCHAR width declared larger than 255, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
2. A punctuation slip in the column definition, per the official guidance's suggested check — confirm the numbers in VARCHAR(m, r) weren't transposed or mistyped.
3. Content genuinely expected to exceed 255 characters, where VARCHAR was the wrong type choice from the start.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check the punctuation of the column definition, per the official guidance, in case the width was mistyped.
2. Redesign the table to use a VARCHAR width between 1 and 255 characters, per the official guidance, if a value within that range is actually sufficient.
3. Use LVARCHAR or TEXT instead of VARCHAR, if content genuinely needs to exceed 255 characters — VARCHAR's 255-character ceiling is a hard type limit, not a tunable setting.

Examples

Exceeding the limit

CREATE TABLE documents (doc_id INT, summary VARCHAR(500));
-- -650: 500 exceeds the 255-character maximum for VARCHAR

Corrected — within the limit

CREATE TABLE documents (doc_id INT, summary VARCHAR(255));

Or using a type without the 255-character ceiling

CREATE TABLE documents (doc_id INT, summary LVARCHAR(2000));

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the declared width against the 255-character VARCHAR ceiling.
2. Confirm whether the content genuinely needs more than 255 characters, in which case LVARCHAR/TEXT is the appropriate type rather than trying to raise VARCHAR's limit.

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -650 in this set yet.

A hard 255-character ceiling on VARCHAR — use LVARCHAR/TEXT instead if the content genuinely needs to be wider.