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Informix Error -655

-655 RETURN value count does not match procedure declaration.

The number of values that a procedure was declared to return in the RETURNING clause does not match the number of values in a RETURN clause.

An example of the error follows:

CREATE PROCEDURE testproc () RETURNING INT, INT; ... RETURN 1,2,3; -- error ... RETURN 1; -- error END PROCEDURE

Correction: In this example, return exactly two arguments.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-655 fires when the number of values in a RETURN statement doesn't match the number the routine's RETURNING clause declared — per the official guidance, the two counts must agree exactly.

  1. A RETURN statement listing more values than the RETURNING clause declared — per the official guidance's example, declaring two return values but returning three.
  2. A RETURN statement listing fewer values than declared — the same example's other direction, returning one value against a two-value declaration.
  3. A RETURNING clause changed during editing (adding or removing a return value) without updating every RETURN statement in the routine body to match.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Ensure the RETURN statement matches the declared return count exactly, per the official guidance.
  2. Check every RETURN statement in the routine, not just the first one encountered, since a routine can have multiple RETURN points (in different branches) and each must match the declaration.
Examples
Too many return values
CREATE PROCEDURE get_order_summary(p_order_id INT)
  RETURNING INT, CHAR(10);
  DEFINE v_total INT, v_status CHAR(10), v_extra INT;
  ...
  RETURN v_total, v_status, v_extra;
  -- -655: RETURNING declares 2 values, RETURN supplies 3
END PROCEDURE;
Corrected
CREATE PROCEDURE get_order_summary(p_order_id INT)
  RETURNING INT, CHAR(10);
  DEFINE v_total INT, v_status CHAR(10);
  ...
  RETURN v_total, v_status;
END PROCEDURE;
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Count the values in the RETURNING clause and compare against every RETURN statement in the routine body, including ones inside conditional branches.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -656 — "Routine is not declared to return values." A related return-value mismatch error, about a RETURN statement appearing where no RETURNING clause exists at all.

Check every RETURN statement in the routine, not just the first — each must match the RETURNING clause's declared count exactly.