Informix Error -664: Wrong number of arguments to system function function-name.

Reasons / Common Causes

-664 fires when a built-in (system) function is called with a different number of arguments than it accepts — per the official guidance, check that the correct argument count is being passed.

1. Too many arguments passed to a built-in function, expecting an optional or overloaded form that doesn't actually exist for this function.
2. Too few arguments passed, omitting a required argument the function needs.
3. Confusion between similarly-named functions with different argument counts — for example, a function overloaded elsewhere (in a different SQL dialect or a UDR of the same name) that accepts a different number of arguments than Informix's built-in version.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check the exact argument count the function requires, per the official guidance, and correct the call to match.
2. Consult the function's documented signature if the required count isn't obvious from memory, rather than guessing based on a similarly-named function from elsewhere.

Examples

Too many arguments

SELECT SUBSTR(title, 1, 10, 'extra') FROM documents;
-- -664: SUBSTR takes 2 or 3 arguments, not 4

Corrected

SELECT SUBSTR(title, 1, 10) FROM documents;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Identify the specific function-name named in the error and check its documented argument count/signature against the actual call.

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -664 in this set yet.

Check the function's actual documented signature rather than assuming an argument count from a similarly-named function elsewhere.