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Informix Error -7206: LANG or LC_CTYPE environment variable is invalid.

Cause and resolution

LANG or LC_CTYPE environment variable is invalid.

Either the LANG or the LC_CTYPE environment variable setting is invalid. Set either or both variables to the values that your system supports.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-7206 fires when LANG or LC_CTYPE is set to a value the system doesn't support — per the official guidance.

  1. An invalid LANG setting, per the official guidance — the first named cause.
  2. An invalid LC_CTYPE setting, per the official guidance — the second named cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Set LANG and/or LC_CTYPE to values your system supports, per the official guidance.
Examples
Checking supported locales
$ locale -a
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the current LANG/LC_CTYPE values against the system's supported locale list (locale -a), and correct any unsupported value.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -7205 — "DBNLS is not set or LC_CTYPE must be set to category-value." A related LC_CTYPE error, about the NLS-specific category-value requirement rather than the variable being an unsupported locale entirely.
  • -7204 — "LANG or LC_COLLATE environment variable is invalid." The same class of error, for LC_COLLATE rather than LC_CTYPE.
  • -7207 — "LANG or LC_MONETARY environment variable is invalid." The same class of error, for LC_MONETARY.
  • -7208 — "LANG or LC_NUMERIC environment variable is invalid." The same class of error, for LC_NUMERIC.
  • -7209 — "LANG or LC_TIME environment variable is invalid." The same class of error, for LC_TIME.

LANG or LC_CTYPE is set to a value the system doesn't support — check against locale -a and correct it.