Informix Error -726: First argument to dbinfo() must be a quoted string constant.

Reasons / Common Causes

-726 fires when DBINFO()'s first argument isn't a quoted string literal — per the official guidance, it must be exactly that, and specifically one of 'dbspace', 'sqlca.sqlerrd1', or 'sqlca.sqlerrd2' (this error's own text lists these three; other valid DBINFO() arguments exist on current server versions, such as 'version', 'sessionid', and others, but this error's own listed values reflect what the specific server version producing it supports).

1. An unquoted identifier or a variable passed as DBINFO()'s first argument, per the official guidance — it must be a literal quoted string, not an expression or variable.
2. A typo in the quoted string itself, not matching one of the argument names this server version recognizes.
3. For DBINFO('version', ...) specifically, per the official guidance, the second argument must also be a quoted string constant — a variable there triggers the same restriction.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Use a literal quoted string for DBINFO()'s first argument, per the official guidance, matching one of the values this server version supports.
2. For 'version', also quote the second argument as a literal string, per the official guidance.
3. Check the exact spelling of the quoted string against the documented set of valid DBINFO() arguments for the server version in use.

Examples

The disallowed attempt

DEFINE v_arg VARCHAR(20);
LET v_arg = 'sqlca.sqlerrd2';
SELECT DBINFO(v_arg) FROM systables WHERE tabid = 1;
-- -726: DBINFO()'s first argument must be a literal, not a variable

Corrected

SELECT DBINFO('sqlca.sqlerrd2') FROM systables WHERE tabid = 1;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Confirm DBINFO()'s first argument (and, for 'version', the second) is a literal quoted string, not a variable or expression.

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -726 in this set yet.

DBINFO()'s arguments must be literal quoted strings, never variables — check both the quoting and the exact spelling against this server version's supported argument list.