Informix Error -733

Reasons / Common Causes

-733 fires when a CREATE TRIGGER or CREATE VIEW statement written inside an SPL routine references a variable defined in that routine — per the official guidance, this isn't legal, since a trigger or view definition must stand on its own (the same underlying principle as -546's host-variable restriction on views) rather than depending on a routine's local state.

1. A CREATE VIEW inside a routine referencing one of the routine's own DEFINEd variables, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause for the view case.
2. A CREATE TRIGGER inside a routine referencing one of the routine's own variables, the same restriction for the trigger case.
3. A variable used to parameterize what should have been literal SQL, assuming the trigger/view definition could pick up the variable's current value at creation time and treat it as fixed thereafter — the definition mechanism doesn't support this.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Remove the reference to the SPL-routine variable, per the official guidance, from the CREATE TRIGGER/CREATE VIEW statement, and retry.
2. Use a literal value instead, if the variable's value at the time of creation was meant to become a fixed part of the definition — build the CREATE TRIGGER/CREATE VIEW statement text dynamically (e.g. via EXECUTE IMMEDIATE with string concatenation) if the value genuinely needs to vary based on the routine's input.

Examples

The disallowed attempt

CREATE PROCEDURE make_recent_orders_view(p_days INT)
  CREATE VIEW recent_orders AS
    SELECT * FROM orders WHERE order_date > TODAY - p_days;
  -- -733: p_days is an SPL-routine variable, not a legal reference here
END PROCEDURE;

Corrected — build the statement dynamically instead

CREATE PROCEDURE make_recent_orders_view(p_days INT)
  DEFINE v_stmt VARCHAR(200);
  LET v_stmt = 'CREATE VIEW recent_orders AS SELECT * FROM orders WHERE order_date > TODAY - '
    || p_days;
  EXECUTE IMMEDIATE v_stmt;
END PROCEDURE;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Scan CREATE TRIGGER/CREATE VIEW statements inside routines for references to the routine's own DEFINEd variables, and either remove the reference or switch to building the statement dynamically.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -546 — "Cannot have host variables when creating a view view-name." A related restriction, on host variables in a view's SELECT (in embedded SQL generally) rather than SPL-routine variables specifically.

A trigger or view definition must stand alone — build the statement dynamically via EXECUTE IMMEDIATE if a routine's variable value genuinely needs to shape it.