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Informix Error -803

-803 The file is too large for internal editing.

The SQL command file that you selected with the Choose option is too large for the edit buffer to hold. The size of the edit buffer is dynamic, and the program was unable to allocate enough memory to hold the contents of the command file. (In DOS, this error also appears if the command file exceeds 64 kilobytes.) Check that you specified the file you intended and that it is in fact an SQL command file. If it is the file that you intended, break it into smaller parts, and use them separately.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-803 fires when a SQL command file selected in the interactive tool's editor exceeds what the edit buffer can hold — per the official guidance, the buffer size is dynamic but memory allocation still has a limit, and on DOS specifically, a fixed 64KB file-size ceiling also applies.

  1. A SQL command file larger than the available edit-buffer memory, per the official guidance — the direct, common cause on modern platforms.
  2. On DOS specifically, a file exceeding 64 kilobytes, per the official guidance — a fixed platform-specific ceiling, independent of available memory.
  3. The wrong file selected — per the official guidance's suggested check, confirm the file chosen is actually the intended SQL command file and not something else entirely (e.g. a much larger data file selected by mistake).
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Confirm the file selected is the one intended and is genuinely a SQL command file, per the official guidance.
  2. Break the file into smaller parts and use them separately, per the official guidance's documented fix, if the large size is expected and correct.
Examples
Splitting a large SQL file
$ split -l 500 large_script.sql script_part_
# produces script_part_aa, script_part_ab, etc., each with 500 lines

Load and run each part separately in the interactive editor instead of the single large file.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the file's actual size and content to confirm it's the intended SQL command file, not a mis-selected larger file.
  2. On DOS, check specifically against the 64KB ceiling.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -801 — "SQL Edit buffer is full." A related edit-buffer memory-limit error, from accumulating statements interactively rather than loading one oversized file.

Confirm the right file was selected, then split it into smaller parts if its size is genuinely correct.