Informix Error -808

Reasons / Common Causes

-808 fires when the interactive tool's Choose menu option can't open the specified SQL command file for reading — per the official guidance, the file needs to be in the current directory and readable.

1. The file not present in the current directory, per the official guidance.
2. Insufficient read permission on the file, per the official guidance.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check that the file is in the current directory, per the official guidance:

   ls -l the_file.sql
   

2. Check that the file is readable to the account, per the official guidance:

   ls -l the_file.sql
   

   confirm the permission bits grant read access to the connecting OS user.

Examples

Checking presence and permissions

$ ls -l the_file.sql
ls: the_file.sql: No such file or directory

Confirms the file isn't in the current directory — move it there, or navigate to the directory that contains it before using Choose.

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the file's presence in the current directory and its read permission.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -802 — "Cannot open file for run." A related file-access error, for running a command file rather than choosing/loading it into the editor.
• -805 — "Cannot open file for load." A related file-access error, for a LOAD statement's data file rather than a SQL command file.

Check the file's presence in the current directory and its read permission.