Informix Error -809: SQL Syntax error has occurred.

Reasons / Common Causes

-809 fires when a LOAD/UNLOAD/INFO statement's embedded INSERT statement has invalid syntax — per the official guidance, this is specific to the generated/specified INSERT used by these statements, not a general SQL syntax error.

1. A malformed INSERT clause within a LOAD statement, per the official guidance — a punctuation or keyword error in that specific clause.
2. A hand-written INSERT clause for LOAD/UNLOAD/INFO that doesn't follow the exact syntax these statements expect, even if it would be valid as a standalone INSERT.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Review the INSERT statement for punctuation and correct use of keywords, per the official guidance.
2. Compare the INSERT clause's syntax against the documented LOAD/UNLOAD/INFO statement syntax, since these contexts have their own specific requirements distinct from a standalone INSERT.

Examples

A malformed INSERT clause within LOAD

LOAD FROM 'orders_import.unl' INSERT INTO orders VALUES;
-- -809: incomplete INSERT syntax (missing the values/column list)

Corrected

LOAD FROM 'orders_import.unl' INSERT INTO orders;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Review the exact INSERT clause text for punctuation and keyword correctness, against the specific LOAD/UNLOAD/INFO statement syntax documented for the server version in use.

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -809 in this set yet.

Specific to the INSERT clause within LOAD/UNLOAD/INFO — check its syntax against those statements' specific documented form.