Informix Error -817: Cannot read file (check file permissions).

Reasons / Common Causes

-817 is the mirror image of -816: it fires when a file named in a preceding command can't be read — per the official guidance, an OS-level read-permission problem is the likely cause.

1. No OS-level read permission on the file, per the official guidance — the direct, likely cause.
2. The file owned by a different OS user, with no group/other permission bit granting read access to the connecting account.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check the file's permissions, per the official guidance:

   ls -l the_file
   

2. Correct the permissions or ownership as needed.
3. Run the program again, per the official guidance, once permissions are corrected.

Examples

Checking permissions

$ ls -l the_file
-rw-------  1 otheruser othergroup  ...  the_file

A file readable only by its owner (a different user) explains the failure.

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the target file's permissions and ownership against the connecting OS account.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -816 — "Cannot write file (check file permissions)." The mirror-image error, for a write permission problem rather than read.

The mirror image of -816 — check the file's permissions and ownership for read access.