Informix Error -853: Current transaction has been rolled back due to error or missing COMMIT WORK.

Reasons / Common Causes

-853 fires when the interactive tool, executing SQL statements from a command file, either hits an error return code or reaches end-of-file without finding a COMMIT WORK — per the official guidance, since a transaction was in progress (the file contained BEGIN WORK, or the database is ANSI compliant), the tool rolls it back rather than leaving it open or assuming success.

1. A command file's transaction block missing a closing COMMIT WORK, per the official guidance — the file ended before the transaction was explicitly closed.
2. A statement earlier in the file returning an error, per the official guidance, which the tool responds to by rolling back rather than continuing and risking a partial, unintended commit.
3. A database that's ANSI compliant, per the official guidance, where every statement runs inside an implicit transaction even without an explicit BEGIN WORK in the file — the same missing-COMMIT WORK risk applies there too.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Add an explicit COMMIT WORK at the end of the command file's transaction block, per the official guidance's implied fix.
2. Check for an earlier error in the file that triggered the rollback, per the official guidance, if the missing-commit explanation doesn't fit — review the file's full output for an error before this final rollback notice.
3. Remember this applies even without an explicit BEGIN WORK on an ANSI-compliant database, per the official guidance — don't assume the rollback implies a BEGIN WORK was missed if the database itself is ANSI compliant.

Examples

A missing COMMIT WORK

BEGIN WORK;
UPDATE orders SET status = 'shipped' WHERE order_id = 42;
-- file ends here, no COMMIT WORK
-- -853: transaction rolled back

Corrected

BEGIN WORK;
UPDATE orders SET status = 'shipped' WHERE order_id = 42;
COMMIT WORK;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the command file for a COMMIT WORK at the end of every transaction block.
2. Review the file's full execution output for an earlier error, not just this final rollback notice.
3. Check whether the database is ANSI compliant, in case an implicit transaction (with no BEGIN WORK in the file) is the context.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -535 — "Already in transaction." A related transaction-management error, about a redundant BEGIN WORK rather than a missing COMMIT WORK.

Add an explicit COMMIT WORK, and check for an earlier error in the file if that alone doesn't explain it — including on ANSI-compliant databases, where transactions can be implicit.