Informix Error -975: Invalid object and object mode combination.

Reasons / Common Causes

-975 is the general rule underlying several of the violations-table/filtering-mode errors in this range: not every object mode applies to every object type, and this error fires whenever a statement tries to pair the two incorrectly.

1. Creating a new object in an object mode that doesn't apply to its type, per the official guidance's own example — e.g. creating a trigger in filtering mode.
2. Setting an existing object's mode to one that doesn't apply to its type, per the official guidance — the same restriction, applied to a mode change rather than creation.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check which object modes are valid for the object type in question before creating the object or changing its mode — per the official guidance, filtering mode specifically does not apply to every object type (triggers being the named example).
2. Use a mode that is valid for the object type, or reconsider whether the intended behavior (e.g. capturing violations) is achievable for that object type at all.

Examples

The documented example: a trigger in filtering mode

CREATE TRIGGER my_trigger INSERT ON mytable ... ;
-- attempting to place my_trigger in filtering mode
-- -975: Invalid object and object mode combination.

Diagnostic Checks

1. Identify the object type involved (constraint, unique index, trigger, etc.) and confirm which modes the documentation lists as valid for it.
2. Re-check the statement for the specific mode keyword being applied (e.g. FILTERING, DISABLED, ENABLED) against that object type's supported modes.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -971 — "Integrity violations detected." A data-content failure within a valid object/mode pairing, distinct from -975's type-level mismatch.
• -973 — "Cannot insert from the violations table to the target table." A specific consequence of a table having filtering-mode objects, the same feature -975 gates who can use.
• -974 — "Cannot drop not null constraint on the serial column." Another type-specific restriction on what operations apply to which object/column types.

-975 means the object type and the mode requested for it simply don't go together — check which modes the documentation lists as valid for that specific object type.