Oninit
Talk to an expert →

Informix Error -998: Message number -998 not found.

Cause and resolution

Message number -998 not found.

-998 error is reserved for internal use. it&s about a General XA (Global) transaction error, this could be of many sorts. i.e.

1 /* asynch operation already outstanding */
2 /* an RM error occurred */
3 /* XID not recognized */
4 /* invalid parameters */
5 /* routine called in improper context */
6 /* RM unavailable */
7 /* the XID already exists */
8 /* RM doing work outside global transaction*/
9 /* axreg failed */
10 /* trying to start new trans while suspended*/
11 /* can't joing work of existing transaction*/
12 /* axunreg failed */
13 /* ax interface failure (unresolved symbol)*/
14 /* Enlist TM with DTC has failed */
15 /*AXREG with DTC has failed */
35 /* heuristic operaion invalid for non-XA db*/
36 /* XID not knowne by the RM */
37 /* trans already heuristically commited */
38 /* trans already heuristically rolled back */
39 /* not an indoubt transaction */
40 /* Rollback only is allowed */
41 /* heuristic commit fails because of node failure*/
43 /* XA not support by remote server */
225 /* disallow operations in Loosely Coupled Transaction */
226 /* heuristic rollback is performed */
227 /* transaction state is unknown */
228 /* cursors still existed */
229 /* not the first stmt */
230 /* heuristic commit is performed */

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-998 is reserved for internal use rather than naming one specific condition — per the archived catalogue text, it covers a general XA (Global) transaction error, and the real cause is one of a long list of internal XA return codes the engine maps onto this single number.

  1. An XA resource-manager (RM) level failure — e.g. an RM error, an unrecognized XID, invalid parameters, or the RM being unavailable, per the archived catalogue's own enumerated list of internal XA conditions this message can represent.
  2. A transaction-state conflict — e.g. starting a new transaction while one is suspended, joining work on an existing transaction incorrectly, or a heuristic commit/rollback already having occurred for the transaction in question.
  3. An ax_reg/ax_unreg or TM/DTC integration failure, per the archived catalogue, on platforms that integrate Informix's XA support with an external transaction manager.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Capture the full accompanying error context — -998 alone doesn't identify which of the many internal XA conditions actually occurred; the surrounding log/trace output is what narrows it down.
  2. Check the state of the global transaction (suspended, heuristically completed, already known to the resource manager or not) against what the application attempted to do next.
  3. If the condition isn't resolvable from the transaction-manager side, note all circumstances and contact IBM Informix Technical Support.
Examples
N/A

No specific triggering statement is documented beyond the function-level condition described above.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Review the full XA/transaction-manager log around the time -998 was raised — the specific internal condition (of the many this number can represent) is what actually explains it.
  2. Confirm the global transaction's current state (active, suspended, heuristically completed) before retrying the operation that failed.
Related Errors / Related Topics

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

A general XA (Global) transaction error covering many internal conditions — the accompanying log context, not -998 itself, identifies which one actually occurred.