Informix Error -4351

Reasons / Common Causes

-4351 fires when CONTINUE WHILE doesn't fall between a WHILE statement and its matching END WHILE — per the official guidance, the WHILE statement may have been accidentally deleted, or the loop type may have been changed to FOREACH/FOR without updating the CONTINUE.

1. CONTINUE WHILE used where the enclosing loop isn't a WHILE loop, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check whether the WHILE statement was accidentally deleted, per the official guidance.
2. If the loop type was changed to FOREACH/FOR, update the CONTINUE keyword to match, per the official guidance.

Examples

CONTINUE WHILE inside a FOR loop

FOR i = 1 TO 10
  CONTINUE WHILE
  -- -4351: this is a FOR loop, not a WHILE loop
END FOR

Corrected

FOR i = 1 TO 10
  CONTINUE FOR
END FOR

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the enclosing loop's actual type, and match the CONTINUE keyword to it.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -4316 — "The program cannot exit a WHILE statement at this point because it is not within a WHILE statement." The EXIT WHILE counterpart of this same CONTINUE WHILE condition.
• -4350 — "The program cannot continue a FOR loop at this time because it is not within a FOR loop." The same pattern applied to FOR instead of WHILE.
• -4352 — "The program cannot continue a FOREACH loop at this time because it is not within a FOREACH loop." The same pattern applied to FOREACH instead of WHILE.

CONTINUE WHILE is used outside a WHILE loop — match the CONTINUE keyword to the loop's actual type.