apache/beam · error · java.lang.IllegalArgumentException

[ ] is not valid.

Error message

[%s] is not valid.

What it means

Beam SQL's aggregation rule converter only accepts Calcite RexLiteral operands when extracting a long value (e.g. for window duration parameters). If the operand is any other RexNode type (e.g. a RexCall or RexInputRef), it throws IllegalArgumentException because it cannot statically evaluate it to a number.

Solutions

1. Replace the duration/offset operand with a constant SQL literal, e.g. INTERVAL '1' MINUTE
2. Precompute the value in application code and inline it into the query
3. Check the Calcite version; CALCITE-2837 tracks simplifying this literal handling

Example fix

// before
SELECT COUNT(*) FROMPCOLLECTION GROUP BY TUMBLE(ts, my_duration_column)
// after
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM PCOLLECTION GROUP BY TUMBLE(ts, INTERVAL '1' MINUTE)

if (!(operand instanceof RexLiteral)) { throw new IllegalArgumentException("Duration must be a SQL interval literal"); }

boolean isLiteral(RexNode n) { return n instanceof RexLiteral; }

try { ... } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) { /* fall back to literal-only windowing */ }

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a non-literal expression where a numeric literal is required, e.g. TUMBLE(interval_column, duration_expression) where the duration is a column reference or computed expression instead of a constant literal.

Common situations: Windowing SQL queries where the user writes an interval as a computed expression or a referenced field rather than an inline literal like INTERVAL '60' SECOND; also seen after Calcite version changes alter how literals are represented.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Must be a positive integer", "Invalid value", "Unsupported": the invalid-argument-value error family, when a library rejects the value you pass — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

• Attempting to create database
• Attempting to 'USE CATALOG
• Encountered an unexpected node type
• Getting operands CREATE TABLE is unsupported at the moment
• Predicate node ' ' should be a boolean expression, but was

AI-assisted analysis of apache/beam@12126d8942 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4b5b19f19e887e32. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at sdks/java/extensions/sql/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/extensions/sql/impl/rule/BeamAggregationRule.java:208

              "Specifying alignment (offset) is not supported for session windows");
        }

        return sessions;
      default:
        return null;
    }
  }

  private static Duration durationParameter(List<RexNode> parameters, int parameterIndex) {
    return Duration.millis(longValue(parameters.get(parameterIndex)));
  }

  private static long longValue(RexNode operand) {
    if (operand instanceof RexLiteral) {
      // @TODO: this can be simplified after CALCITE-2837
      return ((Number) RexLiteral.value(operand)).longValue();
    } else {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(String.format("[%s] is not valid.", operand));
    }
  }
}

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