apache/seatunnel · error · FileConnectorException

COMMON_ERROR_CODE-1

COMMON_ERROR_CODE-1

Error message

ReadColumn: unsupported ORC file column type:

What it means

OrcReadStrategy.readColumn encountered an ORC ColumnVector whose TypeDescription category has no case in the readColumn switch, so it cannot be converted to a SeaTunnel value. The library throws FileConnectorException with ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT because ORC types outside the supported set (e.g. exotic or newly added ORC categories) cannot be mapped. It is a hard fail of the read, not a data-value issue.

Source

Thrown at seatunnel-connectors-v2/connector-file/connector-file-base/src/main/java/org/apache/seatunnel/connectors/seatunnel/file/source/reader/OrcReadStrategy.java:410

                    columnObj = readDecimalVal(colVec, dataType, rowNum);
                    break;
                case TIMESTAMP:
                    columnObj = readTimestampVal(colVec, colType, dataType, rowNum);
                    break;
                case STRUCT:
                    columnObj = readStructVal(colVec, colType, dataType, rowNum, charset);
                    break;
                case LIST:
                    columnObj = readListVal(colVec, colType, rowNum);
                    break;
                case MAP:
                    columnObj = readMapVal(colVec, colType, rowNum);
                    break;
                case UNION:
                    columnObj = readUnionVal(colVec, colType, rowNum, charset);
                    break;
                default:
                    throw new FileConnectorException(
                            CommonErrorCodeDeprecated.ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT,
                            "ReadColumn: unsupported ORC file column type: " + colVec.type.name());
            }
        }
        return columnObj;
    }

    private Object readLongVal(
            ColumnVector colVec,
            TypeDescription colType,
            SeaTunnelDataType<?> dataType,
            int rowNum) {
        Object colObj = null;
        if (!colVec.isNull[rowNum]) {
            LongColumnVector longVec = (LongColumnVector) colVec;
            long longVal = longVec.vector[rowNum];
            colObj = longVal;
            if (colType.getCategory() == TypeDescription.Category.INT) {

View on GitHub (pinned to cf67b549a7)

Solutions

  1. Inspect the ORC file schema (e.g. `orc-tools meta <file>` or Hive `describe`) and identify the unsupported column type name from the message.
  2. Exclude or cast the unsupported column before reading, or select only supported columns via readColumns configuration.
  3. Re-write the ORC file with supported types (e.g. convert exotic types to string/struct of primitives).
  4. If the type is common (e.g. a newer ORC category), add a case to readColumn in OrcReadStrategy and contribute upstream.

Example fix

// before (schema: col DECIMAL with unhandled variant)
read columns: ["a", "mystery_col"]

// after: restrict to supported columns
read columns: ["a"] // or CAST mystery_col to STRING when writing the ORC file
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Before reading, inspect the ORC schema and check every category
TypeDescription schema = reader.getSchema();
for (TypeDescription col : schema.getChildren()) {
    Set<Category> supported = EnumSet.of(BOOLEAN, BYTE, SHORT, INT, LONG, FLOAT, DOUBLE,
        STRING, VARCHAR, CHAR, DATE, TIMESTAMP, DECIMAL, BINARY, LIST, MAP, STRUCT, UNION);
    if (!supported.contains(col.getCategory())) {
        throw new IllegalStateException("Unsupported ORC column type: " + col.getCategory());
    }
}

Try / catch

try {
    rows = orcSource.read();
} catch (FileConnectorException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().contains("unsupported ORC file column type")) {
        // fall back to reading file metadata, exclude the offending column, reconfigure
    } else throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Reading an ORC file whose schema contains a column type not handled by readColumn's switch (anything beyond the implemented primitives, struct, map, list, union cases); called from read, readStructVal, or unionValue while processing a row.

Common situations: ORC files written by newer Hive/Spark versions using ORC categories the connector doesn't cover; schema evolution adding an unsupported column; misconfigured seaTunnel schema implying a type the ORC reader can't materialize.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of apache/seatunnel@cf67b549a7 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f7b56e80cb219ab5. Report an issue: GitHub.