apache/shardingsphere · error · IllegalStateException

Can not find shorthand projection segment, owner is `%s`

Error message

Can not find shorthand projection segment, owner is `%s`

What it means

EncryptProjectionTokenGenerator.getShorthandProjection locates the ShorthandProjection in the built ProjectionsContext matching the owner of a ShorthandProjectionSegment (for `t.*` or `*` expansion). If no matching projection is found, IllegalStateException is thrown with the owner name — an internal invariant break between the parsed segment and the projections context, not a user SQL syntax error.

Source

Thrown at features/encrypt/core/src/main/java/org/apache/shardingsphere/encrypt/rewrite/token/generator/projection/EncryptProjectionTokenGenerator.java:417

        encryptColumn.getLikeQuery().ifPresent(optional -> result.add(new ColumnProjection(columOwner,
                new IdentifierValue(getDerivedColumnName(columnProjection, optional.getName(), EncryptDerivedColumnSuffix.LIKE_QUERY), quoteCharacter), null, databaseType,
                leftParentheses, rightParentheses)));
        return result;
    }
    
    private ShorthandProjection getShorthandProjection(final ShorthandProjectionSegment segment, final ProjectionsContext projectionsContext) {
        Optional<String> owner = segment.getOwner().isPresent() ? Optional.of(segment.getOwner().get().getIdentifier().getValue()) : Optional.empty();
        for (Projection each : projectionsContext.getProjections()) {
            if (each instanceof ShorthandProjection) {
                if (!owner.isPresent() && !((ShorthandProjection) each).getOwner().isPresent()) {
                    return (ShorthandProjection) each;
                }
                if (owner.isPresent() && owner.get().equals(((ShorthandProjection) each).getOwner().map(IdentifierValue::getValue).orElse(null))) {
                    return (ShorthandProjection) each;
                }
            }
        }
        throw new IllegalStateException(String.format("Can not find shorthand projection segment, owner is `%s`", owner.orElse(null)));
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e952770a21)

Solutions

1. Align the shorthand owner with the actual table name or alias used elsewhere in the query (same case and quoting)
2. Prefer unqualified `*` or explicit column lists for encrypted tables if owner matching keeps failing
3. Upgrade ShardingSphere — owner-matching normalization bugs in projection rewrite are fixed over time
4. Report with the exact SQL if a minimal reproducible query triggers it on current version

Example fix

-- before
SELECT u.*, o.* FROM users usr JOIN orders o ON ...;  -- 'u' vs alias 'usr'
-- after
SELECT usr.*, o.* FROM users usr JOIN orders o ON ...;

catch (IllegalStateException e) { if (e.getMessage().contains("shorthand projection segment")) { /* retry with unqualified * or explicit columns */ } }

When it happens

Trigger: Rewriting a query containing `owner.*` where the projections context's shorthand projection owner differs — e.g. owner case/quoting mismatch ('T' vs 't', quoted vs unquoted identifier), an alias-vs-table-name mismatch, or a parser/context construction that dropped the shorthand projection.

Common situations: Queries mixing `alias.*` with table aliases; case-sensitive identifier handling across dialects; version changes in how projections contexts normalize owners; schema-qualified shorthand like `schema.t.*`.

Related errors

• Projections not in simple select, table subquery, join subqu
• Algorithm `%s` is unsupported to decrypt
• Row expression can only compare with subquery
• Can not use different encryptor for %s and %s in %s
• Failed to decrypt the ciphertext '%s' in '%s'.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/shardingsphere@e952770a21 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f674ea068bc57f61. Report an issue: GitHub.