apache/shardingsphere · error · UnsupportedSQLOperationException

Unsupported time format: [%s]

Error message

Unsupported time format: [%s]

What it means

PostgreSQLTimeValueParser.parse attempts to read a LocalTime with a flexible formatter covering HH:mm:ss / HHmmss / HH:mm / HHmm plus optional fractional seconds and offsets. If DateTimeParseException occurs, it throws UnsupportedSQLOperationException 'Unsupported time format: [value]'. It fires when a text bind parameter for a time column matches none of the accepted time patterns.

Source

Thrown at database/protocol/dialect/postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/shardingsphere/database/protocol/postgresql/packet/command/query/extended/bind/protocol/text/impl/PostgreSQLTimeValueParser.java:43

import java.time.format.DateTimeParseException;

/**
 * Time value parser of PostgreSQL.
 */
public final class PostgreSQLTimeValueParser implements PostgreSQLTextValueParser<LocalTime> {
    
    private static final DateTimeFormatter POSTGRESQL_TIME_FORMATTER = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern(
            "[HH:mm:ss][HHmmss][HH:mm][HHmm]"
                    + "[.SSSSSSSSS][.SSSSSSSS][.SSSSSSS][.SSSSSS][.SSSSS][.SSSS][.SSS][.SS][.S]"
                    + "[ ]"
                    + "[XXXXX][XXXX][XXX][XX][X]");
    
    @Override
    public LocalTime parse(final String value) {
        try {
            return POSTGRESQL_TIME_FORMATTER.parse(value, LocalTime::from);
        } catch (final DateTimeParseException ignored) {
            throw new UnsupportedSQLOperationException("Unsupported time format: [" + value + "]");
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e952770a21)

Solutions

  1. Use one of the accepted patterns: HH:mm:ss, HHmmss, HH:mm, HHmm (optionally .fractional and zone offset)
  2. Bind a java.time.LocalTime / java.sql.Time typed parameter instead of a string
  3. Pre-validate with LocalTime.parse before sending the value
  4. Normalize clock strings at the application boundary (drop AM/PM text, clamp values)

Example fix

// before
stmt.setString(1, "12:00 PM");
// after
stmt.setTime(1, java.sql.Time.valueOf("12:00:00"));
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

try { java.time.LocalTime.parse(value, java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("[HH:mm:ss][HHmmss][HH:mm][HHmm]")); return true; } catch (Exception e) { return false; }

Try / catch

catch (UnsupportedSQLOperationException e) { if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Unsupported time format")) { /* normalize and retry with a standard pattern */ } }

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Binding values like '12 noon', '25:99:00' (out-of-range), 'noon', an empty string, or a format with stray separators during extended-protocol bind for a time parameter.

Common situations: Applications binding free-text time strings, 24h+ hour values, locale-specific time text, or trailing garbage the optional-offset section cannot absorb.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of apache/shardingsphere@e952770a21 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b7b727d713103b8e. Report an issue: GitHub.