{"record":{"id":"1be6b8cca94797a8","repo":"apache/iceberg","slug":"alter-table-contains-multiple-ordering-clauses-1be6b8","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"ALTER TABLE contains multiple ordering clauses","messagePattern":"ALTER TABLE contains multiple ordering clauses","errorType":"exception","errorClass":"IcebergAnalysisException","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"spark/v4.1/spark-extensions/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/parser/extensions/IcebergSqlExtensionsAstBuilder.scala","lineNumber":261,"sourceCode":"\n    val ordering = if (orderingSpec != null && orderingSpec.order != null) {\n      toSeq(orderingSpec.order.fields).map(typedVisit[(Term, SortDirection, NullOrder)])\n    } else {\n      Seq.empty\n    }\n\n    SetWriteDistributionAndOrdering(tableName, distributionMode, ordering)\n  }\n\n  private def toDistributionAndOrderingSpec(\n      writeSpec: WriteSpecContext): (WriteDistributionSpecContext, WriteOrderingSpecContext) = {\n\n    if (writeSpec.writeDistributionSpec.size > 1) {\n      throw new IcebergAnalysisException(\"ALTER TABLE contains multiple distribution clauses\")\n    }\n\n    if (writeSpec.writeOrderingSpec.size > 1) {\n      throw new IcebergAnalysisException(\"ALTER TABLE contains multiple ordering clauses\")\n    }\n\n    val distributionSpec = toBuffer(writeSpec.writeDistributionSpec).headOption.orNull\n    val orderingSpec = toBuffer(writeSpec.writeOrderingSpec).headOption.orNull\n\n    (distributionSpec, orderingSpec)\n  }\n\n  /**\n   * Create an order field.\n   */\n  override def visitOrderField(ctx: OrderFieldContext): (Term, SortDirection, NullOrder) = {\n    val term = Spark3Util.toIcebergTerm(typedVisit[Transform](ctx.transform))\n    val direction = Option(ctx.ASC)\n      .map(_ => SortDirection.ASC)\n      .orElse(Option(ctx.DESC).map(_ => SortDirection.DESC))\n      .getOrElse(SortDirection.ASC)\n    val nullOrder = Option(ctx.FIRST)","sourceCodeStart":243,"sourceCodeEnd":279,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/apache/iceberg/blob/86d9c8fc543e7c56c9f624eb725f76c9baff9570/spark/v4.1/spark-extensions/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/parser/extensions/IcebergSqlExtensionsAstBuilder.scala#L243-L279","documentation":"Symmetric to the distribution check, the AstBuilder rejects a WRITE spec containing more than one ordering clause. At most one ORDERED BY / LOCALLY ORDERED BY clause is allowed per ALTER TABLE ... WRITE statement.","triggerScenarios":"Running `ALTER TABLE t WRITE ORDERED BY a ORDERED BY b` or mixing ORDERED BY with LOCALLY ORDERED BY twice in one statement.","commonSituations":"Programmatically generated SQL appending multiple ordering directives, copy-paste of two ALTER statements merged into one, or attempting to express multi-key ordering with repeated clauses instead of a comma-separated column list.","solutions":["Use a single ORDERED BY with multiple columns: `ORDERED BY a, b`.","Remove the duplicated ordering clause and keep one.","Choose either global ORDERED BY or LOCALLY ORDERED BY, not both/repeated."],"exampleFix":"-- before\nALTER TABLE t WRITE ORDERED BY a ORDERED BY b\n-- after\nALTER TABLE t WRITE ORDERED BY a, b","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// keep ordering as one list rendered into a single clause\nrequire(orderingDirectives.size <= 1, \"at most one ORDERED BY / LOCALLY ORDERED BY clause\")","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":null,"preventionTips":["Express multi-key ordering as ORDERED BY a, b, not repeated clauses.","Choose exactly one of ORDERED BY or LOCALLY ORDERED BY.","Dedupe ordering directives in SQL builders."],"tags":["spark-sql","alter-table","duplicate-clause"],"backgroundTag":"conflicting-config-options","analyzedSha":"86d9c8fc543e7c56c9f624eb725f76c9baff9570","analyzedAt":"2026-09-12T00:46:39.097Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-12T00:46:39.097Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-23T08:17:48.524Z"}