elastic/elasticsearch · error · ParseException

expected , or ) but found: {}

Error message

expected , or ) but found: {}

What it means

Thrown by WellKnownText.nextCloserOrComma when the token is neither ',' nor ')'. This helper is used to iterate over a list of sub-elements (vertices, rings, or collection members): it accepts a comma to continue the list or ')' to terminate it.

Source

Thrown at libs/geo/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/geometry/utils/WellKnownText.java:780

        if (nextWord(stream).equals(COMMA)) {
            return COMMA;
        }
        throw new ParseException("expected " + COMMA + " but found: " + tokenString(stream), stream.lineno());
    }

    static String nextOpener(StreamTokenizer stream) throws IOException, ParseException {
        if (nextWord(stream).equals(LPAREN)) {
            return LPAREN;
        }
        throw new ParseException("expected " + LPAREN + " but found: " + tokenString(stream), stream.lineno());
    }

    static String nextCloserOrComma(StreamTokenizer stream) throws IOException, ParseException {
        String token = nextWord(stream);
        if (token.equals(COMMA) || token.equals(RPAREN)) {
            return token;
        }
        throw new ParseException("expected " + COMMA + " or " + RPAREN + " but found: " + tokenString(stream), stream.lineno());
    }

    private static String getWKTName(Geometry geometry) {
        return geometry.visit(new GeometryVisitor<String, RuntimeException>() {
            @Override
            public String visit(Circle circle) {
                return "CIRCLE";
            }

            @Override
            public String visit(GeometryCollection<?> collection) {
                return "GEOMETRYCOLLECTION";
            }

            @Override
            public String visit(Line line) {
                return "LINESTRING";
            }

View on GitHub (pinned to db6a809a66)

Solutions

1. Inspect the token at stream.lineno() and ensure the position holds either ',' (continue list) or ')' (end list).
2. Remove stray characters and confirm the list grammar is well-formed.
3. If iterating a collection, ensure each member is a complete geometry followed by , or ).

Example fix

// before: stray 'x' after a vertex where , or ) expected
Geometry g = WellKnownText.fromWKT("LINESTRING (0 0, 1 1 x)");

// after: proper separator or closer
Geometry g = WellKnownText.fromWKT("LINESTRING (0 0, 1 1)");
// or continue the list
Geometry g = WellKnownText.fromWKT("LINESTRING (0 0, 1 1, 2 2)");

try {
    Geometry g = WellKnownText.fromWKT(wkt);
} catch (java.text.ParseException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().contains("expected , or )")) {
        // stray token in a coordinate/element list
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: After reading an element in a list, the parser expects either a comma (more elements) or a closing paren (end of list). If it finds anything else (a keyword, EOF, a number, a stray symbol), it throws. Example: "LINESTRING (0 0, 1 1 x)" where 'x' appears where , or ) is expected.

Common situations: Stray characters in coordinate lists; truncated WKT mid-list; a tokenizer desynchronized by a prior malformed token; non-WKT content embedded in the string.

Related errors

• When specifying 'Z' or 'M', coordinates must include three v
• maximum nested depth of 1000 exceeded
• coordinate dimensions do not match: {}
• expected word but found: {}
• invalid number found: {}

AI-assisted analysis of elastic/elasticsearch@db6a809a66 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b240439f46c58ac9. Report an issue: GitHub.