hibernate/hibernate-orm · error · IllegalArgumentException

Passed `selectionExpression` for function return cannot be n

Error message

Passed `selectionExpression` for function return cannot be null

What it means

The same invariant(component, BasicTypeReference, selectionExpression) overload also requires a non-null selectionExpression - the output column name/alias the function's row component carries in the result set. Null is rejected immediately with IllegalArgumentException at registration time. The selectionExpression makes each returned column addressable, so it cannot be defaulted silently.

Source

Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/query/sqm/produce/function/internal/SetReturningFunctionTypeResolverBuilder.java:56

	}

	@Override
	public SetReturningFunctionTypeResolverBuilder invariant(String component, BasicType<?> invariantType) {
		return invariant( component, invariantType, component );
	}

	@Override
	public SetReturningFunctionTypeResolverBuilder useArgType(String component, int argPosition) {
		return useArgType( component, argPosition, component );
	}

	@Override
	public SetReturningFunctionTypeResolver.Builder invariant(String component, BasicTypeReference<?> invariantType, String selectionExpression) {
		if ( invariantType == null ) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Passed `invariantType` for function return cannot be null" );
		}
		if ( selectionExpression == null ) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Passed `selectionExpression` for function return cannot be null" );
		}
		return withComponent( component, new BasicTypeReferenceTypeResolver( component, selectionExpression, invariantType ) );
	}

	@Override
	public SetReturningFunctionTypeResolverBuilder invariant(String component, BasicType<?> invariantType, String selectionExpression) {
		if ( invariantType == null ) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Passed `invariantType` for function return cannot be null" );
		}
		if ( selectionExpression == null ) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Passed `selectionExpression` for function return cannot be null" );
		}
		return withComponent( component, new BasicTypeTypeResolver( component, selectionExpression, invariantType ) );
	}

	@Override
	public SetReturningFunctionTypeResolverBuilder useArgType(String component, int argPosition, String selectionExpression) {
		if ( selectionExpression == null ) {

View on GitHub (pinned to fad1729dce)

Solutions

1. Pass an explicit selection expression: builder.invariant("value", StandardBasicTypes.STRING, "value").
2. Use the shorter overload invariant(component, type), which defaults selectionExpression to the component name.
3. Guard with Objects.requireNonNull(selectionExpression, ...) before the call.

Example fix

// before
builder.invariant("value", StandardBasicTypes.STRING, null);

// after
builder.invariant("value", StandardBasicTypes.STRING, "value");
// or let it default to the component name
builder.invariant("value", StandardBasicTypes.STRING);

String selection = Objects.requireNonNullElse(selectionExpression, component);
builder.invariant(component, type, selection);

try {
    builder.invariant(component, type, selection);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Incomplete set-returning function definition: " + e.getMessage(), e);
}

When it happens

Trigger: builder.invariant("value", StandardBasicTypes.STRING, null) - the third argument was omitted or never set when defining a set-returning function's row component.

Common situations: Chained builder calls where the alias argument was dropped during refactoring; assuming the 3-arg overload derives the alias from the component name (only the 2-arg overloads do that).

Related errors

• Passed `invariantType` for function return cannot be null
• Passed `component` for function return cannot be null
• Passed `invariantType` for function return cannot be null
• The specified package name cannot be null
• Named query definition is null

AI-assisted analysis of hibernate/hibernate-orm@fad1729dce (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/65dd1f9048b682b1. Report an issue: GitHub.