pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · ArgumentRequiredError

baseIdOrAlias

Error message

baseIdOrAlias

What it means

TypeMeta.isSubtypeOf(baseIdOrAlias) checks whether this type module is a subtype of the given base type. The library throws ArgumentRequiredError when called without a base argument (null/undefined), because the comparison target is meaningless without it.

Solutions

1. Ensure a non-empty base id or TypeMeta instance is computed before calling isSubtypeOf
2. Guard the call: if (baseId) { ... isSubtypeOf(baseId) }
3. Log/inspect where baseIdOrAlias comes from to find why it is null

Example fix

// before
var isSub = someType.isSubtypeOf(cfg.baseType);
// after
if (cfg.baseType == null) throw new Error('Config baseType is required');
var isSub = someType.isSubtypeOf(cfg.baseType);

if (baseIdOrAlias == null) throw new Error('isSubtypeOf requires a base type id or TypeMeta');

function isValidBase(b) { return typeof b === 'string' && b.length > 0 || b instanceof TypeMeta; }

try { return type.isSubtypeOf(baseId); } catch (e) { if (e instanceof ArgumentRequiredError) { /* fall back: treat as not subtype */ return false; } throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling typeMeta.isSubtypeOf() with no argument, or explicitly passing null/undefined as baseIdOrAlias.

Common situations: Programmatically derived base ids that resolve to null/undefined (e.g. a config lookup returning undefined) before calling isSubtypeOf; typos in variable names passing an uninitialized value.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• Must be or identify a type module.
• JdbcDriverResolver: driverId must not be null or blank
• [pentaho/messages!] Bundle path argument cannot be a single…
• [pentaho/messages!] Bundle path argument is invalid
• [pentaho/messages!] Bundle path argument is invalid

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fa00c663ae5ef5bb. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/core-ui/src/main/resources/app/pentaho/_core/module/TypeMeta.js:127

       *
       * @param {pentaho.module.InstanceMeta} instance - The instance module.
       * @private
       * @internal
       */
      __addInstance: function(instance) {
        var instances = O.getOwn(this, "__instances", null);
        if(instances === null) {
          this.__instances = instances = [];
        }

        instances.push(instance);
      },
      // endregion

      /** @inheritDoc  */
      isSubtypeOf: function(baseIdOrAlias) {
        if(!baseIdOrAlias) {
          throw new ArgumentRequiredError("baseIdOrAlias");
        }

        var baseModule = typeof baseIdOrAlias === "string"
          ? core.moduleMetaService.get(baseIdOrAlias, keyArgsAssertDefined)
          : baseIdOrAlias;

        if(!(baseModule instanceof TypeMeta)) {
          throw new ArgumentInvalidError("baseIdOrAlias", "Must be or identify a type module.");
        }

        var subModule = this;
        do {
          if(baseModule === subModule) {
            return true;
          }

          subModule = subModule.ancestor;
        } while(subModule !== null);

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