pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleValueException

Function NUM2DAT only works on a number

Error message

Function NUM2DAT only works on a number

What it means

Guard in the legacy Value num2dat() function: the value is non-null and not numeric (isNumeric() false), so it cannot be interpreted as an epoch millisecond value for Date construction. The input at fault is the current Value of a non-numeric type.

Solutions

1. Ensure the field passed to NUM2DAT is an Integer/Number/BigNumber holding epoch milliseconds
2. Convert or parse the value to a numeric type before calling NUM2DAT

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/compatibility/Value.java:3135 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b9759df04fb2a565. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/compatibility/Value.java:3135

        }
      } else {
        throw new KettleValueException( "Function DAT2STR only works on a date" );
      }
    }

    return this;
  }

  // implement the TO_DATE function, arguments in args[]
  public Value num2dat() throws KettleValueException {
    if ( isNull() ) {
      setType( VALUE_TYPE_DATE );
    } else {
      if ( isNumeric() ) {
        setValue( new Date( getInteger() ) );
        setLength( -1, -1 );
      } else {
        throw new KettleValueException( "Function NUM2DAT only works on a number" );
      }
    }
    return this;
  }

  public Value str2dat( String arg0 ) throws KettleValueException {
    return str2dat( arg0, null );
  }

  public Value str2dat( String arg0, String arg1 ) throws KettleValueException {
    if ( isNull() ) {
      setType( VALUE_TYPE_DATE );
    } else {
      // System.out.println("Convert string ["+string+"] to date using pattern '"+arg0+"'");

      SimpleDateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat();

      DateFormatSymbols dfs = new DateFormatSymbols();

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