pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · JavaScriptException
Locale is not 2 characters long.
Error message
Locale {sArg3} is not 2 characters long. What it means
Locale validation in the 3-argument branch of str2date: the third argument (locale code) is not exactly two characters, so EnvUtil.createLocale cannot build a Locale for it. This guard fires before the formatter is constructed.
Solutions
- Pass an ISO 639 two-letter language code such as "en", "de", or "fr" as the third argument
- Drop the locale argument to fall back to the default locale
Defensive patterns
Strategy: validation
When it happens
Trigger: Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:1074 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/3ddc3c4ecef6ce72.
Report an issue: GitHub.
Appendix: source
Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:1074
}
break;
case 3:
try {
if ( isNull( ArgList, new int[] { 0, 1, 2 } ) ) {
return null;
} else if ( isUndefined( ArgList, new int[] { 0, 1, 2 } ) ) {
return Context.getUndefinedValue();
}
sArg1 = Context.toString( ArgList[0] );
Format dfFormatter;
sArg2 = Context.toString( ArgList[1] );
sArg3 = Context.toString( ArgList[2] );
if ( sArg3.length() == 2 ) {
Locale dfLocale = EnvUtil.createLocale( sArg3 );
dfFormatter = new SimpleDateFormat( sArg2, dfLocale );
oRC = dfFormatter.parseObject( sArg1 );
} else {
throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "Locale " + sArg3 + " is not 2 characters long." );
}
} catch ( Exception e ) {
throw Context
.reportRuntimeError( "Could not apply the local format for locale "
+ sArg3 + " with the given format " + sArg2 + " on the string for " + sArg1 + " : "
+ e.getMessage() );
}
break;
case 4:
try {
if ( isNull( ArgList, new int[] { 0, 1, 2, 3 } ) ) {
return null;
} else if ( isUndefined( ArgList, new int[] { 0, 1, 2, 3 } ) ) {
return Context.getUndefinedValue();
}
sArg1 = Context.toString( ArgList[0] );
DateFormat dfFormatter;
sArg2 = Context.toString( ArgList[1] );View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)