pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · RuntimeException

The function call dateDiff requires 3 arguments.

Error message

The function call dateDiff requires 3 arguments.

What it means

dateDiff requires exactly three arguments — the date-part unit string and two dates. With any other argument count it throws this RuntimeException rather than guessing which unit or dates the caller meant.

Solutions

1. Call with exactly three arguments: dateDiff('d', date1, date2).
2. Confirm the unit string is the first argument.
3. Check the Script step function reference for the documented signature.

Example fix

// before
var diff = dateDiff(date1, date2);
// after
var diff = dateDiff('d', date1, date2);

if (unit && d1 instanceof Date && d2 instanceof Date) { var diff = dateDiff(unit, d1, d2); }

function canDateDiff(u, a, b) { return typeof u === 'string' && a instanceof Date && b instanceof Date; }

try { var diff = dateDiff(unit, d1, d2); } catch (e) { if (/dateDiff requires 3 arguments/.test(String(e))) { diff = null; } else { throw e; } }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling dateDiff with fewer than three arguments (e.g. omitting the unit) or more than three from script code.

Common situations: Forgetting the unit argument after refactoring; passing extra arguments expecting them to be ignored; confusion with language-specific dateDiff variants with different signatures.

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

• The function call fireToDB requires 2 arguments.
• The function call floor requires 1 argument.
• The function call getDayNumber requires 2 arguments.
• The function call getEnvironmentVar requires 1 argument.
• The function call isWorkingDay requires 1 argument.

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ff793e24e53c3ff0. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/script/ScriptAddedFunctions.java:607

            return new Double( iDays / 7 );
          } else if ( strType.equals( "ss" ) ) {
            return new Double( ( ( endL - startL ) / 1000 ) );
          } else if ( strType.equals( "mi" ) ) {
            return new Double( ( ( endL - startL ) / 60000 ) );
          } else if ( strType.equals( "hh" ) ) {
            return new Double( ( ( endL - startL ) / 3600000 ) );
          } else {
            return new Double( ( ( endL - startL ) / 86400000 ) );
          }
          /*
           * End Bugfix
           */
        }
      } catch ( Exception e ) {
        throw new RuntimeException( e.toString() );
      }
    } else {
      throw new RuntimeException( "The function call dateDiff requires 3 arguments." );
    }
  }

  public static Object getNextWorkingDay( ScriptEngine actualContext, Bindings actualObject, Object[] ArgList,
    Object FunctionContext ) {
    // (Date dIn){
    if ( ArgList.length == 1 ) {
      try {
        if ( isNull( ArgList[0] ) ) {
          return null;
        } else if ( isUndefined( ArgList[0] ) ) {
          return undefinedValue;
        }
        java.util.Date dIn = (java.util.Date) ArgList[0];
        Calendar startDate = Calendar.getInstance();
        startDate.setTime( dIn );
        startDate.add( Calendar.DATE, 1 );
        while ( startDate.get( Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK ) == Calendar.SATURDAY

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)