pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · JavaScriptException

The function call quarter requires 1 argument.

Error message

The function call quarter requires 1 argument.

What it means

Argument-count guard in ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.quarter, which maps a Date's month to its calendar quarter (1-4). It fires when the script calls quarter with an argument count other than exactly 1; Rhino raises a runtime error before any date computation. Fix by passing exactly one Date argument, e.g. quarter(orderDate).

Solutions

1. Call quarter() with exactly one Date argument.
2. Use str2Date() to convert string dates first.
3. Null-check the date field before the call.
4. Verify the incoming field is a Date type, not a string.

Example fix

// before
var q = quarter('2024-05-01');
// after
var q = quarter(str2Date('2024-05-01', 'yyyy-MM-dd'));

if (myDateField == null) throw 'quarter: date is null';
var q = quarter(myDateField);

function isDate(v) { return v != null && v.getClass && String(v.getClass()) === 'class java.util.Date'; }

try { var q = quarter(myDateField); } catch (e) { var q = null; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling quarter() with zero or multiple arguments in a modified JavaScript step, or passing a non-Date value that fails the internal month extraction.

Common situations: Omitting the date argument when adapting SQL-style scripts, passing a string date, or null fields arriving from upstream steps.

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 month requires 1 argument.
• The function call week requires 1 argument.
• The function call year requires 1 argument.
• Error in isEmpty function:
• Script.Log.CouldNotAddDefaultConstants

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6fbcf42432ff3b2a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:925

          return Context.getUndefinedValue();
        }
        java.util.Date dArg1 = (java.util.Date) Context.jsToJava( ArgList[0], java.util.Date.class );
        Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
        cal.setTime( dArg1 );

        // Patch by Ingo Klose: calendar months start at 0 in java.
        int iMonth = cal.get( Calendar.MONTH );
        if ( iMonth <= 2 ) {
          return new Double( 1 );
        } else if ( iMonth <= 5 ) {
          return new Double( 2 );
        } else if ( iMonth <= 8 ) {
          return new Double( 3 );
        } else {
          return new Double( 4 );
        }
      } else {
        throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "The function call quarter requires 1 argument." );
      }
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw Context.reportRuntimeError( e.toString() );
    }
  }

  public static Object week( Context actualContext, Scriptable actualObject, Object[] ArgList,
    Function FunctionContext ) {
    try {
      if ( ArgList.length == 1 ) {
        if ( isNull( ArgList[0] ) ) {
          return new Double( Double.NaN );
        } else if ( isUndefined( ArgList[0] ) ) {
          return Context.getUndefinedValue();
        }
        java.util.Date dArg1 = (java.util.Date) Context.jsToJava( ArgList[0], java.util.Date.class );
        Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
        cal.setTime( dArg1 );

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