pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · RhinoRuntimeError

The function call str2num requires at least 1 argument.

Error message

The function call str2num requires at least 1 argument.

What it means

The str2num JavaScript function parses a string into a numeric value using DecimalFormat. It requires at least one argument; a zero-argument call throws this Rhino runtime error immediately from the switch's case 0.

Solutions

1. Pass the string to parse as the first argument: str2num(myStringField).
2. Verify the call site — the argument must be a string parseable by the default DecimalFormat.
3. If the value may be missing, guard the call site before invoking str2num.

Example fix

// before
var n = str2num();

// after
var n = str2num(amountText);

function safeStr2num(s) {
  if (s === null || s === undefined || s === '') return NaN;
  return str2num(s);
}

function isStringArg(v) { return typeof v === 'string'; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling str2num() with no arguments in a Modified Java Script Value step: e.g. `var n = str2num();`.

Common situations: Dropped argument during copy-paste; assuming str2num parses a field implicitly like some spreadsheet functions; variable name typo leaving an empty call; refactoring that removed the argument but kept the call.

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

• Could not convert the given String :
• The function call dateAdd requires 3 arguments.
• The function call dateDiff requires 3 arguments.
• The function call fillString requires 2 arguments.
• The function call fireToDB requires 2 arguments.

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/59a90431b0caccc5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:1405

          }
        } catch ( Exception e ) {
          throw Context.reportRuntimeError( e.toString() );
        }
        break;
      default:
        throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "The function call num2str requires 1, 2, or 3 arguments." );
    }

    return sRC;
  }

  // Converts the given String to a JScript Numeric
  public static Object str2num( Context actualContext, Scriptable actualObject, Object[] ArgList,
    Function FunctionContext ) {
    double dRC = 0.00;
    switch ( ArgList.length ) {
      case 0:
        throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "The function call str2num requires at least 1 argument." );
      case 1:
        try {
          if ( isNull( ArgList[0] ) ) {
            return new Double( Double.NaN );
          } else if ( isUndefined( ArgList[0] ) ) {
            return Context.getUndefinedValue();
          }
          if ( ArgList[0].equals( null ) ) {
            return null;
          }
          String sArg1 = Context.toString( ArgList[0] );
          DecimalFormat formatter = new DecimalFormat();
          dRC = ( formatter.parse( Const.ltrim( sArg1 ) ) ).doubleValue();
        } catch ( Exception e ) {
          throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "Could not convert the given String : " + e.getMessage() );
        }
        break;
      case 2:

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