pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · RhinoRuntimeError

The function call substr requires 2 or 3 arguments.

Error message

The function call substr requires 2 or 3 arguments.

What it means

Argument-count guard in ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.substr, which extracts a substring JavaScript-style (start index, optional length; negative lengths clamped to 0 and out-of-range ends clamped to string length). It fires when the script calls substr with fewer than 2 or more than 3 arguments; Rhino raises a runtime error. Fix by calling substr with a string plus a start index, optionally a length, e.g. substr(s, 0, 5).

Solutions

1. Call substr(string, start) or substr(string, start, length)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:1703 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/31639206a82914d4. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:1703

        if ( from < 0 ) {
          throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "start smaller than 0" );
        }
        if ( len < 0 ) {
          len = 0; // Make it compatible with Javascript substr
        }

        to = from + len;
        strLen = sRC.length();
        if ( to > strLen ) {
          to = strLen;
        }
        sRC = sRC.substring( from, to );
      } catch ( Exception e ) {
        throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "The function call substr is not valid : " + e.getMessage() );
      }
    } else {
      throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "The function call substr requires 2 or 3 arguments." );
    }
    return sRC;
  }

  // Resolve an IP address
  public static String resolveIP( Context actualContext, Scriptable actualObject, Object[] ArgList,
    Function FunctionContext ) {
    String sRC;
    if ( ArgList.length == 2 ) {
      try {
        InetAddress address = InetAddress.getByName( Context.toString( ArgList[0] ) );
        if ( Context.toString( ArgList[1] ).equals( "IP" ) ) {
          sRC = address.getHostName();
        } else {
          sRC = address.getHostAddress();
        }
        if ( sRC.equals( Context.toString( ArgList[0] ) ) ) {
          sRC = "-";

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