prestodb/presto · error · IllegalArgumentException

Invalid property tpcds.use-varchar-type

Error message

Invalid property tpcds.use-varchar-type

What it means

TpcdsConnectorFactory.useVarcharType parses the connector catalog property 'tpcds.use-varchar-type' as a boolean. When the value is present but not a valid boolean string (parseBoolean throws NumberFormatException), it is rethrown as IllegalArgumentException with this message. It signals a malformed catalog configuration value rather than a runtime failure.

Source

Thrown at presto-tpcds/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/tpcds/TpcdsConnectorFactory.java:138

    }

    private int getSplitsPerNode(Map<String, String> properties)
    {
        try {
            return parseInt(firstNonNull(properties.get("tpcds.splits-per-node"), String.valueOf(defaultSplitsPerNode)));
        }
        catch (NumberFormatException e) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid property tpcds.splits-per-node");
        }
    }

    private boolean useVarcharType(Map<String, String> properties)
    {
        try {
            return parseBoolean(firstNonNull(properties.get("tpcds.use-varchar-type"), String.valueOf(false)));
        }
        catch (NumberFormatException e) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid property tpcds.use-varchar-type");
        }
    }

    private boolean isWithNoSexism(Map<String, String> properties)
    {
        return parseBoolean(firstNonNull(properties.get("tpcds.with-no-sexism"), String.valueOf(false)));
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Set tpcds.use-varchar-type to exactly 'true' or 'false' in the catalog properties file
2. Remove the property entirely (it defaults to false)
3. Check for hidden whitespace or quoting in the properties value
4. If setting properties in code, pass Boolean.toString(value)

Example fix

// before
tpcds.use-varchar-type=yes
// after
tpcds.use-varchar-type=true

String v = properties.get("tpcds.use-varchar-type");
if (v != null && !v.equalsIgnoreCase("true") && !v.equalsIgnoreCase("false")) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("tpcds.use-varchar-type must be 'true' or 'false', got: " + v);
}

boolean isValidBoolean(String v) { return v == null || v.equalsIgnoreCase("true") || v.equalsIgnoreCase("false"); }

try {
    connectorFactory.create(name, properties);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().contains("tpcds.use-varchar-type")) {
        properties.put("tpcds.use-varchar-type", "false"); // fall back to default
    } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a TPC-DS catalog whose properties map contains tpcds.use-varchar-type set to a value that parseBoolean cannot handle (e.g. 'yes', 'on', 'true ', an integer, or empty string).

Common situations: Typo in the catalog properties file (tpcds.use-varchar-type=yes instead of true); property set programmatically with a non-boolean string; environment-variable substitution leaving a bad value in tpcds.properties.

Related errors

• ARROW_INTERNAL_ERROR
• JDBC_ERROR
• Could not create hudi connector for catalog
• INVALID_SESSION_PROPERTY
• RuntimeException(e)

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a3baf3e6c988be4b. Report an issue: GitHub.