prestodb/presto · error · SQLFeatureNotSupportedException

previous

Error message

previous

What it means

previous() in PrestoResultSet always throws SQLFeatureNotSupportedException: result sets are TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY, so backward cursor movement through the rows is impossible and the method is unimplemented.

Source

Thrown at presto-jdbc/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/jdbc/PrestoResultSet.java:692

    @Override
    public boolean absolute(int row)
            throws SQLException
    {
        throw new SQLFeatureNotSupportedException("absolute");
    }

    @Override
    public boolean relative(int rows)
            throws SQLException
    {
        throw new SQLFeatureNotSupportedException("relative");
    }

    @Override
    public boolean previous()
            throws SQLException
    {
        throw new SQLFeatureNotSupportedException("previous");
    }

    @Override
    public void setFetchDirection(int direction)
            throws SQLException
    {
        checkOpen();
        if (direction != FETCH_FORWARD) {
            throw new SQLException("Fetch direction must be FETCH_FORWARD");
        }
    }

    @Override
    public int getFetchDirection()
            throws SQLException
    {
        checkOpen();
        return FETCH_FORWARD;

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Restructure logic to a single forward pass, buffering any rows you may need again
2. Re-execute the query to restart iteration
3. Collect rows into a ListIterator-backed in-memory structure for bidirectional traversal

Example fix

// before
rs.next(); rs.next(); rs.previous(); // step back
// after
List<Row> rows = new ArrayList<>();
while (rs.next()) { rows.add(readRow(rs)); }
ListIterator<Row> it = rows.listIterator();

DatabaseMetaData md = conn.getMetaData();
if (!md.supportsResultSetType(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE)) { /* no backward iteration */ }

try { rs.previous(); } catch (SQLFeatureNotSupportedException e) { /* buffer rows or re-execute */ }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ResultSet.previous() on a PrestoResultSet after advancing with next().

Common situations: Iterators that occasionally step backward, or code written against scrollable result sets on other databases reused with Presto.

Related errors

• afterLast
• first
• last
• getRow
• absolute

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/506328ca889a6c8e. Report an issue: GitHub.