prestodb/presto · error · IllegalArgumentException

Unsupported type:

Error message

Unsupported type: 

What it means

StatisticsBuilders.createStatisticsBuilderSupplier() selects a column statistics builder supplier per OrcType. Types it cannot produce statistics for (falling to default) trigger IllegalArgumentException("Unsupported type: ..."). It is an exhaustiveness guard during column statistics construction when writing ORC files.

Source

Thrown at presto-orc/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/orc/metadata/statistics/StatisticsBuilders.java:61

            case LONG:
                return IntegerStatisticsBuilder::new;
            case FLOAT:
            case DOUBLE:
                return DoubleStatisticsBuilder::new;
            case BINARY:
                return BinaryStatisticsBuilder::new;
            case VARCHAR:
            case STRING:
                int stringStatisticsLimit = columnWriterOptions.getStringStatisticsLimit();
                return () -> new StringStatisticsBuilder(stringStatisticsLimit);
            case TIMESTAMP:
            case TIMESTAMP_MICROSECONDS:
            case LIST:
            case MAP:
            case STRUCT:
                return CountStatisticsBuilder::new;
            default:
                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unsupported type: " + orcType);
        }
    }

    public static Map<Integer, ColumnStatistics> createEmptyColumnStatistics(List<OrcType> orcTypes, int nodeIndex, ColumnWriterOptions columnWriterOptions)
    {
        requireNonNull(orcTypes, "orcTypes is null");
        checkArgument(nodeIndex >= 0, "Invalid nodeIndex value: %s", nodeIndex);

        ImmutableMap.Builder<Integer, ColumnStatistics> columnStatistics = ImmutableMap.builder();
        LinkedList<Integer> stack = new LinkedList<>();
        stack.add(nodeIndex);

        while (!stack.isEmpty()) {
            int node = stack.removeLast();
            OrcType orcType = orcTypes.get(node);
            stack.addAll(orcType.getFieldTypeIndexes());

            StatisticsBuilder statisticsBuilder = createStatisticsBuilderSupplier(orcType, columnWriterOptions).get();

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Upgrade presto-orc so the type has a statistics builder mapping
2. Cast/replace the offending column type with one that has statistics support
3. Add the missing mapping in StatisticsBuilders if maintaining a fork (use CountStatisticsBuilder::new for opaque types)

Example fix

// before
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unsupported type: " + orcType);
// after
case JSON:
case QUANTIZED_TOTAL_ORDER:
    return CountStatisticsBuilder::new; // add missing mapping

// Verify the ORC column types have statistics builders before configuring the writer
for (OrcType t : orcTypes) {
    checkArgument(SUPPORTED_STAT_TYPES.contains(t.getOrcTypeKind()), "No statistics builder for ORC type %s", t);
}

try {
    supplier = StatisticsBuilders.createStatisticsBuilderSupplier(columnWriterOptions, orcType);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().startsWith("Unsupported type:")) {
        supplier = CountStatisticsBuilder::new; // degrade to row-count-only stats
    } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a statistics builder for an OrcType whose case is missing from the switch (e.g. certain nested or newer types), invoked from statisticsBuilder during writer setup.

Common situations: Writing ORC files with column types lacking dedicated statistics support; forks adding new OrcType kinds without updating StatisticsBuilders; version skew after upgrades.

Related errors

• Unsupported type:
• Unsupported type:
• Number of values not set for orc file. Set session property
• Unexpected multiple column statistics for node %s in row gro
• Write validation failed: unexpected number of columns in %s

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d91408ce47d0c6e4. Report an issue: GitHub.