prestodb/presto · error · SQLFeatureNotSupportedException

updateNull

Error message

updateNull

What it means

PrestoResultSet.updateNull(columnIndex) is an unimplemented stub. The Presto JDBC driver does not support updatable result sets; every updateXxx method throws SQLFeatureNotSupportedException with its own name as the message. Updates must be expressed as SQL statements rather than in-place row edits.

Source

Thrown at presto-jdbc/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/jdbc/PrestoResultSet.java:774

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

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

    @Override
    public void updateNull(int columnIndex)
            throws SQLException
    {
        throw new SQLFeatureNotSupportedException("updateNull");
    }

    @Override
    public void updateBoolean(int columnIndex, boolean x)
            throws SQLException
    {
        throw new SQLFeatureNotSupportedException("updateBoolean");
    }

    @Override
    public void updateByte(int columnIndex, byte x)
            throws SQLException
    {
        throw new SQLFeatureNotSupportedException("updateByte");
    }

    @Override
    public void updateShort(int columnIndex, short x)

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Issue an explicit UPDATE SQL statement via Statement/PreparedStatement instead of using ResultSet update methods
2. Refactor to fetch keys, compute new values, and run an UPDATE ... WHERE key = ? statement
3. Create the statement with CONCUR_READ_ONLY so misuse fails at statement creation time rather than mid-iteration
4. In generic code, catch SQLFeatureNotSupportedException and route to a SQL-update path

Example fix

// before
rs.updateNull("notes");
rs.updateRow();
// after
try (PreparedStatement ps = conn.prepareStatement("UPDATE t SET notes = NULL WHERE id = ?")) {
    ps.setLong(1, id);
    ps.executeUpdate();
}

DatabaseMetaData md = conn.getMetaData();
if (!md.supportsResultSetConcurrency(ResultSet.TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY, ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE)) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Driver does not support updatable result sets; use SQL UPDATE");
}

boolean isUpdatable(ResultSet rs) throws SQLException {
    return rs.getConcurrency() == ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE;
}

try {
    rs.updateNull(columnIndex);
} catch (SQLFeatureNotSupportedException e) {
    // fall back to: UPDATE t SET col = NULL WHERE key = ?
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling rs.updateNull(i) on a ResultSet, typically as part of building an in-place row update before rs.updateRow() or insertRow().

Common situations: Code written for fully updatable result sets in classic RDBMSs, then run against Presto; ORMs that fall back to positioned updates when they cannot generate SQL updates.

Related errors

• updateBoolean
• updateByte
• updateShort
• updateInt
• updateLong

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3a8565736c1756f1. Report an issue: GitHub.