INVALID_ARRAY_INDEX_IN_ELEMENT_AT error class

  • Article

SQLSTATE: 22003

The index <indexValue> is out of bounds. The array has <arraySize> elements. Use try_element_at to tolerate accessing element at invalid index and return NULL instead. If necessary set <ansiConfig> to "false" to bypass this error.

Parameters

  • indexValue: The requested index into the array.
  • arraySize: The cardinality of the array.
  • ansiConfig: The configuration setting to alter ANSI mode.

Explanation

indexValue is beyond the boundary of defined array elements for an element_at(arrayExpr, indexValue), or elt(arrayExpr, indexValue) expression.

The value must be between -arraySize and arraySize, excluding 0.

Mitigation

The mitigation for this error depends on the cause:

  • Is the cardinality of the array smaller than expected?

    Fix the input array and re-run the query.

  • Has indexValue been computed incorrectly?

    Adjust indexValue and re-run the query.

  • Do you expect to get a NULL value to be returned for elements outside the cardinality of the index?

    If you can change the expression, use try_element_at(arrayExpr, indexValue) to tolerate references out of bound.

    If you cannot change the expression, as a last resort, temporarily set the ansiConfig to false to tolerate references out of bound.

Examples

-- An INVALID_ARRAY_INDEX_IN_ELEMENT_AT error because of mismatched indexing
> SELECT element_at(array('a', 'b', 'c'), index) FROM VALUES(1), (4) AS T(index);
  [INVALID_ARRAY_INDEX_IN_ELEMENT_AT] The index 4 is out of bounds. The array has 3 elements. If necessary set "ANSI_MODE" to false to bypass this error.

-- Increase the aray size to cover the index
> SELECT element_at(array('a', 'b', 'c', 'd'), index) FROM VALUES(1), (4) AS T(index);
  a
  d

-- Adjusting the index to match the array
> SELECT element_at(array('a', 'b', 'c'), index) FROM VALUES(1), (3) AS T(index);
  a
  c

-- Tolerating out of bound array index with adjustment to 1-based indexing
> SELECT try_element_at(array('a', 'b', 'c'), index) FROM VALUES(1), (4) AS T(index);
  a
  NULL

-- Tolerating out of bound by setting ansiConfig in Databricks SQL
> SET ANSI_MODE = false;
> SELECT element_at(array('a', 'b', 'c'), index) FROM VALUES(1), (4) AS T(index);
  a
  NULL
> SET ANSI_MODE = true;

-- Tolerating out of bound by setting ansiConfig in Databricks Runtime
> SET spark.sql.ansi.enabled = false;
> SELECT element_at(array('a', 'b', 'c'), index) FROM VALUES(1), (4) AS T(index);
  a
  NULL
> SET spark.sql.ansi.enabled = true;