[DERBY-6707] Inadequate error messages for configuration errors in Derby

• Type: Bug
• Status: Open
• Priority: Major
• Resolution: Unresolved
• Affects Version/s: 10.10.2.0
• Component/s: Miscellaneous
• Labels: configuration invald
• Environment: All
• Urgency: Normal
• Issue & fix info: Repro attached
• Assignee: Unassigned
• Reporter: Sai Zhang
• Created: 14/Aug/14 22:11
• Updated: 15/Oct/15 15:57

Description

Dear developers,

Derby's error message for misconfiguration should be improved. Sometimes, the dumped error messages is very unclear, and costs users extra time to figure out a simple problem.

Here is a reproducible example

1. specify a wrong value for derby.stream.error.method option, and put the following line in the derby.properties file

derby.stream.error.method=hello (obvious it is wrong)

2.
connect to a derby db, and issue a selection query

3.
derby simply dumped the following error message, which is hard to be connected to the misconfigured option

ij> CONNECT 'jdbc:derby:firstdb';
JAVA ERROR: java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError
ij> select * from COUNTRIES;
IJ ERROR: Unable to establish connection
ij> Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: Could not initialize class org.apache.derby.jdbc.EmbeddedDriver
at org.apache.derby.jdbc.AutoloadedDriver.getDriverModule(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.derby.jdbc.AutoloadedDriver.connect(Unknown Source)
at java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(DriverManager.java:579)
at java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(DriverManager.java:243)
at org.apache.derby.impl.tools.ij.utilMain.cleanupGo(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.derby.impl.tools.ij.utilMain.go(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.derby.impl.tools.ij.Main.go(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.derby.impl.tools.ij.Main.mainCore(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.derby.impl.tools.ij.Main.main(Unknown Source)

I would sugget to fix this problem by checking invalid configuration option names, and improve error message (at least the error message should pinpoint the likely misconfigured options).

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

-Sai