[Java] Introduce BaseWriter.writeNull method
- Dominant language
- Java
- Stars
- 94
- Forks
- 152
- Avg merge
- 3d 16h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 11
Description
When a data set has null values in complex data type, it's hard to call proper writeNull method. Because writeNull is declared in AbstractFieldWriter, which is package local, not public. Moreover, UnionListWriter has no implementation of writeNull method, so it falls into AbstractFieldWriter.writeNull, which throws an IllegalArgumentException by default. So BaseWriter.writeNull is required to write null values inside of complex data types.
**Reporter**: [Teddy Choi](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/ARROW-2538) / @pudidic
#### PRs and other links:
- [GitHub Pull Request apache/arrow#1994](https://github.com/apache/arrow/pull/1994)
**Note**: *This issue was originally created as [ARROW-2538](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/ARROW-2538). Please see the [migration documentation](https://github.com/apache/arrow/issues/14542) for further details.*
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start with the BaseWriter, AbstractFieldWriter, and UnionListWriter entry points named in the issue, then review the linked pull request for the prior implementation. Done means null values in complex data types can use the public BaseWriter.writeNull API without falling through to the default IllegalArgumentException.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- java
- Domain
- backend-api-design
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100