KB-1076 "Unable to convert to expected Date/Time Java types... java.lang.NullPointerException" error shown in application server log

Symptoms

When using the Query Database Smart Service to retrieve data from date or time type columns in the database, if the column contains null values the process will complete successfully but the following error appears in the application server log:

[Appian Work Item - 632409 - ProcessExec02 : UnattendedJavaActivityRequest] ERROR com.appiancorp.process.runtime.activities.QueryRdbmsActivity - Unable to convert to expected Date/Time Java types
java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.appiancorp.process.runtime.activities.QueryRdbmsActivity.toExpectedDateTimeType(QueryRdbmsActivity.java:559)

Cause

This exception is thrown because null values cannot be converted to date or time types in Java.

Action

Correct the data in the database if that field should not be null. Alternatively, add logic to the process that will avoid trying to pull null data into Appian. If neither of those suggestions are possible, then this error can be safely disregarded. 

Affected Versions

This article applies to all versions of Appian.