EC
3238
MariaDBERRORNotableGIS / SpatialHIGH confidence

Invalid argument to spatial function

Production Risk

Low — query error; no data affected.

Why it happens
  1. 1A spatial function received an argument with an invalid value (e.g., negative buffer distance, invalid SRID).
  2. 2Argument is out of the acceptable range for the function.
How to reproduce
trigger — this will error
trigger — this will error
SELECT ST_Buffer(ST_GeomFromText('POINT(1 1)'), -5);

expected output

ERROR 3238 (HY000): Invalid argument to spatial function.

Fix 1

Use a valid non-negative buffer distance

Use a valid non-negative buffer distance
SELECT ST_Buffer(ST_GeomFromText('POINT(1 1)'), 5);

Why this works

ST_Buffer() requires a non-negative distance value.

Fix 2

Validate arguments before calling spatial functions

Validate arguments before calling spatial functions
-- Check distance, SRID, and coordinate values before passing to spatial functions.

Why this works

Pre-validation prevents runtime errors.

What not to do

✕

Sources
Official documentation ↗

MySQL 8.0 — 3238 ER_GIS_INVALID_ARGUMENT

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