Query.ExecuteEntityQuery throws NullReferenceException, ExecuteQuery returns null

Question

I'm trying to run a very simple Query at the broker database. This example should get all pages from the broker.

ItemTypeCriteria criteria = new ItemTypeCriteria(64); // Page
Query query = new Query(criteria);
IItem[] results = query.ExecuteEntityQuery();
return results.Length;

When debugging this code, I see that the call to ExecuteEntityQuery throws a NullReferenceException!

If I just use ExecuteQuery:

ItemTypeCriteria criteria = new ItemTypeCriteria(64); // Page
Query query = new Query(criteria);
string[] results = query.ExecuteQuery();
return results.Length;

the result of ExecuteQuery itself is null.

In the same project on the same server I am successfully using a ComponentPresentationFactory so I would think my server is configured correctly.

Is there something wrong with my simple example? I would expect it to return the number of pages. I am wondering though why you don't seem to have to supply a publication id anywhere.

Based on Nickoli Roussakov's 1st remark, I've checked the logfile and it does show errors:

2014-08-11 12:42:24,641 ERROR Query - Unable to Configure for BrokerQuerying, query DAO could not be retrieved
com.tridion.broker.StorageException: No Data Access Object for Query
    at com.tridion.storage.filesystem.FSDAOFactory.getDAOForTypeMapping(FSDAOFactory.java:181) ~[cd_datalayer.jar:na]
    at com.tridion.storage.StorageManagerFactory.getOriginalDAO(StorageManagerFactory.java:500) ~[cd_datalayer.jar:na]
    at com.tridion.storage.StorageManagerFactory.getDAO(StorageManagerFactory.java:269) ~[cd_datalayer.jar:na]
    at com.tridion.storage.StorageManagerFactory.getDefaultDAO(StorageManagerFactory.java:176) ~[cd_datalayer.jar:na]
    at com.tridion.broker.querying.Query.<init>(Query.java:45) [cd_broker.jar:na]
    at com.tridion.broker.querying.Query.<init>(Query.java:59) [cd_broker.jar:na]
2014-08-11 12:42:24,657 ERROR Query - Unable to execute Broker Query, no QueryGenerator was initialized

So I guess the basic error is

com.tridion.broker.StorageException: No Data Access Object for Query

But what does it mean?

My complete class, including code that successfully renders a dynamic component presentation:

using Tridion.ContentDelivery.DynamicContent;
using Tridion.ContentDelivery.DynamicContent.Query;

namespace DFZ.Tridion.Mvc
{
    public static class TridionDynamicContent
    {
        public static int GetNumberOfComponents()
        {
            ItemTypeCriteria criteria1 = new ItemTypeCriteria(64); // Page
            Query query = new Query(criteria1);
            string[] results = query.ExecuteQuery();
            return results.Length;
        }

        public static ComponentPresentation GetComponentPresentation()
        {
            var cpf = new ComponentPresentationFactory(22);
            return cpf.GetComponentPresentation(16604, 16632);
        }
    }
}

Answer 1

If you are quering from a local machine then it could be an issue with your license file.

Common issues are:

1. The license file can't be found
2. The license file doesn't contain a broker license
3. The license file is not valid for your machine

In all cases the broker will fall back to using its built-in ItemType mappings. In other words: it will only support storing them to file system.

Best thing is to point the 'cd_storage_config.xml' to the correct location of your license file. For instance:

<License Location="/path/to/cd_licenses.xml"/>    

In case of issue 2 and/or 3 you have to contact SDL Tridion Customer Support to request a new license file.