*/
public static ByteBuffer parse(String val, ColumnSchema schema) throws ParseException {
checkNotNull(val, "Should not be parsing null. Something went terribly wrong.");
checkNotNull(schema, "Column metadata is null.");
ColumnType type = schema.getType();
if (val.length() == 0 && type != ColumnType.STRING
&& type != ColumnType.BINARY) {
if (schema.getIsNullable()) {
return null;