syntax Error in PostgreSQL when I try to create Trigger - sql

Question

I want to create trigger in PostgreSQL.
Logic is very simple.
I need trigger, if published_at updated and written_at is null, set published_at to written_at.
I wrote this one, but it failed. Does anybody have an idea?
CREATE function setWrittenAt() RETURNS trigger;
AS
DECLARE old_id INTEGER;
BEGIN ;
old_id = OLD.id
IF NEW.published_at IS NOT and NEW.written_at IS null
THEN
UPDATE review SET NEW.written_at = NEW.published_at where id = old_id;
END IF ;
RETURN NEW;
END;
LANGUAGE plpgsql;
CREATE TRIGGER update_written_at
AFTER UPDATE OF published_at ON review
WHEN (OLD.published_at IS DISTINCT FROM NEW.published_at)
EXECUTE PROCEDURE setWrittenAt();
Error:
Syntax error: 7 ERROR: syntax error at or near "DECLARE"
LINE 3: DECLARE old_id INTEGER;

Answer 1

There are multiple errors in your code:
IS NOT is not a valid expression you need IS NOT NULL.
After BEGIN and the returns clause there must be no ;
you forgot to enclose the function body as a string (which is easier to write if you use dollar quoting
you also don't need an unnecessary (additional) UPDATE if you make it a before trigger
CREATE function setwrittenat()
RETURNS trigger
AS
$$
BEGIN
IF NEW.published_at IS NOT NULL and NEW.written_at IS null THEN
NEW.written_at := = NEW.published_at; --<< simply assign the value
END IF;
RETURN NEW;
END;
$$
LANGUAGE plpgsql;
Then use a BEFORE trigger:
CREATE TRIGGER update_written_at
BEFORE UPDATE OF published_at ON review
WHEN (OLD.published_at IS DISTINCT FROM NEW.published_at)
FOR EACH ROW
EXECUTE PROCEDURE setWrittenAt();

Answer 2

this is based on a_horse_with_no_names answer, since it'll throw an error.
ERROR: statement trigger's WHEN condition cannot reference column values
You need to add FOR EACH ROW, else conditional triggers will not function.
If neither is specified, FOR EACH STATEMENT is the default.
Statement-level triggers can also have WHEN conditions, although the feature is not so useful for them since the condition cannot refer to any values in the table.
See here
CREATE TRIGGER update_written_at
BEFORE UPDATE OF published_at ON review
FOR EACH ROW
WHEN (OLD.published_at IS DISTINCT FROM NEW.published_at)
EXECUTE PROCEDURE setWrittenAt();
I can not comment yet, which is why I've posted this as an answer.