How to structure IF condition in MySQL trigger?

Question

I am trying to write a MySQL trigger. I have two tables like this:

Table A------------------------------Table B

order_id--------sku---------------order_id----order_#----sku_copy

    568---------AAA---------------568---------2345
    567---------BBB---------------567---------6789-------empty column
    566---------CCC---------------566---------1234

When a customer makes a purchase a new record is added to each table. I have added column ‘sku_copy’ to Table B, so it does not get populated when a new record is created.

When a new record is created, I want my trigger to copy the ‘sku’ field in Table A to the ‘sku_copy’ field in Table B. However, the problem I am having is how to structure the following condition in the trigger.

IF: ‘order_id’ in Table A matches ‘order_id’ in Table B. THEN: copy ‘sku’ from that Table A record to the record in Table B with the matching ‘order_id’. The data should be added to Table B ‘sku_copy'.

I am using the following SQL trigger but it gives this error when it's run:

"#1363 - There is no OLD row in on INSERT trigger"

Here is the trigger:

DELIMITER $$
CREATE TRIGGER trigger_name
    AFTER INSERT ON tableA
    FOR EACH ROW BEGIN

    INSERT INTO tableB
    SET sku_copy = OLD.sku,
         order_id = OLD.order_id,
        order = OLD.order;
END $$
DELIMITER ;

Can some one show me how to correct the error in this code or suggest a better one?

Thank you for any help you can give.

Here is an update:

I tried this trigger (this is the live data instead of simplified as in the above examples) but get an error code:

"#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'WHERE virtuemart_order_id=new.virtuemart_order_id; END IF; END' at line 7"

Here is that trigger:

DELIMITER $$
CREATE TRIGGER `sku_after_update` AFTER UPDATE ON `uau3h_virtuemart_order_items` 
  FOR EACH ROW
  BEGIN
    IF (old.order_item_sku_copy != new.order_item_sku)
    THEN
    UPDATE uau3h_virtuemart_orders
        SET order_item_sku_copy=new.order_item_sku,                      
    WHERE virtuemart_order_id=new.virtuemart_order_id;
    END IF;
  END$$
DELIMITER ;

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make this trigger work?

Answer 1

I assume you will value TableB first as it contains the order_no. In that case you need to use an update statement in your trigger instead of an insert statement:

SQL Fiddle

MySQL 5.6.6 m9 Schema Setup:

CREATE TABLE TableA(order_id INT, sku VARCHAR(10));

CREATE TABLE TableB(order_id INT, order_no VARCHAR(10),sku_copy VARCHAR(10));

GO
CREATE TRIGGER trigger_name
    AFTER INSERT ON TableA
    FOR EACH ROW BEGIN

    UPDATE TableB
    SET sku_copy = NEW.sku
    WHERE order_id = NEW.order_id;
END;
GO
INSERT INTO TableB(order_id, order_no)VALUES(1,'111');
INSERT INTO TableB(order_id, order_no)VALUES(2,'222');
INSERT INTO TableB(order_id, order_no)VALUES(3,'333');
GO
INSERT INTO TableA(order_id, sku)VALUES(1,'AAA'),(2,'BBB');

(The GO in this example is used as a batch separator and not send to MySQL.)

Query 1:

SELECT * FROM TableB;

Results:

| ORDER_ID | ORDER_NO | SKU_COPY |
----------------------------------
|        1 |      111 |      AAA |
|        2 |      222 |      BBB |
|        3 |      333 |   (null) |

If you also want to react to updates, just create an AFTER UPDATE trigger like this:

SQL Fiddle

MySQL 5.6.6 m9 Schema Setup:

CREATE TABLE TableA(order_id INT, sku VARCHAR(10));

CREATE TABLE TableB(order_id INT, order_no VARCHAR(10),sku_copy VARCHAR(10));

GO
CREATE TRIGGER TableA_AfterInsert
    AFTER INSERT ON TableA
    FOR EACH ROW BEGIN

    UPDATE TableB
    SET sku_copy = NEW.sku
    WHERE order_id = NEW.order_id;
END;
GO
INSERT INTO TableB(order_id, order_no)VALUES(1,'111');
INSERT INTO TableB(order_id, order_no)VALUES(2,'222');
INSERT INTO TableB(order_id, order_no)VALUES(3,'333');
GO
INSERT INTO TableA(order_id, sku)VALUES(1,'AAA'),(2,'BBB');
GO
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
GO
CREATE TRIGGER TableA_AfterUpdate
    AFTER UPDATE ON TableA
    FOR EACH ROW BEGIN

    IF (OLD.sku != NEW.sku)
    THEN
      UPDATE TableB
      SET sku_copy = NEW.sku
      WHERE order_id = NEW.order_id;
    END IF;
END;
GO
UPDATE TableA
  SET sku = 'NEW'
WHERE order_id = 2;
GO

Query 1:

SELECT * FROM TableB;

Results:

| ORDER_ID | ORDER_NO | SKU_COPY |
----------------------------------
|        1 |      111 |      AAA |
|        2 |      222 |      NEW |
|        3 |      333 |   (null) |

In both cases the NEW and OLD virtual tables refer to the table the trigger is defined on. NEW contains the new version of the row that was inserted or changed. OLD contains the pre-change version of the row. OLD is only defined in an update trigger as there is no old version on an insert.