42704

At a glance

SQLSTATE 42704 is undefined_object in Class 42. 42704 is undefined_object. The selected DROP TRIGGER path names a trigger absent from a real table and reports trigger "%s" for table "%s" does not exist; a real trigger can then be created and dropped.

Meaning

42704 is undefined_object. The object kind determines the lookup and the message: fixed branches include type "%s" does not exist after type-name resolution, role "%s" does not exist when a role lookup misses, constraint "%s" for table "%s" does not exist after scanning constraints for a relation OID, and operator class "%s" does not exist for access method "%s" after resolving a qualified or search-path opclass. The selected path is narrower: get_trigger_oid scans pg_trigger for the resolved relation OID and trigger name; when DROP TRIGGER requires an object and no row matches, it raises trigger "%s" for table "%s" does not exist, then the case creates and drops a real trigger as its repair lifecycle.

Diagnosis

Classify the primary before changing anything. For the selected trigger branch, inspect the schema-qualified relation resolved by the DDL, exact trigger name (including quoted case), and migration order; a trigger can exist on another table while remaining absent from this relation because the source lookup is keyed by relation OID and name. For a type or role message, inspect the exact qualified name and the type/role catalog; for a constraint message, inspect the relation OID/name pair and migration order; for an opclass message, inspect the access method and schema/search_path used by the opclass lookup. A missing schema or unqualified relation is a different namespace/undefined-relation diagnosis, and a privilege failure is 42501. The missing-object ERROR leaves the selected autocommit session IDLE; inside an explicit BEGIN, it leaves the transaction INERROR until ROLLBACK or a suitable savepoint rollback. Distinguish it from 08003, which concerns a dblink handle, and 26000, which concerns a prepared statement name.

Response

Repair the object category named by the message: correct the qualified name or search path, apply the prerequisite migration in dependency order, or create/rename the intended type, role, constraint, or operator class under its owning migration. For the selected trigger case only, operate on the intended relation explicitly, check owner, timing/event, row-level versus statement-level definition, and function, and then drop that exact trigger when the migration requires it. If an object is intentionally optional, choose an idempotent migration policy deliberately; do not use CASCADE, an unrelated object, or a generic create-then-drop sequence as a repair. After an explicit-transaction error, roll back the transaction or a suitable savepoint before retrying.

Messages

The selected get_trigger_oid branch emits an explicit ERROR with primary trigger "%s" for table "%s" does not exist; both trigger and table names are dynamic. Other fixed undefined-object branches emit type "%s" does not exist, role "%s" does not exist, constraint "%s" for table "%s" does not exist, or operator class "%s" does not exist for access method "%s". A client exception without the server SQLSTATE and the primary for its object category is not sufficient to identify 42704.

Representative case

The page uses the same statements as the runner registry. Generated names such as syntax_schema and syntax_role are replaced by disposable runner values when executed.

CREATE TABLE syntax_schema.trigger_table (id integer);
DROP TRIGGER missing_trigger ON syntax_schema.trigger_table;
CREATE FUNCTION syntax_schema.trigger_function() RETURNS trigger LANGUAGE plpgsql AS $$ BEGIN RETURN NEW; END $$;
CREATE TRIGGER valid_trigger BEFORE INSERT ON syntax_schema.trigger_table FOR EACH ROW EXECUTE PROCEDURE syntax_schema.trigger_function();
DROP TRIGGER valid_trigger ON syntax_schema.trigger_table;
SELECT count(*) FROM pg_trigger WHERE tgrelid = 'syntax_schema.trigger_table'::regclass AND NOT tgisinternal;

The selected 18.6 run reports the structured diagnostic and passes the repair assertions; the 10.21 run passes the same case-specific checks. The downloadable case and evidence projections are 42704 case JSON and authored evidence. The runner manifest is verify/cases/42704/cases.json, and the page SQL is checked against its shared registry.

Versions

The selected natural runtime scope is PostgreSQL 18.6 and 10.21; it does not infer behavior for every intermediate release.

Related

• 42703 — undefined_column
• 26000 — related condition

Sources

• src.errcodes.18.6 — fixed errcodes.txt definition at commit 724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7; SHA-256 6e8de346643ba84aa3c9c6a73360acfc7b2dfb89162c06c08ce9bf5bcd5bbcba (source).
• src.missing-trigger.18.6 — src/backend/commands/trigger.c at REL_18_6 commit 724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7; fixed blob SHA-256 0a539af85b0de1a04779f92202e7bfc77d85ae6da1747ea32527c67f39084fbd (source).
• src.missing-trigger.10.23 — src/backend/commands/trigger.c at REL_10_23 commit 02991e79f8f58bc208f05dcc8af0c62dbe0a6ea4; fixed blob SHA-256 dac7cdcbe2df1a1bbc77daa23e808b0c81ba8891c9895f10e8b270a15316e225 (source).
• src.undefined-type.18.6 / src.undefined-type.10.23 — fixed type-name lookup branches; blob SHA-256 fe4670d2401141761096077c6495dd1b7d6a0baf33c9b903f25baee2f88ffd1e / 729d30e50cea059ccfe13491fdc5f997ff98c227795693bf166a163925beb663 (18.6 source, 10.23 source).
• src.undefined-role.18.6 / src.undefined-role.10.23 — fixed DROP ROLE lookup branches; blob SHA-256 aa8769a2577fff287301d6c82169262cca328515ae940d5a2be4b3e8c21617ed / 9fc68a5a18c4bb5388cc817d2f3f2fcdc64f2752eaa429f78f54b0b443fb59ec (18.6 source, 10.23 source).
• src.undefined-constraint.18.6 / src.undefined-constraint.10.23 — fixed relation-constraint lookup branches; blob SHA-256 0aa324acd355da955f8eb6cec17f1a0138277a8bebd2c6e999cd2a603d3bfa01 / c90dff2d1d863e6b43102d762cec6e08b6c4ba40458045b525a14b49865d8a65 (18.6 source, 10.23 source).
• src.undefined-opclass.18.6 / src.undefined-opclass.10.23 — fixed access-method/opclass lookup branches; blob SHA-256 f28ac0580c805553724dc623dd4e20f32de1a84db637e6ac3c6e3d296bd2fae5 / 85c646706908d13dc449bcffa6690d6ead8d326498051fef6b08f817347fa947 (18.6 source, 10.23 source).
• src.calls.REL_18_6 / src.calls.REL_10_23 — fixed call scans, SHA-256 9ee8a0e81d8f0825c5c1ae45583439859a26e602bdd4ce2f2a62aa278867ccbf / 00d16d3eb01b71ccf1b245c8f3102f9d0ec9f36fb02777b8dd1b99fcb263040c.