Don't update column if update value is null

Question

I have a query like this (in a function):

UPDATE some_table SET
  column_1 = param_1,
  column_2 = param_2,
  column_3 = param_3,
  column_4 = param_4,
  column_         


        

Answer 1

Additionally, to avoid empty updates:

UPDATE some_table SET
  column_1 = COALESCE(param_1, column_1),
  column_2 = COALESCE(param_2, column_2)
  ...
WHERE id = some_id;
AND  (param_1 IS DISTINCT FROM column_1 OR
      param_2 IS DISTINCT FROM column_2 OR
      ...
     );

This assumes target columns to be defined NOT NULL. Else, see Geir's extended version.