DROP TABLE

Section: SQL Commands (7)
Updated: 2012-08-14
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NAME

DROP TABLE - remove a table

 

SYNOPSIS

DROP TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] name [, ...] [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

 

DESCRIPTION

DROP TABLE removes tables from the database. Only its owner can drop a table. To empty a table of rows without destroying the table, use DELETE [delete(7)] or TRUNCATE [truncate(7)].

DROP TABLE always removes any indexes, rules, triggers, and constraints that exist for the target table. However, to drop a table that is referenced by a view or a foreign-key constraint of another table, CASCADE must be specified. (CASCADE will remove a dependent view entirely, but in the foreign-key case it will only remove the foreign-key constraint, not the other table entirely.)  

PARAMETERS

IF EXISTS
Do not throw an error if the table does not exist. A notice is issued in this case.
name
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to drop.
CASCADE
Automatically drop objects that depend on the table (such as views).
RESTRICT
Refuse to drop the table if any objects depend on it. This is the default.
 

EXAMPLES

To destroy two tables, films and distributors:

DROP TABLE films, distributors;

 

COMPATIBILITY

This command conforms to the SQL standard, except that the standard only allows one table to be dropped per command, and apart from the IF EXISTS option, which is a PostgreSQL extension.  

SEE ALSO

ALTER TABLE [alter_table(7)], CREATE TABLE [create_table(7)]


 

Index

NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
PARAMETERS
EXAMPLES
COMPATIBILITY
SEE ALSO

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Time: 05:34:15 GMT, December 24, 2015