DROP TABLE
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 or TRUNCATE.
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.
