DROP TABLE(7)                                             SQL Commands                                             DROP TABLE(7)



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 destroy-
       ing 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. (CAS-
       CADE 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)]



SQL - Language Statements                                  2011-09-22                                              DROP TABLE(7)