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| $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/drop_table.sgml,v 1.25 2006/09/16 00:30:18 momjian Exp $ |
| PostgreSQL documentation |
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| |
| <refentry id="SQL-DROPTABLE"> |
| <refmeta> |
| <refentrytitle id="SQL-DROPTABLE-TITLE">DROP TABLE</refentrytitle> |
| <refmiscinfo>SQL - Language Statements</refmiscinfo> |
| </refmeta> |
| |
| <refnamediv> |
| <refname>DROP TABLE</refname> |
| <refpurpose>remove a table</refpurpose> |
| </refnamediv> |
| |
| <indexterm zone="sql-droptable"> |
| <primary>DROP TABLE</primary> |
| </indexterm> |
| |
| <refsynopsisdiv> |
| <synopsis> |
| DROP TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable> [, ...] [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ] |
| </synopsis> |
| </refsynopsisdiv> |
| |
| <refsect1> |
| <title>Description</title> |
| |
| <para> |
| <command>DROP TABLE</command> removes tables from the database. |
| Only its owner may destroy a table. To empty a table of rows |
| without destroying the table, use <xref linkend="sql-delete" |
| endterm="sql-delete-title"> or <xref linkend="sql-truncate" |
| endterm="sql-truncate-title">. |
| </para> |
| |
| <para> |
| <command>DROP TABLE</command> 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, <literal>CASCADE</> must be |
| specified. (<literal>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.) |
| </para> |
| </refsect1> |
| |
| <refsect1> |
| <title>Parameters</title> |
| |
| <variablelist> |
| <varlistentry> |
| <term><literal>IF EXISTS</literal></term> |
| <listitem> |
| <para> |
| Do not throw an error if the table does not exist. A notice is issued |
| in this case. |
| </para> |
| </listitem> |
| </varlistentry> |
| |
| <varlistentry> |
| <term><replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable></term> |
| <listitem> |
| <para> |
| The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to drop. |
| </para> |
| </listitem> |
| </varlistentry> |
| |
| <varlistentry> |
| <term><literal>CASCADE</literal></term> |
| <listitem> |
| <para> |
| Automatically drop objects that depend on the table (such as |
| views). |
| </para> |
| </listitem> |
| </varlistentry> |
| |
| <varlistentry> |
| <term><literal>RESTRICT</literal></term> |
| <listitem> |
| <para> |
| Refuse to drop the table if any objects depend on it. This is |
| the default. |
| </para> |
| </listitem> |
| </varlistentry> |
| </variablelist> |
| </refsect1> |
| |
| <refsect1> |
| <title>Examples</title> |
| |
| <para> |
| To destroy two tables, <literal>films</literal> and |
| <literal>distributors</literal>: |
| |
| <programlisting> |
| DROP TABLE films, distributors; |
| </programlisting> |
| </para> |
| </refsect1> |
| |
| <refsect1> |
| <title>Compatibility</title> |
| |
| <para> |
| This command conforms to the SQL standard, except that the standard only |
| allows one table to be dropped per command, and apart from the |
| <literal>IF EXISTS</> option, which is a <productname>PostgreSQL</> |
| extension. |
| </para> |
| </refsect1> |
| |
| <refsect1> |
| <title>See Also</title> |
| |
| <simplelist type="inline"> |
| <member><xref linkend="sql-altertable" endterm="sql-altertable-title"></member> |
| <member><xref linkend="sql-createtable" endterm="sql-createtable-title"></member> |
| </simplelist> |
| </refsect1> |
| |
| </refentry> |