Unsupported versions: 7.0 / 6.5 / 6.4

Historical version. PostgreSQL 6.5 has reached end of support. See the current manual.

DROP TABLE

Name

DROP TABLE — Removes existing tables from a database

DROP TABLE name [, ...]

Inputs

name: The name of an existing table or view to drop.

Outputs

DROP: The message returned if the command completes successfully.
ERROR Relation "name" Does Not Exist!: If the specified table or view does not exist in the database.

Description

DROP TABLE removes tables and views from the database. Only its owner may destroy a table or view. A table may be emptied of rows, but not destroyed, by using DELETE.

If a table being destroyed has secondary indexes on it, they will be removed first. The removal of just a secondary index will not affect the contents of the underlying table.

Notes

Refer to CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE for information on how to create or modify tables.

Usage

To destroy two tables, films and distributors:

DROP TABLE films, distributors;

Compatibility

SQL92

SQL92 specifies some additional capabilities for DROP TABLE:

DROP TABLE table { RESTRICT | CASCADE }

RESTRICT: Ensures that only a table with no dependent views or integrity constraints can be destroyed.
CASCADE: Any referencing views or integrity constraints will also be dropped.

Tip: At present, to remove a referenced view you must drop it explicitly.

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