1<!--
2doc/src/sgml/ref/drop_table.sgml
3PostgreSQL documentation
4-->
5
6<refentry id="sql-droptable">
7 <indexterm zone="sql-droptable">
8  <primary>DROP TABLE</primary>
9 </indexterm>
10
11 <refmeta>
12  <refentrytitle>DROP TABLE</refentrytitle>
13  <manvolnum>7</manvolnum>
14  <refmiscinfo>SQL - Language Statements</refmiscinfo>
15 </refmeta>
16
17 <refnamediv>
18  <refname>DROP TABLE</refname>
19  <refpurpose>remove a table</refpurpose>
20 </refnamediv>
21
22 <refsynopsisdiv>
23<synopsis>
24DROP TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable> [, ...] [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]
25</synopsis>
26 </refsynopsisdiv>
27
28 <refsect1>
29  <title>Description</title>
30
31  <para>
32   <command>DROP TABLE</command> removes tables from the database.
33   Only the table owner, the schema owner, and superuser can drop a
34   table.  To empty a table of rows
35   without destroying the table, use <xref linkend="sql-delete"/>
36   or <xref linkend="sql-truncate"/>.
37  </para>
38
39  <para>
40   <command>DROP TABLE</command> always removes any indexes, rules,
41   triggers, and constraints that exist for the target table.
42   However, to drop a table that is referenced by a view or a foreign-key
43   constraint of another table, <literal>CASCADE</literal> must be
44   specified. (<literal>CASCADE</literal> will remove a dependent view entirely,
45   but in the foreign-key case it will only remove the foreign-key
46   constraint, not the other table entirely.)
47  </para>
48 </refsect1>
49
50 <refsect1>
51  <title>Parameters</title>
52
53  <variablelist>
54   <varlistentry>
55    <term><literal>IF EXISTS</literal></term>
56    <listitem>
57     <para>
58      Do not throw an error if the table does not exist. A notice is issued
59      in this case.
60     </para>
61    </listitem>
62   </varlistentry>
63
64   <varlistentry>
65    <term><replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable></term>
66    <listitem>
67     <para>
68      The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to drop.
69     </para>
70    </listitem>
71   </varlistentry>
72
73   <varlistentry>
74    <term><literal>CASCADE</literal></term>
75    <listitem>
76     <para>
77      Automatically drop objects that depend on the table (such as
78      views),
79      and in turn all objects that depend on those objects
80      (see <xref linkend="ddl-depend"/>).
81     </para>
82    </listitem>
83   </varlistentry>
84
85   <varlistentry>
86    <term><literal>RESTRICT</literal></term>
87    <listitem>
88     <para>
89      Refuse to drop the table if any objects depend on it.  This is
90      the default.
91     </para>
92    </listitem>
93   </varlistentry>
94  </variablelist>
95 </refsect1>
96
97 <refsect1>
98  <title>Examples</title>
99
100  <para>
101   To destroy two tables, <literal>films</literal> and
102   <literal>distributors</literal>:
103
104<programlisting>
105DROP TABLE films, distributors;
106</programlisting></para>
107 </refsect1>
108
109 <refsect1>
110  <title>Compatibility</title>
111
112  <para>
113   This command conforms to the SQL standard, except that the standard only
114   allows one table to be dropped per command, and apart from the
115   <literal>IF EXISTS</literal> option, which is a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
116   extension.
117  </para>
118 </refsect1>
119
120 <refsect1>
121  <title>See Also</title>
122
123  <simplelist type="inline">
124   <member><xref linkend="sql-altertable"/></member>
125   <member><xref linkend="sql-createtable"/></member>
126  </simplelist>
127 </refsect1>
128
129</refentry>
130