13.1.32 DROP TABLE Syntax

DROP TABLE removes one or more tables. You must have the DROP privilege for each table.

Be careful with this statement! For each table, it removes the table definition and all table data. If the table is partitioned, the statement removes the table definition, all its partitions, all data stored in those partitions, and all partition definitions associated with the dropped table.

Dropping a table also drops any triggers for the table.

DROP TABLE causes an implicit commit, except when used with the TEMPORARY keyword. See Section 13.3.3, “Statements That Cause an Implicit Commit”.

If any tables named in the argument list do not exist, DROP TABLE behavior depends on whether the IF EXISTS clause is given:

IF EXISTS can also be useful for dropping tables in unusual circumstances under which there is an entry in the data dictionary but no table managed by the storage engine. (For example, if an abnormal server exit occurs after removal of the table from the storage engine but before removal of the data dictionary entry.)

The TEMPORARY keyword has the following effects:

Including the TEMPORARY keyword is a good way to prevent accidentally dropping non-TEMPORARY tables.

The RESTRICT and CASCADE keywords do nothing. They are permitted to make porting easier from other database systems.

DROP TABLE is not supported with all innodb_force_recovery settings. See Section 15.20.2, “Forcing InnoDB Recovery”.