MySQL DELETE

The MySQL DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement is employed to remove existing records from a table.

DELETE Syntax

DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition;

Note: Exercise caution when deleting records from a table! Pay attention to the WHERE clause in the DELETE statement, as it specifies which record(s) to delete. Omitting the WHERE clause will result in all records in the table being deleted.

Demo Database

Here is an excerpt from the “Customers” table in the Northwind sample database:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
1	Alfreds Futterkiste	Maria Anders	Obere Str. 57	Berlin	12209	Germany
2	Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados	Ana Trujillo	Avda. de la Constitución 2222	México D.F.	05021	Mexico
3	Antonio Moreno Taquería	Antonio Moreno	Mataderos 2312	México D.F.	05023	Mexico
4	Around the Horn	Thomas Hardy	120 Hanover Sq.	London	WA1 1DP	UK
5	Berglunds snabbköp	Christina Berglund	Berguvsvägen 8	Luleå	S-958 22	Sweden

SQL DELETE Example

The following SQL statement removes the customer “Alfreds Futterkiste” from the “Customers” table:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers WHERE CustomerName=‘Alfreds Futterkiste’;

Now, the “Customers” table will appear as follows:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
2	Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados	Ana Trujillo	Avda. de la Constitución 2222	México D.F.	05021	Mexico
3	Antonio Moreno Taquería	Antonio Moreno	Mataderos 2312	México D.F.	05023	Mexico
4	Around the Horn	Thomas Hardy	120 Hanover Sq.	London	WA1 1DP	UK
5	Berglunds snabbköp	Christina Berglund	Berguvsvägen 8	Luleå	S-958 22	Sweden

Delete All Records

You can delete all rows in a table without removing the table itself. This ensures that the table structure, attributes, and indexes remain intact.

DELETE FROM table_name;

The following SQL statement removes all rows from the “Customers” table without deleting the table itself:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers;