SQL DELETE

The SQL DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement serves to remove pre-existing records from a table.

DELETE Syntax

DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition;

Important: Exercise caution when deleting records from a table! Pay attention to the WHERE clause in the DELETE statement. The WHERE clause determines which record(s) to delete. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records in the table will be deleted!

Demo Database

The following excerpt is taken from the Customers table utilized in the illustrations:

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

This 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 while preserving its structure, attributes, and indexes, thereby ensuring that the table remains intact.

DELETE FROM table_name;

This SQL statement clears all rows from the “Customers” table, while leaving the table itself intact:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers;

Delete a Table

To entirely remove the table, utilize the DROP TABLE statement:

Example

Delete the Customers table.

DROP TABLE Customers;