SQL Delete

The SQL DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement is used to delete existing records in a table.

DELETE Syntax

<p><code class="sqlHigh">
DELETE FROM <em>table_name </em>WHERE <em>condition</em>;
</code></p>

Note: Be careful when deleting records in a table! Notice the WHERE clause in the DELETE statement. The WHERE clause specifies which record(s) should be deleted. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records in the table will be deleted!

Demo Database

Below is a selection from the Customers table used in the examples:

SQL DELETE Example

The following SQL deletes the customer "Alfreds Futterkiste" from the "Customers" table:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName='Alfreds Futterkiste';

The selection from the "Customers" table will now look like this:

Delete All Records

It is possible to delete all records in a table, without deleting the table. This means that the table structure, attributes, and indexes will be intact.

Syntax

<p><code class="sqlHigh">
DELETE FROM <em>table_name</em>;
</code></p>

The following SQL deletes ALL records in the "Customers" table, without deleting the table:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers;

Delete a Table

To delete the table completely, use the DROP TABLE statement:

Syntax

<p><code class="sqlHigh">
DROP TABLE <em>table_name</em>;
</code></p>

The following SQL drops the entire "Customers" table:

Example

DROP TABLE Customers;