In this post, we will understand the difference between DELETE and DROP commands in SQL.
DELETE
It removes some or all of the tuples/records from a relation/table.
It is DML, i.e data manipulation language.
The ‘WHERE’ clause is used to add filter to it.
It can be rolled back since it works on data buffer.
Table’s memory space is not free if all records have been deleted using the ‘Delete’ Command.
It may encounter memory shortage.
DROP
It removes named elements of schema such as relations/table, constraints or the entire schema itself.
It is DDL, i.e data definition language.
It doesn’t use a ‘WHERE’ clause.
It can’t be rolled back, since it works directly on the data.
It frees the memory space.
It can result in memory fragmentation.