truncate vs drop in #sql

The TRUNCATE and DROP commands are both used in SQL to remove data from a table, but they work differently and have different implications.

TRUNCATE is a data-definition language (DDL) operation that is used to mark the extents of a table for deallocation (empty for reuse). The result of this operation quickly removes all data from a table, typically bypassing a number of integrity enforcing mechanisms. TRUNCATE operations drop and re-create the table, which is much faster than deleting rows one by one, particularly for large tables.

DROP, on the other hand, is a data-management language (DML) operation that removes a table from the database entirely. All the data, indexes, triggers, constraints and permission specifications for that table are removed as well. This operation cannot be undone, so it's important to be very careful when using the DROP statement, especially when working with important data.

In summary, if you just want to empty a table, use TRUNCATE. If you want to remove the table completely, use DROP.