linux man page for drop_table

DROP 
TABLE(7)							   SQL Commands 						     DROP TABLE(7)

NAME

       DROP TABLE - remove a table

SYNOPSIS

       DROP TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] name [, ...] [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

DESCRIPTION

       DROP  TABLE  removes tables from the database.  Only its owner can drop a table. To empty a table of rows without destroying the table, use
       DELETE [delete(7)] or TRUNCATE [truncate(7)].

       DROP TABLE always removes any indexes, rules, triggers, and constraints that exist for the target table.  However, to drop a table that	is
       referenced  by  a  view	or  a  foreign-key  constraint	of another table, CASCADE must be specified. (CASCADE will remove a dependent view
       entirely, but in the foreign-key case it will only remove the foreign-key constraint, not the other table entirely.)

PARAMETERS

       IF EXISTS
	      Do not throw an error if the table does not exist. A notice is issued in this case.

       name   The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to drop.

       CASCADE
	      Automatically drop objects that depend on the table (such as views).

       RESTRICT
	      Refuse to drop the table if any objects depend on it. This is the default.

EXAMPLES

       To destroy two tables, films and distributors:

       DROP TABLE films, distributors;

COMPATIBILITY

       This command conforms to the SQL standard, except that the standard only allows one table to be dropped per command, and apart from the	IF
       EXISTS option, which is a PostgreSQL extension.

SEE ALSO

       ALTER TABLE [alter_table(7)], CREATE TABLE [create_table(7)]

SQL - Language Statements					    2010-05-14							     DROP TABLE(7)