Explain the difference between DELETE, TRUNCATE, and DROP

DELETE

• Removes selected records from a table.
• A WHERE condition can be used to delete specific records.
• The operation is logged in the transaction log row by row.
• ON DELETE triggers are activated.

Syntax

MySQL 8.1
DELETE FROM table_name [WHERE condition];

TRUNCATE

• Removes all data from the table without the possibility of recovery.
• WHERE cannot be used.
• Faster because it does not log the deletion of each row.
• Resets auto-increment identifiers.
• Triggers are not activated.

Syntax

MySQL 8.1
TRUNCATE TABLE table_name;

DROP

• Deletes the entire table along with its data, structure, indexes, and constraints.
• The action is irreversible.

Syntax

MySQL 8.1
DROP TABLE table_name;

Choosing between commands

• Use DELETE when you need to remove specific records.
• Use TRUNCATE to quickly remove all data from the table while keeping its structure.
• Use DROP to completely remove the table from the database.