What is the difference between DELETE, TRUNCATE, and DROP?

Question

Accepted Answer

All three remove data, but they operate at very different levels. DELETE — removes rows matching a WHERE clause. DML , transactional, can be rolled back, fires triggers, slower (row by row). TRUNCATE — empties the entire table. DDL , faster (deallocates pages), resets AUTO_INCREMENT , can't use WHERE , no triggers. DROP — removes the entire table itself, including its structure, indexes, and data. DDL , irreversible (without backup). DELETE = DML (rows, rollback, triggers, WHERE). TRUNCATE = DDL (all rows, fast, resets auto-increment, no triggers). DROP = DDL (entire table gone). This is one of the most asked SQL interview questions. Know all three differences.