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SQL DELETE Statement


The DELETE statement is used to delete records in a table.


The SQL DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement is used to delete rows in a table.

SQL DELETE Syntax

DELETE FROM table_name
WHERE some_column=some_value;

Notice the WHERE clause in the SQL DELETE statement!
The WHERE clause specifies which record or records that should be deleted. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records will be deleted!


Demo Database

In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:

CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country
1

Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany
2 Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Constitucion 2222 Mexico D.F. 05021 Mexico
3 Antonio Moreno Taqueria Antonio Moreno Mataderos 2312 Mexico D.F. 05023 Mexico
4

Around the Horn Thomas Hardy 120 Hanover Sq. London WA1 1DP UK
5 Berglunds snabbkop Christina Berglund Berguvsvagen 8 Lulea S-958 22 Sweden

SQL DELETE Example

Assume we wish to delete the customer "Alfreds Futterkiste" from the "Customers" table.

We use the following SQL statement:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName='Alfreds Futterkiste' AND ContactName='Maria Anders';
Try it Yourself »

The "Customers" table will now look like this:

CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country
2 Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Constitucion 2222 Mexico D.F. 05021 Mexico
3 Antonio Moreno Taqueria Antonio Moreno Mataderos 2312 Mexico D.F. 05023 Mexico
4

Around the Horn Thomas Hardy 120 Hanover Sq. London WA1 1DP UK
5 Berglunds snabbkop Christina Berglund Berguvsvagen 8 Lulea S-958 22 Sweden

Delete All Data

It is possible to delete all rows in a table without deleting the table. This means that the table structure, attributes, and indexes will be intact:

DELETE FROM table_name;

or

DELETE * FROM table_name;

Note: Be very careful when deleting records. You cannot undo this statement!