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SQL Server FAQ - "ALTER TABLE ... DROP COLUMN" - Deleting Existing Columns

By: FYIcenter.com

(Continued from previous topic...)

How To Delete an Existing Column in a Table with "ALTER TABLE ... DROP COLUMN"?

If you have an existing column in a table and you do not need that column any more, you can delete it with "ALTER TABLE ... DROP COLUMN" statement. Here is a tutorial script to delete an existing column:

ALTER TABLE tip DROP COLUMN create_date
GO

SELECT * FROM tip
GO
id  subject    description               author
1   Learn SQL  Visit dev.fyicenter.com   NULL

As you can see, the column "create_date" is gone.

(Continued on next topic...)

1. What is a table?
2. What are DDL (Data Definition Language) statements for tables?
3. How to create new tables with "CREATE TABLE" statements?
4. How To Get a List of All Tables with "sys.tables" View?
5. How To Get a List of Columns using the "sys.columns" View?
6. How To Get a List of Columns using the "sp_columns" Stored Procedure?
7. How To Get a List of Columns using the "sp_help" Stored Procedure?
8. How To Generate CREATE TABLE Script on an Existing Table?
9. How to create new tables with "SELECT ... INTO" statements?
10. How To Add a New Column to an Existing Table with "ALTER TABLE ... ADD"?
11. How To Delete an Existing Column in a Table with "ALTER TABLE ... DROP COLUMN"?
12. How to rename an existing column with the "sp_rename" stored procedure?
13. How to rename an existing column with SQL Server Management Studio?
14. How to change the data type of an existing column with "ALTER TABLE" statements?
15. How to rename an existing table with the "sp_rename" stored procedure?
16. How To Drop an Existing Table with "DROP TABLE" Statements?