Question

When you drop an external DELTA table using the SQL Command DROP TABLE table_name, how does it impact metadata(delta log, history), and data stored in the storage?

a) Drops table from metastore, metadata(delta log, history)but keeps the data in storage
b) Drops table from metastore, but keeps metadata(delta log, history)and data in storage
c) Drops table from metastore, data but keeps metadata(delta log, history) in storage
d) Drops table from metastore, metadata(delta log, history)and data in storage
e) Drops table from metastore and data in storage but keeps metadata(delta log, history)

Answer 1

When an external DELTA table is dropped with SQL Command 'DROP TABLE table_name', the table is removed from the metastore, while the metadata and data remain in storage.

Step-by-step explanation:

When you drop an external DELTA table using the SQL Command DROP TABLE table_name, the effect on the metadata and the data stored in storage depends on the specific system and configuration. However, for Delta tables, dropping an external table generally means that the table is removed from the metastore and the metadata such as the delta log and history is also removed. But, the actual data files in storage are not deleted. Therefore, the correct answer is:

b) Drops table from metastore, but keeps metadata(delta log, history) and data in storage

This behavior allows you to re-create the table in the future using the existing data, provided that the delta log is also intact, as Delta tables are designed with the capability to reconstruct a table based on the delta files stored in the directory.