PostgreSQL 7.4 Documentation
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# DELETE

## Name

DELETE -- delete rows of a table

## Synopsis

    DELETE FROM [ ONLY ] table [ WHERE condition ]

## Description

`DELETE` deletes rows that satisfy the WHERE clause from the specified table. If the WHERE clause is absent, the effect is to delete all rows in the table. The result is a valid, but empty table.

> Tip: TRUNCATE is a PostgreSQL extension which provides a faster mechanism to remove all rows from a table.

By default, `DELETE` will delete rows in the specified table and all its subtables. If you wish to only delete from the specific table mentioned, you must use the ONLY clause.

You must have the DELETE privilege on the table to delete from it, as well as the SELECT privilege for any table whose values are read in the condition.

## Parameters

table

  The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table.

condition

  A value expression that returns a value of type `boolean` that determines the rows which are to be deleted.

## Outputs

On successful completion, a `DELETE` command returns a command tag of the form

    DELETE count

The count is the number of rows deleted. If count is 0, no rows matched the condition (this is not considered an error).

## Examples

Delete all films but musicals:

    DELETE FROM films WHERE kind <> 'Musical';

Clear the table films:

    DELETE FROM films;

## Compatibility

This command conforms to the SQL standard.

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