What is the Difference between a Delete Statement and a Truncate Statement?

What is the difference between a delete statement and a truncate statement?

In databases, the DELETE statement is used to remove rows from a table, while the TRUNCATE statement is used to remove all rows from a table. Here are some key differences between the two statements:

1. DELETE vs. TRUNCATE: The DELETE statement removes rows from a table one at a time, while the TRUNCATE statement removes all rows from a table at once. As a result, TRUNCATE is generally faster than DELETE, since it does not have to process each row individually.
2. WHERE clause: The DELETE statement allows you to specify a WHERE clause to specify which rows to delete, while the TRUNCATE statement does not have a WHERE clause and removes all rows from the table.
3. Rollback: The DELETE statement can be rolled back (undone), while the TRUNCATE statement cannot be rolled back. This means that DELETE can be used in a transaction, while TRUNCATE cannot.
4. Indexes: The TRUNCATE statement resets the indexes on the table, while the DELETE statement does not.

Overall, the TRUNCATE statement is generally faster and more efficient than the DELETE statement, but it is more permanent and cannot be undone. The DELETE statement is more flexible, but slower and less efficient, and can be rolled back if needed.

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