The DROP statement in SQL is used to remove or delete an existing database object such as a table, index, view, or procedure. Whenever we use DROP statement with any of the database objects, it will remove them permanently along with their associated data.

And when that database object is an index, the DROP INDEX statement in SQL is used.

Dropping an SQL Index

An SQL Index can be dropped from a database table using the DROP INDEX statement.

It is important to understand that dropping an index can have a significant impact on the performance of your database queries. Therefore, only try to remove an index if you are sure that it is no longer required.

Note − We cannot delete the indexes created by PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE constraints. In order to delete them, you need to drop the constraints entirely using ALTER TABLE statement.

Syntax

Following is the syntax of the DROP INDEX command in SQL −

DROP INDEX index_name ON table_name;

Here,

• index_name is the name of the index that you want to drop.
• table_name is the name of the table that the index is associated with.

Example

In this example, we will learn how to drop an index on a table named CUSTOMERS, which can be created using the following query −

CREATE TABLE CUSTOMERS(
   ID INT NOT NULL,
   NAME VARCHAR(15) NOT NULL,
   AGE INT NOT NULL,
   ADDRESS VARCHAR(25),
   SALARY DECIMAL(10, 4),
   PRIMARY KEY(ID));
);

Now, insert some values into the above created table using the following query −

INSERT INTO CUSTOMERS VALUES 
(1, ''Ramesh'', ''32'', ''Ahmedabad'', 2000),
(2, ''Khilan'', ''25'', ''Delhi'', 1500),
(3, ''Kaushik'', ''23'', ''Kota'', 2000),
(4, ''Chaitali'', ''25'', ''Mumbai'', 6500),
(5, ''Hardik'',''27'', ''Bhopal'', 8500),
(6, ''Komal'', ''22'', ''Hyderabad'', 9000),
(7, ''Muffy'', ''24'', ''Indore'', 5500);

Once the table is created, create an index on the column NAME in the CUSTOMERS table using the following query −

CREATE INDEX INDEX_NAME on CUSTOMERS(NAME);

Now, verify if the index is created on the CUSTOMERS table using the following SHOW INDEX query −

SHOW INDEX FROM CUSTOMERS;

On executing the above query, the index list is displayed as follows −

Then, drop the same index INDEX_NAME in the CUSTOMERS table using the following DROP INDEX statement −

DROP INDEX INDEX_NAME ON CUSTOMERS;

Output

If we compile and run the above query, the result is produced as follows −

Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.02 sec)
Records: 0  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

Verification

Verify if the index for the column NAME is dropped using the following query −

SHOW INDEX FROM CUSTOMERS;

In the following list of indexes, you can observe that name of the column Name is missing.

DROP INDEX with IF EXISTS

The DROP INDEX IF EXISTS statement in SQL is used to drop an index only if it exists in the table. This statement is specifically useful when you want to drop an index, but you are not sure if the index exists. This clause is not supported by MySQL.

The IF EXISTS clause ensures that the statement only removes the index if it exists. If the index does not exist, it simply terminates the execution.

Syntax

Following is the syntax of the DROP INDEX IF EXISTS in SQL −

DROP INDEX IF EXISTS index_name
ON table_name;

Here,

• index_name is the name of the index that you want to drop.
• table_name is the name of the table that the index is associated with.

Example

In this example, let us try to drop an index in the SQL Server database.

Let us consider the previously created table CUSTOMERS and let us create an index for the NAME column in the table using the following query −

CREATE INDEX INDEX_NAME on CUSTOMERS(NAME);

Then, let us drop it using the following query −

DROP INDEX IF EXISTS INDEX_NAME ON CUSTOMERS;

Output

When we execute the above query, the output is obtained as follows −

Commands completed successfully.

Verification

Let”s verify whether the index for the NAME is dropped or not using the following query −

EXEC sys.sp_helpindex @objname = N''CUSTOMERS'';

As you observe, the column NAME is deleted from the list of indexes.

Example

Now, let us delete an index that doesn”t exist in the CUSTOMERS table using the following query −

DROP INDEX IF EXISTS INDEX_NAME ON CUSTOMERS;

Output

Since no indexes with the specified name exist in the database, so the above query simply terminates the execution without giving any error.

Commands completed successfully.

Removing indexes created by PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE

The DROP INDEX statement does not drop indexes created by PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE constraints. To drop indexes associated with them, we need to drop these constraints entirely. And it is done using the ALTER TABLE… DROP CONSTRAINT statement.

Syntax

Following is the syntax of the ALTER TABLE… DROP CONSTRAINT statement in SQL −

ALTER TABLE table_name
DROP CONSTRAINT constraint_name;

Here,

• table_name is the name of the table that contains the PRIMARY KEY constraint.
• constraint_name is the name of the PRIMARY KEY constraint that you want to drop.

Example

Assume the previously created table (CUSTOMERS) and let us first list all the indexes that are created on the table using the following query −

EXEC sys.sp_helpindex @objname = N''CUSTOMERS'';

The list is displayed as follows −

Here, the PK__CUSTOMER__3214EC27CB063BB7 is the name of the PRIMARY KEY constraint that was created on the ID column of the CUSTOMERS table.

Now, let us drop the index created by the PRIMARY KEY constraint.

ALTER TABLE customers
DROP CONSTRAINT PK__CUSTOMER__3214EC27CB063BB7;

Output

When we execute the above query, the output is obtained as follows −

Commands completed successfully.

Verification

Verify whether it is dropped or not by listing the existing indexes using the following query −

EXEC sys.sp_helpindex @objname = N''CUSTOMERS'';

The following error is displayed because the list of indexes is empty.

The object ''CUSTOMERS'' does not have any indexes, or you do not have permissions.