How to use ALTER TABLE Statement with DROP KEY Clause In MariaDB
In MariaDB, you can change an existing table’s structure with the ALTER TABLE statement. An existing index in a table can be selectively removed using the ALTER TABLE statement’s DROP KEY clause.
Syntax:
ALTER TABLE table_name DROP KEY index_name;
Replace table_name with the name of the table where the index is declared and index_name with the name of the index you wish to drop.
Example:
ALTER TABLE example_table DROP KEY email_index;
-- Showing the Indexes defined on example_table
SHOW INDEX FROM example_table;
Output:
Output of ALTER TABLE Statement with DROP KEY Clause
Explanation: The above query remove the email_index Index defined on example_table.
Dropping an Index in MariaDB
In MariaDB, indexes play a crucial role in enhancing query performance by facilitating fast data access within a table. However, there are scenarios where you might need to drop indexes. This article explores various methods to drop indexes in MariaDB, including using DROP INDEX, ALTER TABLE DROP INDEX, and ALTER TABLE DROP KEY statements. Additionally, it covers dropping a primary key index using ALTER TABLE DROP PRIMARY KEY.