Drop tables with unknown names and unknown quantity

[Amy]

This is what I want to do:

1. Delete all tables in database with table names that ends with a
number.
2. Leave all other tables in tact.
3. Table names are unknown.
4. Numbers attached to table names are unknown.
5. Unknown number of tables in database.

For example:
(Tables in database)
Account
Account1
Account2
Binder
Binder1
Binder2
Binder3
.......

I want to delete all the tables in the database with the exception
of Account and Binder.

I know that there are no wildcards in the "Drop Table tablename"
syntax. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to write this sql
statement?

Note: I am executing this statement in MS Access with the
"DoCmd.RunS QL sql_statement" command.

Thanks for any help!

[Erland Sommarskog]

[posted and mailed, please reply in news]

Amy (am*********@ho tmail.com) writes:

1. Delete all tables in database with table names that ends with a
number.
2. Leave all other tables in tact.
3. Table names are unknown.
4. Numbers attached to table names are unknown.
5. Unknown number of tables in database.

The simplest way is to say:

SELECT 'DROP TABLE ' + name FROM sysobjects WHERE name LIKE '%[0-9]'

and then cut and paste and run the result. You would do this from
Query Analyzer.

If you would like to do it programmaticall y, because you are doing
it routinely, you could set up a cursor over sysobjects, and then
use dynamic SQL to drop the tables:

DECLARE @tbl sysname
DECLARE drop_tbl_cur INSENSITIVE CURSOR FOR
SELECT name FROM sysobjects WHERE name like '%[0-9]'
OPEN CURSOR drop_tbl_cur
WHILE 1 = 1
BEGIN
FETCH drop_tbl_cur INTO @tbl
IF @@fetch_status <> 0
BREAK
EXEC ('DROP TABLE ' + @tbl)
END
DEALLOCATE drop_tbl_cur

--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, es****@sommarsk og.se

Books Online for SQL Server SP3 at
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinf...2000/books.asp

[MC]

I would also add ' AND xtype = 'U' ' in the where statement so that it
includes only user tables. This way it would include any object in the
statement and you would get errors when trying to execute.
it would look something like this:
SELECT 'DROP TABLE ' + name FROM sysobjects WHERE name LIKE '%[0-9] and
xtype = 'U'

MC

"Erland Sommarskog" <es****@sommars kog.se> wrote in message
news:Xn******** **************@ 127.0.0.1...

[posted and mailed, please reply in news]

Amy (am*********@ho tmail.com) writes:

1. Delete all tables in database with table names that ends with a
number.
2. Leave all other tables in tact.
3. Table names are unknown.
4. Numbers attached to table names are unknown.
5. Unknown number of tables in database.

The simplest way is to say:

SELECT 'DROP TABLE ' + name FROM sysobjects WHERE name LIKE '%[0-9]'

and then cut and paste and run the result. You would do this from
Query Analyzer.

If you would like to do it programmaticall y, because you are doing
it routinely, you could set up a cursor over sysobjects, and then
use dynamic SQL to drop the tables:

DECLARE @tbl sysname
DECLARE drop_tbl_cur INSENSITIVE CURSOR FOR
SELECT name FROM sysobjects WHERE name like '%[0-9]'
OPEN CURSOR drop_tbl_cur
WHILE 1 = 1
BEGIN
FETCH drop_tbl_cur INTO @tbl
IF @@fetch_status <> 0
BREAK
EXEC ('DROP TABLE ' + @tbl)
END
DEALLOCATE drop_tbl_cur

--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, es****@sommarsk og.se

Books Online for SQL Server SP3 at
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinf...2000/books.asp