Delete command removes the rows from a table based on the condition that we provide with a WHERE clause. Truncate will actually remove all the rows from a table and there will be no data in the table after we run the truncate command.
TRUNCATE
- TRUNCATE is faster and uses fewer system and transaction log resources than DELETE.
- TRUNCATE removes the data by de-allocating the data pages used to store the table’s data, and only the page de-allocations are recorded in the transaction log.
- TRUNCATE removes all rows from a table, but the table structure and its columns, constraints, indexes and so on remain.
- You cannot use TRUNCATE TABLE on a table referenced by a FOREIGN KEY constraint.
- Because TRUNCATE TABLE is not logged, it cannot activate a trigger.
- TRUNCATE can not be Rolled back.
- TRUNCATE is DDL Command.
- TRUNCATE Resets identity of the table.
DELETE
- DELETE removes rows one at a time and records an entry in the transaction log for each deleted row.
- If you want to retain the identity counter, use DELETE instead. If you want to remove table definition and its data, use the DROP TABLE statement.
- DELETE Can be used with or without a WHERE clause
- DELETE Activates Triggers.
- DELETE Can be Rolled back.
- DELETE is DML Command.
- DELETE does not reset identity of the table
