Databricks Certified Data Analyst Associate — Question 29

A data analyst is attempting to drop a table my_table. The analyst wants to delete all table metadata and data.
They run the following command:
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS my_table;
While the object no longer appears when they run SHOW TABLES, the data files still exist.
Which of the following describes why the data files still exist and the metadata files were deleted?

Answer options

• A. The table's data was larger than 10 GB
• B. The table did not have a location
• C. The table was external
• D. The table's data was smaller than 10 GB
• E. The table was managed

Correct answer: C

Explanation

The correct answer is C because external tables do not delete their data files when the table is dropped; only the metadata is removed. Options A and D are irrelevant as the size of the data does not affect the behavior in this context. Options B and E are incorrect as they do not accurately describe the nature of the table in relation to the data files' existence.