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?
An external table retains its data files even when the table is dropped, because only the metadata is deleted while the underlying data files remain in the storage. This is different from a managed table, where both metadata and data files are deleted upon dropping the table.
Answer C is correct, only table metada was removed and the underling files are still there in the storage