Cleaning up "rotten" tables - need help with code

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Cleaning up "rotten" tables - need help with code

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Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help - by Jeff Moden
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Phil Parkin SSC Guru Points: 246698 More actions · Answer 1

ScottPletcher (9/22/2016)
I view it differently, since I prefer a code-based solution to a gui-based solution.

+1

If you haven't even tried to resolve your issue, please don't expect the hard-working volunteers here to waste their time providing links to answers which you could easily have found yourself.

mister.magoo SSC-Forever Points: 47068 More actions · Answer 2

😀

I prefer to do what needs to be done then get on with writing positive code - cleanup code is for DBAs 😀

MM

select geometry::STGeomFromWKB(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

Sue_H SSC Guru Points: 90860 More actions · Answer 3

ScottPletcher (9/22/2016)
I view it differently, since I prefer a code-based solution to a gui-based solution.

Yup. Lots of shops where it's the only allowable solution as well, requiring scripts to be checked into source control for all changes going into Prod.

Eric M Russell SSC Guru Points: 125522 More actions · Answer 4

Brandie Tarvin (9/22/2016)
Thanks, guys. But you're all missing the point of my question.
I withdraw it since no one understands what I'm asking for.

Would this work? First it checks if table name matches pattern, next it checks if table contains at least one row, and if not then it drops the table.

exec sp_MsForEachTable

'

if ''?'' like ''MyTable%''

begin;

if not exists ( select 1 from ?)

begin;

print ''Dropping empty table: ?'';

d r o p table ?;

end;

';

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1003870 More actions · Answer 5

I'd be in deep Kimchie if I deleted some of my empty tables because they're used to prop up some very necessary "Instead of" triggers on a View that we created to get around some colossal fubar built by my predecessors that needed to be fixed without changing a mountain of code.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Sue_H SSC Guru Points: 90860 More actions · Answer 6

Jeff Moden (9/22/2016)
I'd be in deep Kimchie if I deleted some of my empty tables because they're used to prop up some very necessary "Instead of" triggers on a View that we created to get around some colossal fubar built by my predecessors that needed to be fixed without changing a mountain of code.

Good point. Should have rollback scripts for changes anyway and they would recreate the tables if needed.

Sue

Jason A. Long SSC-Insane Points: 23780 More actions · Answer 7

Here's an easy option to clean up the existing empty tables...

DECLARE @DropTables VARCHAR(8000) = '';

SELECT

@DropTables = CONCAT(@DropTables, CHAR(13), 'DROP TABLE ', s.name, '.', o.name, ';')

FROM

sys.objects o

JOIN sys.schemas s

ON o.schema_id = s.schema_id

CROSS APPLY (-- prevents duplication if more that 1 partition exists for a given table.

SELECT

TotalRows = SUM(p.rows)

FROM

sys.partitions p

WHERE

o.object_id = p.object_id

) px

WHERE 1 = 1

--AND o.name LIKE 'MyTable%'

AND s.name = 'dbo'

AND px.TotalRows = 0

PRINT(@DropTables);

--EXEC(@DropTables);

ScottPletcher SSC Guru Points: 100949 More actions · Answer 8

Personally I wouldn't rely on sys.partitions to gauge whether a table is completely empty or not. Maybe just me. Just out of curiosity, what if a table load is in-flight at the time sys.partitions is checked?

SQL DBA,SQL Server MVP(07, 08, 09) A socialist is someone who will give you the shirt off *someone else's* back.

Jason A. Long SSC-Insane Points: 23780 More actions · Answer 9

Good call Scott... I wasn't even thinking of the "“approximate number of rows for this partition” gotcha...

Thanks for the reminder. 🙂

Brandie Tarvin SSC Guru Points: 172995 More actions · Answer 10

Jeff Moden (9/22/2016)
I'd be in deep Kimchie if I deleted some of my empty tables because they're used to prop up some very necessary "Instead of" triggers on a View that we created to get around some colossal fubar built by my predecessors that needed to be fixed without changing a mountain of code.

In this particular case, I wrote the code that created the tables and they were just being used in case we needed to rerun a process during the day. It's just that I didn't think things through a few years ago when I initially did the backup part of this proc and forgot to use a check to verify there were records to backup before creating the table.

So the only thing depending on the tables was this one proc. Therefore, there was no trouble to be gotten into for cleaning up after myself.

Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.