When the recyclebin is enabled (RECYCLEBIN=ON), any tables that you drop do not get fully deleted, instead, they are moved to the RecycleBin. The PURGE command allows you to empty the recyclebin. This feature was first introduced in Oracle 10g.
Syntax:
PURGE RECYCLEBIN PURGE DBA_RECYCLEBIN PURGE USER_RECYCLEBIN PURGE TABLE TableName
Purging from all users recyclebins (using DBA_RECYCLEBIN) requires DBA privileges.
Examples
Drop a table, bypassing the recyclebin:
drop table SS64 purge;
Disable the recyclebin for this session:
ALTER SESSION SET RECYCLEBIN=OFF;
If using a 9i client against a 10g database, the client won't know what purge is, so use execute immediate:
begin
execute immediate 'purge recyclebin';
end;
More examples from OraFAQ
Related Oracle Commands:
FLASHBACK TABLE - Restore a Table
DBA_RECYCLEBIN USER_RECYCLEBIN