Which SQL statement is used to remove an existing table?

The DROP TABLE statement is the standard SQL Data Definition Language (DDL) command used to permanently remove a table's definition, all of its data, and associated objects like indexes, constraints, and triggers from the database. Once executed, this action cannot be rolled back with a ROLLBACK command, and the table structure and its contents are irrecoverably deleted unless flashback features are available and used.

A. REMOVE TABLE is not a valid SQL command for deleting a table structure.
C. DELETE is a DML command used to remove rows from a table, but it does not remove the table structure itself. DELETE TABLE is syntactically incorrect.
D. ERASE TABLE is not a standard SQL command.

1. Oracle Corporation. (2023). Oracle Database SQL Language Reference, 23c. "DROP TABLE". The documentation explicitly defines this command as the one that "removes a table or object table and all its data from the database."

2. Elmasri, R., & Navathe, S. B. (2016). Fundamentals of Database Systems (7th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 8, "SQL: Data Definition and Data Types," Section 8.1.4, "The DROP Command." The text specifies DROP TABLE as the command to delete a base table.