Showing tables

In this recipe, you will learn how to list tables in Hive.

Getting ready

This command lists all the tables and views in a database. We can also use wildcards for listing specific tables. The general syntax for showing tables is as follows:

SHOW TABLES [IN database_name] ['identifier_with_wildcards'];

Where:

• [IN database_name]: Is an optional clause. This clause is used to list all the tables and views from a different database that is currently not in use.

• ['identifier_with_wildcards']: Is an optional clause. There can only be two wildcards used in this command: * for any character(s) or | for a choice.

How to do it…

Use the following commands to show a table in Hive:

• The following command will list all the tables and views present in the current database:

  Show tables;
  

• The following command will list all the tables and views from the Hive_learning database:

  Show tables in Hive_learning;
  

• The following command will list all the tables and views starting with Hive:

  Show tables 'Hive...