MySQL : DROP TABLE Starting with a Prefix EXAMPLE : I have more than 30 tables starting with a prefix "dp_" and about 12 starting with "ex_".

QUESTION : How can I drop all tables starting "dp_" in one query ?
Here is a stored procedure that accepts the Database and Prefix String as Parameters:

DELIMITER $$

DROP PROCEDURE DropTablesWithPrefix $$
CREATE PROCEDURE DropTablesWithPrefix(db VARCHAR(64),prfx VARCHAR(20))
StoredProcedure:BEGIN
    DECLARE ndx,maxidx INT;
    DECLARE giventable,SQLSTMT VARCHAR(500);

    CREATE TABLE TableZapList
    (
        droptablesql VARCHAR(512),
        idx INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY
    ) ENGINE=MyISAM;

    INSERT INTO TableZapList (droptablesql)
    SELECT CONCAT('DROP TABLE ',table_schema,'.',table_name)
    FROM information_schema.tables
    WHERE table_schema = db AND SUBSTR(table_name,LENGTH(prfx)) = prfx;
    SELECT COUNT(1) INTO maxid FROM TableZapList;

    IF maxid = 0 THEN
        LEAVE StoredProcedure;
    END IF;&lt;BR&gt;

    SET ndx = 0;
    WHILE ndx &lt; maxid DO
        SET ndx = ndx + 1;
        SELECT droptablesql INTO SQLSTMT FROM TableZapList WHERE idx = ndx;
        SET @sql = SQLSTMT;
        PREPARE stmt FROM @sql;
        EXECUTE stmt;
        DEALLOCATE PREPARE stmt;
    END WHILE;&lt;BR&gt;

    SELECT droptablesql FROM TableZapList;
    DROP TABLE TableZapList;
END;

DELIMITER ;


UPDATE 2011-07-12 14:55 EDT

I just thought of a cleaner, simplistic way. Instead of using a stored procedure, simply use the GROUP_CONCAT function to gather all the tables to zap. Then compose into a single query:

Here is a query to drop all tables that start with wp_pol in the current database:

SELECT CONCAT('DROP TABLE ',GROUP_CONCAT(CONCAT(table_schema,'.',table_name)),';')
FROM information_schema.tables
WHERE table_schema=database()
AND table_name like 'wp_pol%';


Next thing to do is store the result of it in 

SELECT CONCAT('DROP TABLE ',GROUP_CONCAT(CONCAT(table_schema,'.',table_name)),';')
INTO @dropcmd
FROM information_schema.tables
WHERE table_schema=database()
AND table_name like 'wp_pol%';


Last thing is to execute the dynamic SQL using these three(3) commands:

PREPARE s1 FROM @dropcmd;
EXECUTE s1;
DEALLOCATE PREPARE s1;


Here is a demonstration using MySQL 5.5.12 in Windows that works :

Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 11
Server version: 5.5.12 MySQL Community Server (GPL)

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer.

MySQL (Current test) :: use garbage
Database changed
MySQL (Current garbage) :: show tables;
+------------------------------+
| Tables_in_garbage            |
+------------------------------+
| datas                        |
| rolando                      |
| wp_commentmeta               |
| wp_comments                  |
| wp_contact_form_7            |
| wp_links                     |
| wp_most_read_hits            |
| wp_options                   |
| wp_pollsa                    |
| wp_pollsip                   |
| wp_pollsq                    |
| wp_postmeta                  |
| wp_posts                     |
| wp_posts_idtracker           |
| wp_tantan_wordpress_s3_cache |
| wp_term_relationships        |
| wp_term_taxonomy             |
| wp_terms                     |
| wp_usermeta                  |
| wp_users                     |
| wp_w3tc_cdn_queue            |
+------------------------------+
21 rows in set (0.00 sec)

MySQL (Current garbage) :: SELECT CONCAT('DROP TABLE ',GROUP_CONCAT(CONCAT(table_schema,'.',table_name)),';') INTO @dropcmd FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema=database() AND table_name like 'wp_pol%';
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

MySQL (Current garbage) :: SELECT @dropcmd;
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| @dropcmd                                                           |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DROP TABLE garbage.wp_pollsa,garbage.wp_pollsip,garbage.wp_pollsq; |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

MySQL (Current garbage) :: PREPARE s1 FROM @dropcmd; EXECUTE s1; DEALLOCATE PREPARE s1;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Statement prepared

Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)

Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

MySQL (Current garbage) :: show tables;
+------------------------------+
| Tables_in_garbage            |
+------------------------------+
| datas                        |
| rolando                      |
| wp_commentmeta               |
| wp_comments                  |
| wp_contact_form_7            |
| wp_links                     |
| wp_most_read_hits            |
| wp_options                   |
| wp_postmeta                  |
| wp_posts                     |
| wp_posts_idtracker           |
| wp_tantan_wordpress_s3_cache |
| wp_term_relationships        |
| wp_term_taxonomy             |
| wp_terms                     |
| wp_usermeta                  |
| wp_users                     |
| wp_w3tc_cdn_queue            |
+------------------------------+
18 rows in set (0.00 sec)

MySQL (Current garbage) ::


Give it a Try !!!