SHOW CREATE TABLE - Amazon Athena
SynopsisParametersExamplesTroubleshooting

SHOW CREATE TABLE

Analyzes an existing table named table_name to generate the query that created it.

Synopsis

SHOW CREATE TABLE [db_name.]table_name

Parameters

TABLE [db_name.]table_name

The db_name parameter is optional. If omitted, the context defaults to the current database.

Note

The table name is required.

Examples

SHOW CREATE TABLE orderclickstoday;
SHOW CREATE TABLE `salesdata.orderclickstoday`;

Troubleshooting

If you use the AWS Glue CreateTable API operation or the AWS CloudFormation AWS::Glue::Table template to create a table for use in Athena without specifying the TableType property and then run a DDL query like SHOW CREATE TABLE or MSCK REPAIR TABLE, you can receive the error message FAILED: NullPointerException Name is null.

To resolve the error, specify a value for the TableInput TableType attribute as part of the AWS Glue CreateTable API call or AWS CloudFormation template. Possible values for TableType include EXTERNAL_TABLE or VIRTUAL_VIEW.

This requirement applies only when you create a table using the AWS Glue CreateTable API operation or the AWS::Glue::Table template. If you create a table for Athena by using a DDL statement or an AWS Glue crawler, the TableType property is defined for you automatically.