Drop a Kudu table using Impala

You can drop internal tables in Impala using the DROP TABLE syntax. If you want to drop an external table, you first have to change it to internal.

If the table was created as an internal table in Impala, using CREATE TABLE, the standard DROP TABLE syntax drops the underlying Kudu table and all its data.
DROP TABLE my_first_table;

If the table was created as an external table, using CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE, the mapping between Impala and Kudu is dropped, but the Kudu table is left intact, with all its data. To change an external table to internal, and the other way around, see Altering table properties.