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SHOW INDEXES shows all of the indexes on a certain column, as well as information about them: index name, table name, names of the columns used as keys, index table name, index type, and comment. If the FORMATTED keyword is used, then column titles are printed for each column. Not available until 0.7 release.

Describe Database

DESCRIBE DATABASE db_name

DESCRIBE DATABASE will show the name of the database, its comment (if one has been set), and its root location on the filesystem. Not available until the 0.7 release.

Describe Table/Column

DESCRIBE [EXTENDED|FORMATTED] table_name[DOT col_name ( [DOT field_name] | [DOT '$elem$'] | [DOT '$key$'] | [DOT '$value$'] )* ]

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For a view, DESCRIBE TABLE EXTENDED can be used to retrieve the view's definition. Two relevant attributes are provided: both the original view definition as specified by the user, and an expanded definition used internally by Hive.

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DESCRIBE [EXTENDED] table_name partition_spec

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