What is the difference between internal tables and external tables in Hive?

The difference between internal and external tables in Hive lies in the location of data storage and management approach.

1. Internal table: The data of internal tables are stored in Hive’s default storage location (typically HDFS) and managed by Hive itself. When an internal table is deleted, both the table’s metadata and storage data will be removed.
2. External table: Data in an external table is stored in a location specified by the user (such as the local file system or HDFS) and is managed by the user. Deleting an external table only removes the table’s metadata, leaving the stored data unaffected.

Therefore, external tables are more suitable for sharing data with other systems or backing up data, while internal tables are more suitable for scenarios such as data warehouses that require long-term storage and management of data.