Relational database online storage manager

A method for managing size of a database, comprising:

• intercepting, by a storage manager, a request to delete a table from the database, either through a command to drop a table from the database using common database syntax or through extension of database language by addition of data staging commands;
• retrieving the data from the database before issuing the command to the database;
• storing the table into a data repository;
• and
• issuing the request to the database after the step of storing the table into a data repository is complete.

A method for maintaining a database, comprising:

• intercepting, by a storage manager, a request to delete a table from the database, either through a command to drop a table from the database using common database syntax or through extension of database language by addition of data staging commands;
• storing the table into a data repository;
• storing a table name of the table into a dropped table list of the storage manager;
• issuing the request to the database after the step of storing the table into the data repository;
• intercepting a query of the database made by a database client;
• determining whether the query is of a dropped table no longer in the database but stored in the data repository;
• when the query is of a dropped table, retrieving the dropped table from the data repository, restoring the dropped table to the database, and sending the query to the database;
• and
• when the query is of a non-dropped table, sending the query to the database.