The J! install works like this:

1 - if the database doesn't exist - it's created.

2 - if the database exists - and there are existing tables -

.... a) the existing tables are backed up (default)

.... b) the existing tables are dropped (you have to choose this option)

The database is never dropped.



On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 8:40 PM, Andrew Berry <andrewberry@sentex.net> wrote:
On 14-Nov-08, at 12:23 AM, Dmitri Gaskin wrote:

This has not yet been attempted (I think) simply because most people do not install with a user with sufficient rights to create a database, and therefore there is no need for most people

In most setups I've encountered, if you can CREATE DATABASE you can also DROP DATABASE. Not really something I want *any* Drupal install to be able to do :).

I would actually suggest the other way around, and that if Drupal detects that it can do such things that it sets a warning, just like how it does if the permissions on settings.php are too lax.

--Andrew