What's the best way to determine if a temporary table exists in SQL Server?

Question

When writing a T-SQL script that I plan on re-running, often times I use temporary tables to store temporary data. Since the temp table is created on the fly, I'd like to be able to drop that table only if it exists (before I create it).

I'll post the method that I use, but I'd like to see if there is a better way.

Answer 1

IF Object_Id('TempDB..#TempTable') IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
    DROP TABLE #TempTable
END

Answer 2

The OBJECT_ID function returns the internal object id for the given object name and type. 'tempdb..#t1' refers to the table #t1 in the tempdb database. 'U' is for user-defined table.

IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#t1', 'U') IS NOT NULL
  DROP TABLE #t1

CREATE TABLE #t1
(
  id INT IDENTITY(1,1),
  msg VARCHAR(255)
)

Answer 3

SELECT name
FROM sysobjects
WHERE type = 'U' AND name = 'TempTable'