CREATE TABLE AS
SQL - Language Statements
CREATE TABLE AS
create a new table from the results of a query
CREATE [ [ LOCAL ] { TEMPORARY | TEMP } ] TABLE table_name [ (column_name [, ...] ) ]
AS query
2001-03-20
Description
CREATE TABLE AS creates a table and fills it
with data computed by a SELECT command. The
table columns have the names and data types associated with the
output columns of the SELECT (except that you
can override the column names by giving an explicit list of new
column names).
CREATE TABLE AS bears some resemblance to
creating a view, but it is really quite different: it creates a new
table and evaluates the query just once to fill the new table
initially. The new table will not track subsequent changes to the
source tables of the query. In contrast, a view re-evaluates the
underlying SELECT statements whenever it is
queried.
Parameters
[LOCAL] TEMPORARY> or [LOCAL] TEMP>
If specified, the table is created as a temporary table.
Temporary tables are automatically dropped at the end of a
session. Existing persistent tables with the same name are not
visible to the current session while the temporary table exists.
Any indexes created on a temporary table are automatically
temporary as well.
The LOCAL word is optional.
table_name
The name of the new table to be created. This table must not
already exist. However, a temporary table can be created that
has the same name as an existing permanent table.
column_name
The name of a column in the new table. Multiple column names can
be specified using a comma-delimited list of column names. If
column names are not provided, they are taken from the output
column names of the query.
query
A query statement (that is, a SELECT
command). Refer to
for a description of the allowed syntax.
Diagnostics
Refer to and
for a summary of possible output messages.
Notes
This command is functionally equivalent to , but it is preferred since it is less
likely to be confused with other uses of the SELECT
... INTO syntax.
Compatibility
This command is modeled after an Oracle
feature. There is no command with equivalent functionality in
SQL92 or SQL99. However, a combination of CREATE
TABLE and INSERT ... SELECT can
accomplish the same thing with little more effort.
History
The CREATE TABLE AS command has been available
since PostgreSQL 6.3.
See Also