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CREATE
NAME
CREATE TABLE AS - define a new table from the results of a query
SYNOPSIS
CREATE [ [ GLOBAL | LOCAL ] { TEMPORARY | TEMP } ] TABLE table_name
[ (column_name [, ...] ) ] [ [ WITH | WITHOUT ] OIDS ]
AS query
DESCRIPTION
CREATE TABLE AS creates a table and fills it with data computed by a SELECT
command or an EXECUTE that runs a prepared 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
its defining SELECT statement whenever it is queried.
PARAMETERS
GLOBAL or LOCAL
Ignored for compatibility. Refer to CREATE TABLE [create_table(5)] for
details.
TEMPORARY or TEMP
If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to
CREATE TABLE [create_table(5)] for details.
table_name
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.
column_name
The name of a column in the new table. If column names are not
provided, they are taken from the output column names of the query. If
the table is created from an EXECUTE command, a column name list
cannot be specified.
WITH OIDS
WITHOUT OIDS
This optional clause specifies whether the table created by CREATE
TABLE AS should include OIDs. If neither form of this clause is
specified, the value of the default_with_oids configuration parameter
is used.
query
A query statement (that is, a SELECT command or an EXECUTE command
that runs a prepared SELECT command). Refer to SELECT [select(5)] or
EXECUTE [execute(l)], respectively, for a description of the allowed
syntax.
NOTES
This command is functionally similar to SELECT INTO [select_into(5)], but
it is preferred since it is less likely to be confused with other uses of
the SELECT INTO syntax. Furthermore, CREATE TABLE AS offers a superset of
the functionality offered by SELECT INTO.
Prior to PostgreSQL 8.0, CREATE TABLE AS always included OIDs in the table
it created. As of PostgreSQL 8.0, the CREATE TABLE AS command allows the
user to explicitly specify whether OIDs should be included. If the presence
of OIDs is not explicitly specified, the default_with_oids configuration
variable is used. As of PostgreSQL 8.1, this variable is false by default,
so the default behavior is not identical to pre-8.0 releases. Applications
that require OIDs in the table created by CREATE TABLE AS should explicitly
specify WITH OIDS to ensure proper behavior.
EXAMPLES
Create a new table films_recent consisting of only recent entries from the
table films:
CREATE TABLE films_recent AS
SELECT * FROM films WHERE date_prod >= '2002-01-01';
COMPATIBILITY
CREATE TABLE AS conforms to the SQL standard, with the following
exceptions:
· The standard requires parentheses around the subquery clause; in
PostgreSQL, these parentheses are optional.
· The standard defines an ON COMMIT clause; this is not currently
implemented by PostgreSQL.
· The standard defines a WITH [ NO ] DATA clause; this is not currently
implemented by PostgreSQL. The behavior provided by PostgreSQL is
equivalent to the standard's WITH DATA case.
· WITH/WITHOUT OIDS is a PostgreSQL extension.
· PostgreSQL handles temporary tables in a way rather different from the
standard; see CREATE TABLE [create_table(5)] for details.
SEE ALSO
CREATE TABLE [create_table(5)], EXECUTE [execute(l)], SELECT [select(l)],
SELECT INTO [select_into(l)]
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