PostgreSQL 7.4.11 Documentation
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# CREATE TABLE AS

## Name

CREATE TABLE AS -- create a new table from the results of a query

## Synopsis

    CREATE [ [ GLOBAL | LOCAL ] { TEMPORARY | TEMP } ] TABLE table_name [ (column_name [, ...] ) ]
        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

`TEMPORARY` or `TEMP`

  If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to CREATE TABLE 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 out of an `EXECUTE` command, a column name list can currently not be specified.

`query`

  A query statement (that is, a `SELECT` command or an `EXECUTE` command that runs a prepared `SELECT` command). Refer to SELECT or EXECUTE, respectively, for a description of the allowed syntax.

## Notes

This command is functionally equivalent to SELECT INTO, 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 the SQL standard. However, a combination of `CREATE TABLE` and `INSERT ... SELECT` can accomplish the same thing with little more effort.

## See Also

CREATE TABLE, CREATE VIEW, EXECUTE, SELECT, SELECT INTO

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