SELECT INTO -- create a new table from the results of a query
Synopsis
SELECT [ ALL | DISTINCT [ ON ( expression [, ...] ) ] ] * | expression [ AS output_name ] [, ...] INTO [ TEMPORARY | TEMP ] [ TABLE ] new_table [ FROM from_item [, ...] ] [ WHERE condition ] [ GROUP BY expression [, ...] ] [ HAVING condition [, ...] ] [ { UNION | INTERSECT | EXCEPT } [ ALL ] select ] [ ORDER BY expression [ ASC | DESC | USING operator ] [, ...] ] [ LIMIT { count | ALL } ] [ OFFSET start ] [ FOR UPDATE [ OF tablename [, ...] ] ]
Description
SELECT INTO creates a new table and fills it with data computed by a query. The data is not returned to the client, as it is with a normal SELECT. The new table's columns have the names and data types associated with the output columns of the SELECT.
Parameters
TEMPORARY or TEMP
If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to CREATE TABLE for details.
new_table
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.
All other parameters are described in detail under SELECT.
Notes
CREATE TABLE AS is functionally equivalent to SELECT INTO. CREATE TABLE AS is the recommended syntax, since this form of SELECT INTO is not available in ECPG or PL/pgSQL, because they interpret the INTO clause differently.
Compatibility
The SQL standard uses SELECT ... INTO to represent selecting values into scalar variables of a host program, rather than creating a new table. This indeed is the usage found in ECPG (see Chapter 30) and PL/pgSQL (see Chapter 37). The PostgreSQL usage of SELECT INTO to represent table creation is historical. It's best to use CREATE TABLE AS for this purpose in new code. (CREATE TABLE AS isn't standard either, but it's less likely to cause confusion.)
Deliver First Class Web Sites: 101 Essential Checklists Want to learn how to make your web sites usable and accessible? Want to ensure that your sites meet current best practice, without spending hours trawling through incomprehensible specifications and recommendations from dozens of different books, research papers, and web sites? Want to make sure that the sites you build are "right the first time," requiring no costly redevelopments?
Free Sample Chapters