SELECT INTO
SELECT INTO — define a new table from the results of a query
Synopsis
[ WITH [ RECURSIVE ]with_query
[, ...] ]SELECT [ ALL | DISTINCT [ ON (expression
[, ...] ) ] ] * |expression
[ [ AS ]output_name
] [, ...] INTO [ TEMPORARY | TEMP | UNLOGGED ] [ TABLE ]new_table
[ FROMfrom_item
[, ...] ] [ WHEREcondition
] [ GROUP BYexpression
[, ...] ] [ HAVINGcondition
] [ WINDOWwindow_name
AS (window_definition
) [, ...] ] [ { UNION | INTERSECT | EXCEPT } [ ALL | DISTINCT ]select
] [ ORDER BYexpression
[ ASC | DESC | USINGoperator
] [ NULLS { FIRST | LAST } ] [, ...] ] [ LIMIT {count
| ALL } ] [ OFFSETstart
[ ROW | ROWS ] ] [ FETCH { FIRST | NEXT } [count
] { ROW | ROWS } ONLY ] [ FOR { UPDATE | SHARE } [ OFtable_name
[, ...] ] [ NOWAIT ] [...] ]
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 normalSELECT
. The new table's columns have the names and data types associated with the output columns of theSELECT
.
Parameters
TEMPORARY
orTEMP
If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer toCREATE TABLE for details.
UNLOGGED
If specified, the table is created as an unlogged table. Refer toCREATE TABLE for details.
new_table
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.
All other parameters are described in detail underSELECT.
Notes
CREATE TABLE AS is functionally similar toSELECT INTO
.CREATE TABLE AS
is the recommended syntax, since this form ofSELECT INTO
is not available inECPG orPL/pgSQL, because they interpret theINTO
clause differently. Furthermore,CREATE TABLE AS
offers a superset of the functionality provided bySELECT INTO
.
To add OIDs to the table created bySELECT INTO
, enable thedefault_with_oids configuration variable. Alternatively,CREATE TABLE AS
can be used with theWITH OIDS
clause.
Examples
Create a new tablefilms_recent
consisting of only recent entries from the tablefilms
:
SELECT * INTO films_recent FROM films WHERE date_prod >= '2002-01-01';
Compatibility
The SQL standard usesSELECT INTO
to represent selecting values into scalar variables of a host program, rather than creating a new table. This indeed is the usage found inECPG (seeChapter 34) andPL/pgSQL (seeChapter 41). ThePostgreSQL usage ofSELECT INTO
to represent table creation is historical. It is best to useCREATE TABLE AS
for this purpose in new code.