PostgreSQL 7.4 Documentation
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# SELECT INTO

## Name

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.)

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