PostgreSQL 8.2.12 Documentation
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# SELECT INTO

## Name

SELECT INTO -- define 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 | SHARE } [ OF table_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 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 similar 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. Furthermore, `CREATE TABLE AS` offers a superset of the functionality provided by `SELECT INTO`.

Prior to PostgreSQL 8.1, the table created by `SELECT INTO` included OIDs by default. In PostgreSQL 8.1, this is not the case — to include OIDs in the new table, the default_with_oids configuration variable must be enabled. Alternatively, `CREATE TABLE AS` can be used with the `WITH OIDS` clause.

## Examples

Create a new table `films_recent` consisting of only recent entries from the table `films`:

    SELECT * INTO films_recent FROM films WHERE date_prod >= '2002-01-01';

## 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 31) and PL/pgSQL (see Chapter 37). The PostgreSQL usage of `SELECT INTO` to represent table creation is historical. It is best to use `CREATE TABLE AS` for this purpose in new code.

## See Also

CREATE TABLE AS

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