Creating a New Table from an Existing One with SELECT INTO
The SELECT INTO statement creates a new table and populates it with the result of a SELECT. It’s similar to creating an empty table with CREATE TABLE and then populating the table with INSERT SELECT (see “Inserting Rows with INSERT” in Chapter 9). But note that SELECT INTO exports rows from an existing table, whereas INSERT SELECT imports rows into an existing table. SELECT INTO commonly is used to:
Archive specific rows
Make backup copies of tables
Create a snapshot of a table at a particular moment in time
Quickly duplicate a table’s structure but not its data
Create test data
Copy a table to test INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations before modifying production data.
When you’re using ...
Get SQL: Visual QuickStart Guide now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
