Create a temporary table in a SELECT statement without a separate CREATE TABLE

mysql select temp-tables create-table derived-table
Bryan Field picture Bryan Field · May 2, 2011 · Viewed 696.6k times · Source

Is it possible to create a temporary (session only) table from a select statement without using a create table statement and specifying each column type? I know derived tables are capable of this, but those are super-temporary (statement-only) and I want to re-use.

It would save time if I did not have to write up a create table command and keep the column list and type list matched up.

Answer

psparrow picture psparrow · May 2, 2011 
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE IF NOT EXISTS table2 AS (SELECT * FROM table1)

From the manual found at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/create-table.html

You can use the TEMPORARY keyword when creating a table. A TEMPORARY table is visible only to the current session, and is dropped automatically when the session is closed. This means that two different sessions can use the same temporary table name without conflicting with each other or with an existing non-TEMPORARY table of the same name. (The existing table is hidden until the temporary table is dropped.) To create temporary tables, you must have the CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES privilege.

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