CREATE TABLE AS — define a new table from the results of a query
CREATE [ [ GLOBAL | LOCAL ] { TEMPORARY | TEMP } | UNLOGGED ] TABLE [ IF NOT EXISTS ] table_name
    [ (column_name [, ...] ) ]
    [ USING method ]
    [ WITH ( storage_parameter [= value] [, ... ] ) | WITHOUT OIDS ]
    [ ON COMMIT { PRESERVE ROWS | DELETE ROWS | DROP } ]
    [ TABLESPACE tablespace_name ]
    AS query
    [ WITH [ NO ] DATA ]
   CREATE TABLE AS creates a table and fills it
   with data computed by a SELECT command.
   The table columns have the
   names and data types associated with the output columns of the
   SELECT (except that you can override the column
   names by giving an explicit list of new column names).
  
   CREATE TABLE AS bears some resemblance to
   creating a view, but it is really quite different: it creates a new
   table and evaluates the query just once to fill the new table
   initially.  The new table will not track subsequent changes to the
   source tables of the query.  In contrast, a view re-evaluates its
   defining SELECT statement whenever it is
   queried.
  
GLOBAL or LOCALIgnored for compatibility. Use of these keywords is deprecated; refer to CREATE TABLE for details.
TEMPORARY or TEMPIf specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to CREATE TABLE for details.
UNLOGGEDIf specified, the table is created as an unlogged table. Refer to CREATE TABLE for details.
IF NOT EXISTSDo not throw an error if a relation with the same name already exists. A notice is issued in this case. Refer to CREATE TABLE for details.
table_nameThe name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.
column_nameThe name of a column in the new table. If column names are not provided, they are taken from the output column names of the query.
USING method
      This optional clause specifies the table access method to use to store
      the contents for the new table; the method needs be an access method of
      type TABLE. See Chapter 60 for more
      information.  If this option is not specified, the default table access
      method is chosen for the new table. See default_table_access_method for more information.
     
WITH ( storage_parameter [= value] [, ... ] )
      This clause specifies optional storage parameters for the new table;
      see Storage Parameters in the
      CREATE TABLE documentation for more
      information.   For backward-compatibility the WITH
      clause for a table can also include OIDS=FALSE to
      specify that rows of the new table should contain no OIDs (object
      identifiers), OIDS=TRUE is not supported anymore.
     
WITHOUT OIDS
      This is backward-compatible syntax for declaring a table
      WITHOUT OIDS, creating a table WITH
      OIDS is not supported anymore.
     
ON COMMIT
      The behavior of temporary tables at the end of a transaction
      block can be controlled using ON COMMIT.
      The three options are:
      
PRESERVE ROWSNo special action is taken at the ends of transactions. This is the default behavior.
DELETE ROWSAll rows in the temporary table will be deleted at the end of each transaction block. Essentially, an automatic TRUNCATE is done at each commit.
DROPThe temporary table will be dropped at the end of the current transaction block.
TABLESPACE tablespace_name
      The tablespace_name is the name
      of the tablespace in which the new table is to be created.
      If not specified,
      default_tablespace is consulted, or
      temp_tablespaces if the table is temporary.
     
query
      A SELECT, TABLE, or VALUES
      command, or an EXECUTE command that runs a
      prepared SELECT, TABLE, or
      VALUES query.
     
WITH [ NO ] DATAThis clause specifies whether or not the data produced by the query should be copied into the new table. If not, only the table structure is copied. The default is to copy the data.
   This command is functionally similar to SELECT INTO, but it is
   preferred since it is less likely to be confused with other uses of
   the SELECT INTO syntax. Furthermore, CREATE
   TABLE AS offers a superset of the functionality offered
   by SELECT INTO.
  
   Create a new table films_recent consisting of only
   recent entries from the table films:
CREATE TABLE films_recent AS SELECT * FROM films WHERE date_prod >= '2002-01-01';
   To copy a table completely, the short form using
   the TABLE command can also be used:
CREATE TABLE films2 AS TABLE films;
   Create a new temporary table films_recent, consisting of
   only recent entries from the table films, using a
   prepared statement.  The new table will be dropped at commit:
PREPARE recentfilms(date) AS
  SELECT * FROM films WHERE date_prod > $1;
CREATE TEMP TABLE films_recent ON COMMIT DROP AS
  EXECUTE recentfilms('2002-01-01');
   CREATE TABLE AS conforms to the SQL
   standard.  The following are nonstandard extensions:
   
The standard requires parentheses around the subquery clause; in PostgreSQL, these parentheses are optional.
      In the standard, the WITH [ NO ] DATA clause
      is required; in PostgreSQL it is optional.
     
PostgreSQL handles temporary tables in a way rather different from the standard; see CREATE TABLE for details.
      The WITH clause is a PostgreSQL
      extension; storage parameters are not in the standard.
     
      The PostgreSQL concept of tablespaces is not
      part of the standard.  Hence, the clause TABLESPACE
      is an extension.