redhat man page for create_table_as

CREATE TABLE 
AS(7)						   SQL Commands 						CREATE TABLE AS(7)

NAME
       CREATE TABLE AS - create a new table from the results of a query

SYNOPSIS
       CREATE [ [ LOCAL ] { TEMPORARY | TEMP } ] TABLE table_name [ (column_name [, ...] ) ]
	   AS query

DESCRIPTION
       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 asso-
       ciated 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.

PARAMETERS
       [LOCAL] TEMPORARY or [LOCAL] TEMP
	      If specified, the table is created as a temporary table.	Refer to CREATE TABLE [create_table(7)] for details.

       table_name
	      The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.

       column_name
	      The  name of a column in the new table. Multiple column names can be specified using a comma-delimited list of column names. If col-
	      umn names are not provided, they are taken from the output column names of the query.

       query  A query statement (that is, a SELECT command). Refer to SELECT [select(7)] for a description of the allowed syntax.

DIAGNOSTICS
       Refer to CREATE TABLE [create_table(7)] and SELECT [select(7)] for a summary of possible output messages.

NOTES
       This command is functionally equivalent to SELECT INTO [select_into(7)], but it is preferred since it is less likely to	be  confused  with
       other uses of the SELECT ... INTO syntax.

COMPATIBILITY
       This  command  is modeled after an Oracle feature. There is no command with equivalent functionality in SQL92 or SQL99. However, a combina-
       tion of CREATE TABLE and INSERT ... SELECT can accomplish the same thing with little more effort.

HISTORY
       The CREATE TABLE AS command has been available since PostgreSQL 6.3.

SEE ALSO
       CREATE TABLE [create_table(7)], CREATE VIEW [create_view(l)], SELECT [select(l)], SELECT INTO [select_into(l)]

SQL - Language Statements					    2002-11-22							CREATE TABLE AS(7)