SQL$HELP72.HLB  —  CREATE  TABLE
    Creates a temporary or persistent base table definition. A table
    definition consists of a list of definitions of columns that make
    up a row in the table.

    Persistent base tables are tables whose metadata and data are
    stored in the database beyond an SQL session. The data can be
    shared by all users attached to the database.

    Temporary tables are tables whose data is automatically deleted
    when an SQL session or module ends. The tables only materialize
    when you refer to them in an SQL session and the data is local
    to an SQL session. You can also specify whether the data is
    preserved or deleted at the end of a transaction within the
    session; the default is to delete the data. The data in temporary
    tables is private to the user. There are three types of temporary
    tables:

    o  Global temporary tables

    o  Local temporary tables

    o  Declared local temporary tables (see the DECLARE LOCAL_
       TEMPORARY_TABLE for additional information)

    The metadata for a global temporary table is stored in the
    database and persists beyond the SQL session. Different SQL
    sessions can share the same metadata. The data stored in the
    table cannot be shared between SQL sessions. However, the data
    can be shared between modules in a single SQL session. The data
    does not persist beyond an SQL session.

    The metadata for a local temporary table is stored in the
    database and persists beyond the SQL session. Different SQL
    sessions can share the same metadata. The data stored in the
    table cannot be shared between different modules in a single SQL
    session or between SQL sessions. The data does not persist beyond
    an SQL session or module.

    Because temporary tables are used only to hold the user's data,
    which is not shared among users, no locks are needed and the data
    can be modified in a read-only transaction.

    See the Oracle Rdb Guide to Database Design and Definition for
    more information on temporary tables.

    Information tables are special read-only tables that can be
    used to retrieve database attributes that are not stored in the
    existing relational tables. Information tables allow interesting
    database information, which is currently stored in an internal
    format, to be displayed as a relational table.

    When you define a table, you can also define table constraints. A
    constraint specifies a condition that restricts the values that
    can be stored in a table. Constraints can specify that columns
    contain:

    -  Only certain values

    -  Primary key values

    -  Unique values

    -  Values that cannot be null

    There are several ways to specify a table definition in the
    CREATE TABLE statement:

    o  Directly by naming the table, its columns and associated
       data types, default values (optional), constraint definitions
       (optional), and formatting clauses.

       You can define constraints on persistent base tables and
       global temporary tables only.

    o  Indirectly by providing a path name for a repository record
       definition that specifies the table name, columns, and data
       types.

    o  Indirectly by providing another table as a model in inheriting
       the columns, datatypes and NOT NULL constraints.

    SQL allows you to specify the default character data type or the
    national character data type when defining table columns.
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