What is MySQL Temporary Table?: The Ultimate Guide

Database Management System Types

The following are the various types of Database Management Systems based on the data models they use:

• Relational Database Management Systems
• Hierarchical Database Management Systems
• Network Database Management Systems
• Object-oriented Database Management Systems

MySQL Applications

Let's learn about the uses of MySQL, which are as follows:

• Mysql is used by Wikipedia, Facebook, Google, Flickr, YouTube, and many other well-known organizations.
• MySQL is used by WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and all other Content Management Systems (CMS).
• MySQL is also used in the development of a website.

How to get started with MySQL?

MySql is an open-source database that can be freely downloaded and installed from its official website MySQL.

Introduction to MySQL Temporary Table A MySQL temporary table is a table that allows you to store a temporary result set that you may reuse several times in a single session in MySQL.

Temporary tables are temporary tables that exist just for the duration of the session for which they were built.

When it is difficult or expensive to query data that needs a single SELECT statement with the JOIN clauses, a temporary table comes in handy. You may use a temporary table to hold the immediate result and then process it with another query.

Key Features

The following features distinguish a MySQL temporary table:

• The Construct TEMPORARY TABLE statement is used to create a temporary table. The phrase TEMPORARY is placed between the keywords CREATE and TABLE.
• MySQL immediately deletes the temporary table when the session or connection is terminated. Of course, you may use the DROP TABLE command to expressly delete a temporary table when it is no longer in use.
• A temporary table is only available to the client who creates it. Different clients can construct temporary tables with the same name without triggering issues since the temporary table can only be seen by the client that made it. However, two temporary tables cannot have the same name in the same session.

Why utilizing temporary tables is a good idea?

• Storage-efficient: It lasts during the session, so you don't have to worry about long-term storage difficulties.
• Multiple users can create temporary tables with the same name (since temporary tables are session-specific and unique for each session). However, permanent tables must be unique.
• It is not necessary to explicitly delete temporary tables. When the session expires, these tables are no longer available.

Creating a Temporary Table: Syntax

Except for the TEMPORARY keyword, the syntax for establishing a temporary table in MySQL is the same as that for generating a standard table statement. Let's look at the code that generates the temporary table:

mysql> CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE table_name (column_1, column_2, ..., table_constraints);

Example:

mysql> CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE Students( student_name VARCHAR(55) NOT NULL, total_marks DECIMAL(14,4) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0.00, total_subjects INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT 0);

Drop Temporary Table

The DROP TABLE command in MySQL allows us to delete the temporary table. However, using the TEMPORARY term with the DROP TABLE command is recommended. This term prevents us from removing a permanent table when the temporary and permanent tables have the same name in the current session. As a result, it is advised to perform the following query to remove the temporary table:

mysql> DROP TEMPORARY TABLE table_name;

This query does not delete a permanent table from the database; instead, it deletes a temporary table. If we use this statement to delete a permanent table, it will return an error message stating that the table you are removing is unknown.

Conclusion

A temporary table is a beneficial and adaptable tool that enables us to complete challenging jobs fast. The above article has imparted knowledge about My SQL Temporary Table & its key features, and how to create and drop tables. In this article, we've also learned about My SQL & its applications in brief.