Temporary tables

Syntax for temporary table creation is not unique across all database engines.

Not all database servers support temporary tables. The engines supporting this feature often provide it with a specific table creation statement:

Table 1. Database server support of temporary tables
Database Server Type Temp table creation syntax Local to SQL session?
Genero db
CREATE TEMP TABLE tablename ( column-defs )
SELECT ... INTO TEMP tablename
Yes
IBM® DB2® UDB
DECLARE GLOBAL TEMPORARY TABLE tablename ( column-defs )
DECLARE GLOBAL TEMPORARY TABLE tablename AS 
( SELECT ... )
Yes
IBM Informix®
CREATE TEMP TABLE tablename ( column-defs )
SELECT ... INTO TEMP tablename
Yes
Microsoft™ SQL Server
CREATE TABLE #tablename ( column-defs )
SELECT select-list INTO #tablename FROM ...
Yes
MySQL
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE tablename ( column-defs )
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE tablename LIKE other-table
Yes
Oracle Database Server
CREATE GLOBAL TEMPORARY
TABLE tablename ( column-defs )
CREATE GLOBAL TEMPORARY TABLE tablename AS SELECT ...
No: only data is local to session
PostgreSQL
CREATE TEMP TABLE tablename ( column-defs )
SELECT select-list INTO TEMP tablename FROM ...
Yes
Sybase ASE
CREATE TABLE #tablename ( column-defs )
SELECT select-list INTO #tablename FROM ...
Yes
SQLite
CREATE TEMP TABLE tablename ( column-defs )
Yes

Some databases even have a different behavior when using temporary tables. For example, ORACLE 9i supports a kind of temporary table, but it must be created as a permanent table. The table is not specific to an SQL session: it is shared by all processes - only the data is local to a database session.

You must review the programs using temporary tables, and adapt the code to use database-specific temporary tables.