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Which to use to create a temporary table in mysql
Hi,
Im creating temporary tables in mysql.
I have 2 choices, using
create temporary table A ...
vs
create table ..... ENGINE = MEMORY;
What is the difference between two approaches??
Im creating temporary tables in mysql.
I have 2 choices, using
create temporary table A ...
vs
create table ..... ENGINE = MEMORY;
What is the difference between two approaches??
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johanntagle
Just a small correction to ram_0218's post - when using Memory Engine the contents of the table is emptied when the MySQL instance is stopped/restarted, but the table itself is not dropped. You will find the table exists but is empty after you restart.
Besides this, there are more important differences.
The main one is the differing visibility: A MEMORY table is visible to anyonw like any normal table, a temporary tables is not only limited to the current connection in it's lifetime, but also in it's visibility. You can create a temp table with the same name from two clients and each one will only see his own table and data, therefore it's better to use for data session AND user/client specific.
ENGINE=MEMORY also means the data of that table is held in memory only, and RAM (including Swap AFAIK) is the limiting factor for such tables. What is saved on disc is a frm file, which just contains the table definition/structure, but no data. That also is the reason the memory tables are not lost even after a restart.
For their differing visibility the one or other type of tables are not interchangable. If you take into account all users/seession sharing MEMORY data you can use a MEMORY table as substitute for a temp table, but if data needs to be public available, a temp table is not able to replace a MEMORY table.
Some downsides of MEMORY tables especially in comparison with MySQL Cluster and performancewise, are discussed in the reference at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/memory-storage-engine.html
Bye, Olaf.
The main one is the differing visibility: A MEMORY table is visible to anyonw like any normal table, a temporary tables is not only limited to the current connection in it's lifetime, but also in it's visibility. You can create a temp table with the same name from two clients and each one will only see his own table and data, therefore it's better to use for data session AND user/client specific.
ENGINE=MEMORY also means the data of that table is held in memory only, and RAM (including Swap AFAIK) is the limiting factor for such tables. What is saved on disc is a frm file, which just contains the table definition/structure, but no data. That also is the reason the memory tables are not lost even after a restart.
For their differing visibility the one or other type of tables are not interchangable. If you take into account all users/seession sharing MEMORY data you can use a MEMORY table as substitute for a temp table, but if data needs to be public available, a temp table is not able to replace a MEMORY table.
Some downsides of MEMORY tables especially in comparison with MySQL Cluster and performancewise, are discussed in the reference at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/memory-storage-engine.html
Bye, Olaf.