A table is a set of rows. Each row in a table has the same number of columns and contains a value for each column.
The database system recognizes the following table types:
Base table |
Is stored permanently; system tables and tables that contain application data |
Results table |
Is created from one or more tables when a SELECT statement is executed, and is deleted again at the end of the session |
Join table |
Special results table that is created when two or more tables are linked |
System table |
Base table that contains system information (information about the database objects, states, statistics, monitor data; loader system tables) |
Temporary table |
Special base table that is deleted at the end of the session; used by the TEMP schema |
View table |
A table derived from base tables whose definition is stored permanently; does not contain any data itself, but is only used to view the data |
Tables grow and shrink automatically and without any administrative intervention. Internal striping within the database means that the data belonging to a table is distributed equally to all data volumes. It is not possible to determine how the tables are assigned to the data volumes; however, it is not necessary to know this.
See also:
· Reference Manual, Data Definition
· Documentation about System Tables