## Table

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.

Table Types

Base table | System tables and all tables containing application data are base tables. Base tables are saved permanently.
Result table | The database system creates unnamed result tables when a SELECT statement is executed and then deletes them at the end of the session. The database system creates named result tables when a DECLARE CURSOR statement is executed.
Join table | A join table is a special result tables that the database system creates when two or more tables are linked.
System table | A system table is a base table that contains system information (information about the database objects, states, statistics, monitor data; loader system tables).
Temporary table | A temporary table is a special base table that the database system deletes at the end of the session. Temporary tables belong to the TEMP schema.
View table | A view table is derived from a base table and its definition is saved permanently. View tables themselves contain no data, they only provide a view of the data.

The database system automatically increases and decreases the size of tables without you, the administrator, having to take any action. The database system uses database-internal striping to distribute the data belonging to a table evenly across all the data volumes. You cannot influence how the data is distributed across the data volumes nor can you find out which tables are saved in which data volumes.

See also:

SQL Reference Manual, Data Definition, QUERY Statement (query_statement), Definitions of the System Tables

SQL Tutorial, Tables, View Tables, Joins: Information from Several Tables, Data Query