Can you explain what temporary tables are in databases and in what situation they are used?

Temporary tables in databases are tables that are created and exist only during a session or transaction. They are used to store intermediate data that is needed temporarily, for example, for complex calculations, aggregations, or joins, to avoid cluttering the main database.

Example of usage: if you need to process a large dataset and save intermediate calculation results, a temporary table allows you to do this efficiently, and it is automatically deleted after the work is finished.

In SQL, it might look like this:

CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE temp_users AS
SELECT id, name FROM users WHERE active = 1;

-- Use temp_users for further queries
SELECT * FROM temp_users WHERE name LIKE 'A%';

-- After the session ends, temp_users will be automatically deleted