# Choose a view or a report table

Use an ordinary view when the goal is to name a reusable SELECT. Its result is evaluated from the sources when queried. Use a separate table when the goal is to retain a particular set of calculated rows. Coordinator DB does not provide automatically refreshed materialized views.

```sql
CREATE VIEW daily_order_totals AS
SELECT day, count(*) AS orders, sum(amount) AS revenue
FROM orders
GROUP BY day;
```

This view has no stored report rows and needs no refresh command. If the same calculation is copied with `CREATE TABLE ... AS SELECT`, later source changes do not update that copy. The application must define how and when it is replaced.

For an application-maintained report, specify its freshness requirement, update trigger and verification query before using it. Keep related report changes and an application-owned refresh marker in one transaction if they must agree. A completed statement inside an unfinished transaction is not yet a committed refresh.

Compare a report table with its source calculation using more than total row counts when the values themselves matter. Avoid claiming automatic recovery of refresh schedules after a restart.

See [view definitions](https://coordinatordb.com/docs/reference/statements/create/view), [table copies](https://coordinatordb.com/docs/reference/statements/create/table), [transactions](https://coordinatordb.com/docs/concepts/features/operations/insert/transactions) and [result comparisons](https://coordinatordb.com/docs/resources/support-center/knowledge-base/queries-sql/compare-resultsets).