What is the purpose of a temporary table in database management?

A temporary table is defined as a short-lived data storage solution that exists only for the duration of a specific database session or process. Its primary purpose is to hold intermediate results or to perform computations that do not require permanent storage. Using a temporary table allows users to manipulate and analyze data in real-time without the consequences of affecting the overall database structure or performance since the data in a temporary table will not be stored after the session is closed.

In this context, the choice indicating that temporary tables are used to run statistics during a session fits perfectly, as it emphasizes their utility for transient data management. Users might utilize temporary tables for aggregations or calculations, allowing them to gather insights or perform operations within the confines of their ongoing session without needing to keep that data long-term.

The other choices do not accurately reflect the typical use cases for temporary tables. Storing data permanently for future query execution contradicts the very definition of a temporary table, which is not intended for long-term storage. Creating structured data from unstructured sources pertains to data transformation processes often handled by ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tools or data warehouses, not temporary tables specifically. Lastly, dividing large datasets into manageable segments is a data processing technique that is usually associated with partitioning or