What is Materialized Views?

A materialized view is a database object that contains the results of a query. Unlike a regular view, which is a stored query definition, a materialized view stores the actual data retrieved by the query. This pre-computed data can significantly improve query performance, especially for complex or frequently executed queries, as the database does not need to recompute the results each time. Materialized views are commonly used in data warehousing, reporting, and scenarios where fast access to aggregated or transformed data is crucial. They are typically refreshed periodically to reflect changes in the underlying source data, using either complete or incremental refresh strategies.