Volatile Tables

Complete reference for Volatile tables - Machbase’s in-memory table type for real-time, frequently-updated data.

Overview

Volatile tables store all data in memory for maximum speed. They support UPDATE and DELETE operations by primary key, making them ideal for real-time dashboards and session management.

Key Features

100% in-memory storage
UPDATE and DELETE by PRIMARY KEY
10,000s of operations per second
Fast key-based lookups (O(log n))
WARNING: Data lost on shutdown

Basic Syntax

CREATE VOLATILE TABLE table_name (
    key_column data_type PRIMARY KEY,
    column1 data_type,
    column2 data_type,
    ...
);

When to Use

Real-time dashboards
User sessions
Live status boards
Caching layer
Temporary calculations

When NOT to Use

Data that must persist
High-volume streaming data (use Tag/Log instead)
Large datasets (limited by RAM)