What is a materialized view?
A materialized view is a database object that stores the results of a query physically, unlike a normal view that recomputes on each read, and refreshes on a schedule or trigger. It speeds up expensive queries by serving pre-computed results, trading some data freshness for performance.
A regular view runs its underlying query every time you read it, always current but potentially slow. A materialized view instead saves the query's output as stored data and periodically refreshes it, so reads are fast because the work was done in advance.
Materialized views are used to:
- Accelerate costly joins and aggregations.
- Offload heavy computation from query time to refresh time.
- Stabilise performance for dashboards and reports.
The trade-off is freshness: results are only as current as the last refresh, and you must manage that refresh schedule.
iDBQuery can query your existing materialized views just like tables, so any pre-computed logic you rely on is available in its answers. But it also reduces the need to create materialized views purely to make data askable, because it queries your live sources directly and manages performance and result handling for large datasets. Where you want speed and scheduling, iDBQuery offers scheduled reports and live dashboards that refresh on a cadence you choose. So you get fast, repeatable answers without hand-building and maintaining materialized views, and every figure stays cited back to its source rows.
Updated 2026-06-22