What does the AS CLONE OF statement do in a warehouse?

The AS CLONE OF statement creates a replica of a table by copying its metadata only. This means that while the structure of the original table — including its definitions and constraints — is duplicated, the actual data within the table itself is not copied over. This functionality is particularly useful in environments where you want to maintain a lightweight version or reference of a table without the overhead of duplicating the data.

In data warehousing, this capability allows analysts and developers to create test scenarios or reporting contexts without the need to create large volumes of redundant data, ensuring both efficiency and resource management. The metadata allows for the new table to operate with a defined structure, enabling further actions like querying or altering columns without the data itself being present.