PostgreSQL views serve as aliases for database queries, simplifying complex queries for users but potentially obscuring performance issues if overused, as they do not execute queries themselves. In contrast, materialized views execute and store query results, acting as a cache to improve performance and allow indexing, though they require periodic refreshing to maintain accuracy. This refresh process can be inefficient, especially for time-series data, due to the need for complete data re-materialization. To address this, continuous aggregates offer a solution by incrementally updating with only new data, allowing for real-time and pre-computed aggregations to deliver accurate and timely results, which Timescale has developed further to enhance performance in time-series and analytical applications.