{"id":174185,"date":"2023-11-27T19:09:45","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T18:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/?p=174185"},"modified":"2023-11-27T19:15:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T18:15:03","slug":"sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query","title":{"rendered":"SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"174185\" class=\"elementor elementor-174185\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ac6f4af e-flex e-con-boxed e-con\" data-id=\"ac6f4af\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-00722b2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"00722b2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 02-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">While the SELECT query is one of the most commonly used to read data from a table, it has some limitations if used on its own. That's why other commands are associated with it. These combinations allow you to refine the results. One of these commands is SQL DISTINCT, which removes duplicates within a MySQL database.<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22dd869 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con\" data-id=\"22dd869\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-227105d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"227105d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What is SQL DISTINCT?<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53d639b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"53d639b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 02-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>The<strong> SQL DISTINCT query<\/strong> is used to eliminate duplicates. When you use the SELECT <a href=\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-queries-the-5-most-important-commands-to-know\">SQL query,<\/a> you can choose one or more columns from a table. However, within these columns, there may be duplicate rows. To avoid this, you can add DISTINCT to the SELECT query. By doing so, all redundancies are removed.<\/p><p>In practice, this command looks like this:<\/p><p>SELECT DISTINCT column_name<\/p><p>FROM table_name<\/p><p>You can use this command on a single column or on a set of related columns.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3bdf5e9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3bdf5e9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>\ud83d\udca1Good to know:<\/strong> If you are using an Oracle database management system, you should not use the SQL DISTINCT command but rather the UNIQUE command.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6399b39 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con\" data-id=\"6399b39\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c8382f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3c8382f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">3 examples of using SQL DISTINCT<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-03f566e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"03f566e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>To help you better understand how to use the SQL DISTINCT query, here are 3 concrete application examples.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-caebd5e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"caebd5e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The SELECT DISTINCT query for a single column<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7723397 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7723397\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>This is the basic use of the SQL DISTINCT query.<\/p><p>In our example, you have a table with all your customers, some of whom belong to the same family (same last name).<\/p><p>Here is your table:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-80404e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"80404e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n.tg  {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}\n.tg td{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;\n  overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}\n.tg th{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;\n  font-weight:normal;overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}\n.tg .tg-baqh{text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\n.tg .tg-9ix1{background-color:#6434fc;color:#efefef;font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\n<\/style>\n<table class=\"tg\" style=\"undefined;table-layout: fixed; width: 300px\">\n<colgroup>\n<col style=\"width: 50px\">\n<col style=\"width: 125px\">\n<col style=\"width: 125px\">\n<\/colgroup>\n<thead>\n  <tr>\n    <th class=\"tg-9ix1\">ID<\/th>\n    <th class=\"tg-9ix1\">First Name<\/th>\n    <th class=\"tg-9ix1\">Last Name<\/th>\n  <\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-9ix1\">1<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Pierre<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Dupont<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-9ix1\">2<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Jeanne<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Martin<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-9ix1\">3<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Henri<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Durand<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-9ix1\">4<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Bertrand<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Petit<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-9ix1\">5<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Martine<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Dupont<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d06efec elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d06efec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex flex-grow flex-col max-w-full gap-3 gizmo:gap-0\"><div class=\"min-h-[20px] text-message flex flex-col items-start gap-3 whitespace-pre-wrap break-words [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5 overflow-x-auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"dfd29a66-5454-41e5-a418-fadb82eaa3da\"><div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\"><p>If you want to display only unique last names (families), here is the query to use: <code>SELECT DISTINCT last_name FROM client<\/code>.<\/p><p>And here is the result:<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8757cee elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"8757cee\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n.tg  {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}\r\n.tg td{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;\r\n  overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}\r\n.tg th{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;\r\n  font-weight:normal;overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}\r\n.tg .tg-5t56{background-color:#6434fc;color:#efefef;font-size:20px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\r\n.tg .tg-lap0{font-size:100%;text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\r\n<\/style>\r\n<table class=\"tg\" style=\"undefined;table-layout: fixed; width: 74px\">\r\n<colgroup>\r\n<col style=\"width: 100px\">\r\n<\/colgroup>\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <th class=\"tg-5t56\">Name<\/th>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Dupont<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Martin<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Durand<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Petit<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fd6cf55 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fd6cf55\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Here, the name Smith is displayed only once (as opposed to twice in the first table).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-209dcab elementor-align-center button-principale elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"209dcab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm elementor-animation-grow\" href=\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/formation-sql\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Learn SQL for Data Science<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a63e4ef elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a63e4ef\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The SELECT DISTINCT query for multiple columns<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4352138 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4352138\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>As mentioned above, the DISTINCT command can also be used for multiple columns.<\/p><p>Let&#8217;s take an example of a similar Customer table:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc87505 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"cc87505\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n.tg  {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}\n.tg td{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;\n  overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}\n.tg th{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;\n  font-weight:normal;overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}\n.tg .tg-5t56{background-color:#6434fc;color:#efefef;font-size:20px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\n.tg .tg-baqh{text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\n.tg .tg-mw77{background-color:#6434fc;color:#efefef;text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\n<\/style>\n<table class=\"tg\" style=\"undefined;table-layout: fixed; width: 300px\">\n<colgroup>\n<col style=\"width: 50px\">\n<col style=\"width: 125px\">\n<col style=\"width: 125px\">\n<\/colgroup>\n<thead>\n  <tr>\n    <th class=\"tg-mw77\">ID<\/th>\n    <th class=\"tg-5t56\">First Name<\/th>\n    <th class=\"tg-5t56\">Last Name<\/th>\n  <\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">1<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Martine<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Dupont<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">2<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Jeanne<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Martin<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">3<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Henry<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Durand<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">4<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Bertrand<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Petit<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">5<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Martine<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Dupont<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">6<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Antoine<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Martin<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">7<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Fabienne<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Bernard<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">8<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Christelle<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Robert<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n  <tr>\n    <td class=\"tg-5t56\">9<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Henri<\/td>\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Durand<\/td>\n  <\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24e9455 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"24e9455\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If you want to display only unique families, here&#8217;s the query to use: SELECT DISTINCT first name last name FROM customer.<\/p><p>And here&#8217;s the result:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b0eb9a elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"3b0eb9a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n.tg  {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}\r\n.tg td{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;\r\n  overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}\r\n.tg th{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;\r\n  font-weight:normal;overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}\r\n.tg .tg-5t56{background-color:#6434fc;color:#efefef;font-size:20px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\r\n.tg .tg-baqh{text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\r\n.tg .tg-lap0{font-size:100%;text-align:center;vertical-align:top}\r\n<\/style>\r\n<table class=\"tg\" style=\"undefined;table-layout: fixed; width: 250px\">\r\n<colgroup>\r\n<col style=\"width: 125px\">\r\n<col style=\"width: 125px\">\r\n<\/colgroup>\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <th class=\"tg-5t56\">Pr\u00e9nom<\/th>\r\n    <th class=\"tg-5t56\">Nom<\/th>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Martine<\/td>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Dupon<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Jeanne<\/td>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Martin<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Henri<\/td>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Durand<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Bertrand<\/td>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Petit<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Antoine<\/td>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Martin<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Fabienne<\/td>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Bernard<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n  <tr>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-lap0\">Christelle<\/td>\r\n    <td class=\"tg-baqh\">Robert<\/td>\r\n  <\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-566cbe9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"566cbe9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In this case, the Martine Dupont and Henry Durand lines have been eliminated.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e798d71 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e798d71\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The number of unique values<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4c87d1f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4c87d1f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If you want to know how many unique values your table contains, simply perform the following operation:<\/p><p>SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT name) AS Number FROM Customer<\/p><p>Most often, the SQL query DISTINCT is used with the COUNT command to count values. But you can add other aggregations to suit your needs. This will enable you to perform various mathematical or statistical operations, without taking duplicates into account.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f585c7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con\" data-id=\"5f585c7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d64272d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d64272d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Alternatives to SQL DISTINCT<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3db318 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b3db318\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Other commands can be used to eliminate duplicates. In particular, GROUP BY \/ ORDER BY.<\/p><p>In this context, <a href=\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-tutorial-top-5-most-useful-methods\">the SQL query is as follows:<\/a><\/p><p>SELECT lastname, firstname FROM `Customer` GROUP BY lastname, firstname ORDER BY lastname, firstname<\/p><p>The result is exactly the same as with the query: SELECT DISTINCT firstname lastname FROM customer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5cd6da2 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con\" data-id=\"5cd6da2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b00a8ba elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b00a8ba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Master SQL with DataScientest<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16ae2c1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"16ae2c1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The SQL programming language is packed with essential queries for manipulating data. If you&#8217;d like to deepen your knowledge in this area, join our training courses at Datascientest. These business-oriented courses will have you 100% operational by the end of the course.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c9819f elementor-align-center button-principale elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"5c9819f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm elementor-animation-grow\" href=\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/data-scientist-course\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Become an SQL expert<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fce04ed e-flex e-con-boxed e-con\" data-id=\"fce04ed\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-64f047a elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"64f047a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [{\n    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n    \"name\": \"SQL DISTINCT to eliminate duplicates\",\n    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n      \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n      \"text\": \"The SQL DISTINCT query can be used to limit duplicates. When you use the SELECT statement command, you can select one or more table columns. But within these columns, there may be duplicate rows. To avoid this, you need to add DISTINCT to the SELECT query. By doing so, all redundancies are eliminated.\"\n    }\n  },{\n    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n    \"name\": \"Alternatives to SQL DISTINCT\",\n    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n      \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n      \"text\": \"Other commands can be used to eliminate duplicates. In particular GROUP BY \/ ORDER BY.\"\n    }\n  }]\n}\n<\/script>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the SELECT query is one of the most commonly used to read data from a table, it has some limitations if used on its own. That&#8217;s why other commands are associated with it. These combinations allow you to refine the results. One of these commands is SQL DISTINCT, which removes duplicates within a MySQL [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":174186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[2425],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The SQL DISTINCT keyword is used to retrieve unique values from a specified column in a database table. It helps eliminate duplicate values in the result set, so you only get\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While the SELECT query is one of the most commonly used to read data from a table, it has some limitations if used on its own. That&#039;s why other commands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Data Science Courses | DataScientest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DataScientestEN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-27T18:09:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-27T18:15:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/files\/2023\/11\/SQL_DISTINCT_DATASCIENTEST.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melanie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DataScientest__\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DataScientest__\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melanie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Melanie\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/19d5f7ade9407eb69af3bf6d1ae1731d\"},\"headline\":\"SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-27T18:09:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-27T18:15:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query\"},\"wordCount\":587,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Data Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2023\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query\",\"name\":\"SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-27T18:09:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-27T18:15:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"The SQL DISTINCT keyword is used to retrieve unique values from a specified column in a database table. It helps eliminate duplicate values in the result set, so you only get\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Data Science Courses | DataScientest\",\"description\":\"Leader in Data Science Courses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"DataScientest\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/9\/files\/2024\/02\/DataScientest_icon_blue-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/9\/files\/2024\/02\/DataScientest_icon_blue-2.png\",\"width\":301,\"height\":301,\"caption\":\"DataScientest\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DataScientestEN\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DataScientest__\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/datascientest\/mycompany\/\",\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@datascientest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/19d5f7ade9407eb69af3bf6d1ae1731d\",\"name\":\"Melanie\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d3d660a0698de06f13ecf4823519da1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d3d660a0698de06f13ecf4823519da1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Melanie\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/author\/melaniekrause\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?","description":"The SQL DISTINCT keyword is used to retrieve unique values from a specified column in a database table. It helps eliminate duplicate values in the result set, so you only get","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?","og_description":"While the SELECT query is one of the most commonly used to read data from a table, it has some limitations if used on its own. That's why other commands","og_url":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query","og_site_name":"Data Science Courses | DataScientest","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DataScientestEN","article_published_time":"2023-11-27T18:09:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-27T18:15:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/files\/2023\/11\/SQL_DISTINCT_DATASCIENTEST.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Melanie","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DataScientest__","twitter_site":"@DataScientest__","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Melanie","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query"},"author":{"name":"Melanie","@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/19d5f7ade9407eb69af3bf6d1ae1731d"},"headline":"SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?","datePublished":"2023-11-27T18:09:45+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-27T18:15:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query"},"wordCount":587,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Data Science"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2023","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query","url":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query","name":"SQL DISTINCT: How do I use this query?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-11-27T18:09:45+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-27T18:15:03+00:00","description":"The SQL DISTINCT keyword is used to retrieve unique values from a specified column in a database table. It helps eliminate duplicate values in the result set, so you only get","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/sql-distinct-how-do-i-use-this-query"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/","name":"Data Science Courses | DataScientest","description":"Leader in Data Science Courses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#organization","name":"DataScientest","url":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/9\/files\/2024\/02\/DataScientest_icon_blue-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/9\/files\/2024\/02\/DataScientest_icon_blue-2.png","width":301,"height":301,"caption":"DataScientest"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DataScientestEN","https:\/\/twitter.com\/DataScientest__","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/datascientest\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@datascientest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/19d5f7ade9407eb69af3bf6d1ae1731d","name":"Melanie","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d3d660a0698de06f13ecf4823519da1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d3d660a0698de06f13ecf4823519da1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Melanie"},"url":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/author\/melaniekrause"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datascientest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}