How to Eliminate Duplicate Rows in SQL

Have you ever found yourself with a table full of duplicate rows and wished there was an easy way to get rid of them? Well, you're in luck! SQL has a handy way of eliminating duplicate rows that can help you get the answer you need.

The Solution

The solution is to use the SELECT DISTINCT statement. This statement takes a single argument, which is the column you want to eliminate the duplicate values of. For example, if you wanted to eliminate the duplicate values in the name column of your database, you would use the following query:

SELECT DISTINCT name FROM table_name;

Examples

Let's look at a few examples of how this statement can be used. Suppose you have a table called users with the following data:

If you wanted to eliminate the duplicate names in this table, you would use the following query:

SELECT DISTINCT name FROM users;

This query would return the result John, Jane, Bob, since these are the three distinct names in the table.

Additional Info

The SELECT DISTINCT statement is supported by most major databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. However, the syntax may vary slightly depending on the database you are using. For more information, check out the documentation for your particular database. 🤓