Re: Assistance with the DISTINCT keyword

Use group by > On Nov 12, 2023, at 6:35 AM, gordonisnz@gmail.com wrote: > >  > > Hello. I'm wondering if I can get assistance with the DISTINCT keyword? > > I've got a Table with 5-6 fields/information but 1000+ records. I want to select all > fields but only use DISTINCT on one specific field. > > There may be 1, 2, or 10+ records with a distinct code - I only want to choose the oldest > record of each distinct code, but 5 unique/distinct records. > > PROBLEM: https://www.mysqltutorial.org/mysql-distinct.aspx > > If I select multiple records, SELECT DISTINCT field1, Field2, etc.. it seems to combine > "Field1, Field2" into one field and make a DISTINCT on THAT information, instead of just > field1. > > In all the tutorials I find I can only retrieve ONE field/information using DISTINCT, without > retrieving all the information/fields. > > Is it possible to select distinct on 1field, but retrieve ALL fields for that record? > > > An example of what I want: Select DISTINCT REF, * from Services ORDER BY > Services.TIMECHECK ASC LIMIT 5; > > *TIMECHECK* is a simple timestamp > > > Or do I need to do this in a 2-step process? > - get 5 records Distinct on the REF, sort by oldest records > - select all fields/columns of information for each unique record, (HOWEVER, I only want the > oldest record). > -- > > Gordon.