The DISTINCT keyword is used in SQL to eliminate duplicate values from the result set of a SELECT statement. When used, it only returns unique, distinct values. For example, if a table contains multiple rows with the same value in a certain column, the DISTINCT keyword will only return a single row with that value.
Example:
Employee Table
| emp_id | emp_name | salary | dept_id | manager_id |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Rahul | 15000 | D1 | M1 |
| E2 | Manoj | 15000 | D1 | M1 |
| E3 | James | 55000 | D2 | M2 |
| E4 | Michael | 25000 | D2 | M2 |
| E5 | Ali | 20000 | D10 | M3 |
| E6 | Robin | 35000 | D10 | M3 |
SELECT DISTINCT salary,dept_id FROM Employee;
Output
| salary | dept_id |
|---|---|
| 15000 | D1 |
| 55000 | D2 |
| 25000 | D2 |
| 20000 | D10 |
| 35000 | D10 |
Code Runner
Copy the below query in the code runner to see the result
SELECT DISTINCT salary,dept_id FROM Employee;