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Handling duplicates

The document provides SQL commands for displaying dates, identifying and removing duplicate rows in a database. It outlines three methods: using GROUP BY and HAVING clauses, creating an intermediate table, and utilizing the ROW_NUMBER() function for MySQL 8.02 and later. Each method includes specific SQL commands and examples to effectively manage duplicates in the 'dates' table.

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Suresh
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2 views

Handling duplicates

The document provides SQL commands for displaying dates, identifying and removing duplicate rows in a database. It outlines three methods: using GROUP BY and HAVING clauses, creating an intermediate table, and utilizing the ROW_NUMBER() function for MySQL 8.02 and later. Each method includes specific SQL commands and examples to effectively manage duplicates in the 'dates' table.

Uploaded by

Suresh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Display the Contents of the Dates Table

To see a display of all the dates you entered, ordered by year, type:

SELECT * FROM dates ORDER BY year;

The output should show a list of dates in the appropriate order.

Display Duplicate Rows


To find out whether there are duplicate rows in the test database, use the
command:

SELECT
day, COUNT(day),
month, COUNT(month),
year, COUNT(year)
FROM
dates
GROUP BY
day,
month,
year
HAVING
COUNT(day) > 1
AND COUNT(month) > 1
AND COUNT(year) > 1;

The system will display any values that are duplicates. In this case, you
should see:

delete t1 FROM dates t1


INNER JOIN dates t2
WHERE
t1.id < t2.id AND
t1.day = t2.day AND
t1.month = t2.month AND
t1.year = t2.year;

Option 2: Remove Duplicate Rows Using an


Intermediate Table
You can create an intermediate table and use it to remove duplicate
rows. This is done by transferring only the unique rows to the newly
created table and deleting the original one (with the remaining duplicate
rows).
To do so follow the instructions below.

1. Create an intermediate table that has the same structure as the source
table and transfer the unique rows found in the source:

CREATE TABLE [copy_of_source] SELECT DISTINCT [columns] FROM


[source_table];

For instance, to create a copy of the structure of the sample


table dates the command is:

CREATE TABLE copy_of_dates SELECT DISTINCT id, day, month, year


FROM dates;

2. With that done, you can delete the source table with the drop
command and rename the new one:

DROP TABLE [source_table];


ALTER TABLE [copy_of_source] RENAME TO [source_table];

For example:

DROP TABLE dates;


ALTER TABLE copy_of_dates RENAME TO dates;
Option 3: Remove Duplicate Rows Using
ROW_NUMBER()
Important: This method is only available for MySQL version 8.02 and
later. Check MySQL version before attempting this method.

Another way to delete duplicate rows is with the ROW_NUMBER() function.

SELECT *. ROW_NUMBER () Over (PARTITION BY [column] ORDER BY


[column]) as [row_number_name];

Therefore, the command for our sample table would be:

SELECT *. ROW_NUMBER () Over (PARTITION BY id ORDER BY id) as


row_number;

The results include a row_number column. The data is partitioned


by id and within each partition there are unique row numbers. Unique
values are labeled with row number 1, while duplicates are 2, 3, and so
on.

Therefore, to remove duplicate rows, you need to delete everything


except the ones marked with 1. This is done by running a DELETE query
with the row_number as the filter.

To delete duplicate rows run:


DELETE FROM [table_name] WHERE row_number > 1;

In our example dates table, the command would be:

DELETE FROM dates WHERE row_number > 1;

The output will tell you how many rows have been affected, that is, how
many duplicate rows have been deleted.

You can verify there are no duplicate rows by running:

SELECT * FROM [table_name];

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