From: Thimble Smith
Date: May 1 1999 10:03am
Subject: Re: DISTINCT and COUNT() SQL Query
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Message-Id: <19990501030359.C8522@desert.net>
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This has been answered correctly and incorrectly many times.  If
you read the archives you'll find it.  If anyone is compiling a
list of FAQs, this is definitely one that should be on it.

The correct answer, for now, is this:

do this query:
    SELECT DISTINCT name FROM table_name;

or (is the same as):
    SELECT name FROM table_name GROUP BY name;

Now what you're looking for is in mysql_num_rows().  Look at the
C API description of mysql_num_rows for warnings about mysql_
use_result vs. mysql_store_result.

Tim

On Fri, Apr 30, 1999 at 09:44:05PM -0700, Mike Machado wrote:
> Yes! I want the number of distinct names. None of the earlier
> queries give me what I'm looking for. I want the number of
> distinct names in the same way as a 'select count(*) from
> names' would, exept that would give me all the entries (count
> the same name multiple times).