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distinct() and distinct_on()

For any query q, q.distinct(...) builds a query whose output is q's output, but with exact duplicates removed. It's a wrapper for SQL's DISTINCT.

q.distinct() returns a query with the following characteristics.

distinct_on() (PostgresSQL only)

For any query q, q.distinct_on(...) builds a query whose output is q's output, but with the results in a specified order, and duplicates with respect to the sort expressions removed. It's a wrapper for SQL's DISTINCT ON, but with a difference explained below.

For any query q, you can call q.distinct_on(exprn0, exprn1, ...), provided that:

q's value mapper will be visible to each exprni.

q.order(exprn0, exprn1, ...) returns a query with the following characteristics:

The one record from each set is chosen unpredictably by PostgreSQL. You can control the choice by pre-sorting the input, i.e.:

q.order(oexprn0, oexprn1, ...).distinct_on(exprn0, exprn1, ...)

Then, from each set that matches on all the exprnis, distinct_on() will find the one that is first in order of the oexprnis.

Difference from PostgreSQL's DISTINCT ON

The PostgreSQL documentation says:

The DISTINCT ON expression(s) must match the leftmost ORDER BY expression(s).

Rather than pass this requirement on to application programmers, quince inserts the required ORDER BY expression(s) automatically. So, if we take the PostgreSQL documentation's example:

SELECT DISTINCT ON (location) location, time, report FROM weather_reports ORDER BY location, time DESC;

The quince equivalent would be:

weather_reports
.order(- weather_reports->time)
.distinct_on(weather_reports->location)
.select(weather_reports->location, weather_reports->time, weather_reports->report)

And we let quince add the ordering by weather_reports->location, at a higher lexicographic significance than the ordering by weather_reports->time.


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