The SELECT DISTINCT statement is used to return only distinct (different) values. Inside a table, a column often contains many duplicate values; and sometimes you only want to list the different (distinct) values.

The SQL SELECT DISTINCT Statement

1. The SELECT DISTINCT statement is used to return only distinct (different) values.
2. Inside a table, a column often contains many duplicate values;
3. Sometimes you only want to list the different (distinct) values.

Only distinct (different) values are returned by the SELECT DISTINCT command. A column within a table frequently has many duplicate values, and you may only wish to list the difference (distinct) values.