Archive for June 28th, 2009
SOQL ‘Distinct’ Keyword
It doesn’t exist. Sad but true.
In SQL there is a clause that ensures a duplicate free result set is returned by any query you issue e.g. You want to retrieve a duplicate free list of first names from the table clients. The column holds the following values: Alice, Bob, Alice. In Oracle SQL you would use the following query (and it would return the names Alice and Bob each listed once)
SELECT DISTINCT firstname
FROM clients;
Unfortunately SOQL doesn’t have this capability although there is an Apex trick that can be employed as a work-around. Read the rest of this entry »
The Silver Lining 