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Can selected columns change the number of rows in MySQL?


I have a simple query with a couple of joins but when I add columns in to my selection from the same set of joins, number of rows change by just adding or removing columns in selection without changing any joins.


Solution

  • Yes they can. Your query or as you call it "simple query" can have, for example, keyword distinct and adding a column to a select like that will change the number of total rows in your result.

    select distinct t1.id, t2.id
    from t1
    left join t2 on t1.id = t2.id
    

    VS

    select distinct t1.id, t2.id, t2.job
    from t1
    left join t2 on t1.id = t2.id
    

    Here is a demo