


How to Resolve 'DISTINCT ON Expressions Must Match Initial ORDER BY Expressions' in PostgreSQL?
Jan 21, 2025 pm 12:22 PMPostgreSQL's DISTINCT ON
clause simplifies retrieving the first row for each unique value within a set. However, a common pitfall arises when the DISTINCT ON
expression doesn't align with the initial ORDER BY
expression.
DISTINCT ON
Expression Mismatch Error
This error frequently occurs:
SELECT DISTINCT ON (address_id) purchases.address_id, purchases.* FROM purchases WHERE purchases.product_id = 1 ORDER BY purchases.purchased_at DESC
Resulting in:
<code>PG::Error: ERROR: SELECT DISTINCT ON expressions must match initial ORDER BY expressions</code>
The Solution: Aligning DISTINCT ON
and ORDER BY
PostgreSQL's documentation mandates that the DISTINCT ON
expression(s) must mirror the leftmost ORDER BY
expression(s). The solution is straightforward: reorder your ORDER BY
clause:
SELECT DISTINCT ON (address_id) purchases.address_id, purchases.* FROM purchases WHERE purchases.product_id = 1 ORDER BY address_id, purchases.purchased_at DESC
Alternative Methods: Bypassing address_id
Ordering
If you need to avoid ordering by address_id
, consider these alternatives:
Method 1: The "Greatest N per group" Approach
This method efficiently finds the most recent purchase for each address_id
:
SELECT t1.* FROM purchases t1 JOIN ( SELECT address_id, max(purchased_at) as max_purchased_at FROM purchases WHERE product_id = 1 GROUP BY address_id ) t2 ON t1.address_id = t2.address_id AND t1.purchased_at = t2.max_purchased_at ORDER BY t1.purchased_at DESC
Method 2: Nested Query for PostGreSQL
This approach uses a subquery to achieve the desired result while maintaining the purchased_at
ordering:
SELECT * FROM ( SELECT DISTINCT ON (address_id) * FROM purchases WHERE product_id = 1 ORDER BY address_id, purchased_at DESC ) t ORDER BY purchased_at DESC
These alternatives provide flexibility when you don't want to prioritize address_id
in the final output ordering. They effectively address the "most recent purchase per address" problem without directly violating the DISTINCT ON
constraint.
The above is the detailed content of How to Resolve 'DISTINCT ON Expressions Must Match Initial ORDER BY Expressions' in PostgreSQL?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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