Hi! I have a MySQL table that is updated by multiple users. There are chances that an entire row may be repeated a few times. There are cases also where only some column entries from a row may be repeated.

Here's the table:
questions TEXT,
option_a TEXT,
option_b TEXT,
option_c TEXT,
option_d TEXT

I need to check the table if there are cases an entry is repeated, or when the same question is repeated but with different options, or etc.

The INSERT routine IGNOREs repeated entries, so it's unlikely that an entire row may be repeated. So the only issue left is the possibility that the same question is repeated but with different entries in the options columns (option_a ... option_d). I need a routine in MySQL/Perl that returns the rows (or just the id) of the duplicate entries for a particular column.

Hope someone could enlighten me on this matter. I just need a quick and fast query that does this.

Thanks!!!!

20040204 Edit by BazB: Changed title from 'Needs a good routine for finding duplicate entries from a MySQL Table'


In reply to OT: routine for finding duplicate entries from a MySQL Table by soon_j

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