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SQL Deduplication With Recency
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SQL Deduplication With Recency

MediumSQL · PostgreSQL

Problem

Write a SQL query to find duplicate records and remove them while keeping the most recent row.

Treat rows in thermostat_events as duplicates when thermostat_id, event_type, reading_value, and recorded_at match. Keep the row with the latest created_at; if timestamps tie, keep the row with the greatest event_id.

Output

  1. Return the event_id values of deleted rows.
  2. Sort deleted IDs by event_id descending.

Schema

thermostat_events
ColumnTypeDescription
event_idPKINTUnique identifier for the event record
thermostat_idVARCHAR(30)Identifier of the thermostat that produced the event
event_typeVARCHAR(30)Type of thermostat event
reading_valueNUMERIC(8,2)Numeric value recorded by the event
recorded_atTIMESTAMPTimestamp represented by the event
created_atTIMESTAMPTimestamp when the database row was created
Tablesthermostat_events
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