Question

How can I limit a result set to n distinct values of a given column(s), where the actual number of rows may be higher?

Input table:

client_id, employer_id, other_value 1, 2, abc 1, 3, defg 2, 3, dkfjh 3, 1, ldkfjkj 4, 4, dlkfjk 4, 5, 342 4, 6, dkj 5, 1, dlkfj 6, 1, 34kjf 7, 7, 34kjf 8, 6, lkjkj 8, 7, 23kj 

desired output, where limit distinct=5 distinct values of client_id:

1, 2, abc 1, 3, defg 2, 3, dkfjh 3, 1, ldkfjkj 4, 4, dlkfjk 4, 5, 342 4, 6, dkj 5, 1, dlkfj 

Platform this is intended for is MySQL.

Answer 1

You can use a subselect

select * from table where client_id in  (select distinct client_id from table order by client_id limit 5)