SQL to find the number of distinct values in a column

Question

I can select all the distinct values in a column in the following ways:

• SELECT DISTINCT column_name FROM table_name;
• SELECT column_

Answer 1

This will give you BOTH the distinct column values and the count of each value. I usually find that I want to know both pieces of information.

SELECT [columnName], count([columnName]) AS CountOf
FROM [tableName]
GROUP BY [columnName]