How to Use SQL UNIQUE in Oracle

SQL UNIQUE Constraint: Main Tips

• You can use this constraint to classify each data cell in a table of a specific database in Oracle.
• It is described in a PRIMARY KEY by default.
• There can be only one PRIMARY KEY and a lot of UNIQUE constraints per table.
• The SQL SELECT UNIQUE construct only works in Oracle. For other management systems, use SQL SELECT DISTINCT.

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SQL UNIQUE Syntax Needed to CREATE TABLE

In the example below, we produce the UNIQUE constraint while creating the table:

CREATE TABLE People (
    ID int NOT NULL UNIQUE,
    NameLast varchar(255) NOT NULL,
    NameFirst varchar(255),
    Year int
);

The code example below permits naming the constraints:

CREATE TABLE People (
    ID int NOT NULL,
    LName varchar(255) NOT NULL,
    FName varchar(255),
    Year int,
    CONSTRAINT UC_Person UNIQUE (ID,LName)
);

SQL UNIQUE on ALTER TABLE: Example

In the example below, we produce the UNIQUE constraint after the table creation:

ALTER TABLE People
ADD UNIQUE (ID);

The code example below permits naming the constraints:

ALTER TABLE People
ADD CONSTRAINT UC_Person UNIQUE (ID,LName);

Note: SQL SELECT UNIQUE construct is non-standard and only supported by Oracle. For other database systems, use SQL SELECT DISTINCT.