> What does this have to do with his problem???

Why is DISTINCT required was my original question.

OK making DISTINCT faster is one way of solving a speed
problem, but other simple changes to the way of working will
give even better performance improvements.

There is usually more than one way of fixing a problem, and
I like to try the alternatives rather than living with slow
performance because I got the original design wrong. I have
been there with job numbers and am just proposing an
alternative approach.

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Lester Caine
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L.S.Caine Electronic Services