Distinct

Removes duplicate values from an array, returning only unique elements.

Syntax

Distinct(array)

Parameters

• array (array): The array to remove duplicates from

Returns

• array: A new array containing only unique elements

Description

Creates a new array containing only the unique elements from the input array. Uses deep equality comparison for determining duplicates, meaning objects and arrays are compared by their contents, not by reference.

The order of first occurrence is preserved - elements appear in the result in the same order they first appeared in the input.

Examples

Basic deduplication

var unique = Distinct([1, 2, 2, 3, 1])  # Returns [1, 2, 3]

String deduplication

var unique = Distinct(["apple", "banana", "apple", "cherry", "banana"])
# Returns ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

Preserves first occurrence order

var unique = Distinct([3, 1, 2, 1, 3, 2])  # Returns [3, 1, 2]

Empty array

var unique = Distinct([])  # Returns []

Single element

var unique = Distinct([42])  # Returns [42]

Deduplicating IDs

var allIds = [101, 102, 101, 103, 102, 104]
var uniqueIds = Distinct(allIds)
# Returns [101, 102, 103, 104]

Removing duplicate tags

var tags = ["urgent", "review", "urgent", "approved", "review"]
var uniqueTags = Distinct(tags)
# Returns ["urgent", "review", "approved"]

Objects with deep equality

var items = [
    {"id": 1, "name": "A"},
    {"id": 2, "name": "B"},
    {"id": 1, "name": "A"}
]
var unique = Distinct(items)
# Returns [{"id": 1, "name": "A"}, {"id": 2, "name": "B"}]

Notes

• Returns a new array; the original array is not modified
• Uses deep equality comparison (objects and arrays are compared by value)
• Null values are treated as equal to each other
• Performance: O(n²) comparison, suitable for typical array sizes
• For counting occurrences of each value, consider using GroupBy with Length