Count unique values. This function returns the number of distinct, non-NULL values found in the specified column or expression.
CREATE TABLE student (name CHAR(10), test CHAR(10), score TINYINT);
INSERT INTO student VALUES
('Chun', 'SQL', 75), ('Chun', 'Tuning', 73),
('Esben', 'SQL', 43), ('Esben', 'Tuning', 31),
('Kaolin', 'SQL', 56), ('Kaolin', 'Tuning', 88),
('Tatiana', 'SQL', 87), ('Tatiana', 'Tuning', 83);
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM student;
+----------+
| COUNT(*) |
+----------+
| 8 |
+----------+
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT (name)) FROM student;
+------------------------+
| COUNT(DISTINCT (name)) |
+------------------------+
| 4 |
+------------------------+