All:
I appreciate the answers (and was relatively surprised at how easily this could be accomplished). HOWEVER, I need the capability of possibly merely issuing an error message, instead of "blindly" deleting one of the records, because the entire records are not duplicates, merely the first 20 bytes. And someone would need to look at the input data to see why the data is duplicated.
For those that are curious and desire more details, I am putting together a method for our Help Desk to know who is on call at any given time. Considering the varied schedules that I and my co-workers have, this gets sort of complicated, and the Help Desk always seems to get it wrong!
In general, one of us is on call for entire week, 24 hours a day. However, since I get up at 4:00 AM I would prefer that my co-workers are not called at that time, since I am up anyway!
The identification of duplicates is to ensure that two people have not been assigned duty in the same time period! These would be "exceptions" (or overrides) to the default on-call person.
For example, let's assume I am "on call" July 1 thru July 7. However, on July 3rd I have an appointment from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. I would set the "default" on-call record for the entire week with my name, and then have specific date/time records for the times that OTHER people would cover for me, which override the "default". I need to ensure that, except for the "default" record, no two people are assigned coverage for the same time period.
Records consist of a date, a time (all times assume a thirty-minute interval), and the on-call person's name. Once I have sorted them by date and time, there should NOT be any duplicates. If there are, how can I identify them? I MIGHT possibly want to selectively delete one, but at this point in time I need to IDENTIFY that fact that there are dups and issue a message.
I hope this explains things so that your solutions are more helpful!
David Wakser
InfoCrossing
Confidentiality Note: This e-mail, including any attachment to it, may contain material that is confidential, proprietary, privileged and/or "Protected Health Information," within the meaning of the regulations under the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996. If it is not clear that you are the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this transmittal in error, and any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail, including any attachment to it, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately return it to the sender and delete it from your system. Thank you.
