How to prevent duplicate entries?

Question

Ruby on Rails

Let's say I have several hundred records in the database in one of the tables. And some of these records have the same name (name). So here's how to prevent so that records with the same name are not output in JSON. That is, suppose that there are 6 identifiers named "Manager" and of these six, only 1 should be displayed in json (which one does not matter). And also in json an element with the total number of entries is displayed, you need to make sure that the total number is also displayed but without duplicate entries.

class WorksController < ApplicationController

  def index
    works = paginate Work.all.order(:name), per_page: 10 
    render json:  { data: works.as_json, meta: { total: Work.count } }
  end

end

If you need I can use "serializers", just tell me how to do it.

Answer 1

You have a clear problem with the database architecture, this problem needs to be solved in this direction.
What you are trying to do is a bicycle, and already rusty through and through, before it even left the assembly line.