You need the latest record per (id) from a change‑log table with multiple updates per day and occasional ties on timestamp. Which SQL pattern is most reliable?

Use a ROW_NUMBER window: SELECT FROM (SELECT , ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY id ORDER BY ts DESC, sequence DESC) AS rn FROM changelog) t WHERE rn = 1. Ordering by timestamp descending and a secondary sequence or surrogate key guarantees a deterministic tie‑break. Filtering on rn = 1 returns the most recent row per id. This pattern is reliable, works in most engines, and is efficient when proper indexes or partitioning are in place.