In SQL, what does the GROUP BY clause do?

The GROUP BY clause in SQL is used to organize similar data into groups based on specified column values. When you use GROUP BY in a query, it takes rows that have the same values in one or more specified columns and consolidates them into a single row for each unique set of these values. This is particularly useful in conjunction with aggregate functions, like COUNT, SUM, AVG, MAX, and MIN, which allow you to perform calculations on each group of data.

For instance, if you have a table of sales data and you want to find the total sales per region, you would group the results by the region column. This way, the database can sum the sales for each region, providing you with a clearer picture of the sales distribution across different areas.

In contrast, other options represent different SQL operations.

• Joining multiple tables is handled by the JOIN clause, which combines rows from two or more tables based on a related column.

• Filtering out duplicate values typically involves the DISTINCT keyword, which returns only unique values from a specified column or columns.

• Sorting data in ascending order is done with the ORDER BY clause, which organizes the results in a specified order based on one or more columns.

Understanding the specific function of GROUP BY enhances your