What does the HAVING clause accomplish in SQL?

The HAVING clause in SQL is specifically used to set conditions on groups created by the GROUP BY clause. It allows you to apply filters to aggregate functions, meaning that you can determine which grouped records to include in the final result set based on the result of those aggregates. For example, after calculating the sum of sales per region, you might use the HAVING clause to only include regions where the sum exceeds a certain threshold.

In this context, while other choices mention functionalities related to data manipulation and structuring, they do not accurately describe the role of the HAVING clause. The clause is not about ordering results alphabetically, which would involve the ORDER BY clause; it does not group data before aggregation since that's the purpose of the GROUP BY clause. Additionally, while there is functionality to combine records from related tables, it pertains to JOIN operations and not the HAVING clause's purpose. Therefore, the capacity of the HAVING clause to filter aggregated results makes it an essential tool for SQL queries that require refined data analysis.