This article discusses five essential date functions in SQL: DATE_TRUNC(), DATE_DIFF(), DATE_ADD()/DATE_SUB(), EXTRACT(), and CURRENT_DATE(). These functions enable data manipulation, comparison, and analysis of dates, which is crucial for businesses to make informed decisions. The examples provided by the fictional company Sandy Shores illustrate how these functions can be used to achieve specific goals, such as aggregating sales by month, calculating shipping times, and identifying active customers. By mastering these date functions, developers can write more efficient and effective SQL queries, ultimately improving their overall data analysis skills.