The `EXTRACT` function is a crucial part of SQL for data manipulation and analysis. It allows you to pull out specific components of a date or time value, such as the year, month, day, hour, minute, or second. This is extremely useful for filtering data, performing calculations, and creating reports. For instance, you might want to find all orders placed in a specific month or analyze sales trends by hour. The `EXTRACT` function provides a clean and efficient way to isolate these components. It's particularly helpful when working with date and time data, enabling you to perform complex queries and gain insights from your data. Understanding `EXTRACT` is essential for anyone working with temporal data in a database. It's a fundamental tool for data manipulation and analysis, enabling you to perform complex queries and gain insights from your data.