Tableau, a powerful data visualization tool, allows users to connect to various data sources, including databases, spreadsheets, and cloud services. While Tableau offers a drag-and-drop interface for creating visualizations, understanding the underlying SQL is essential for complex data transformations and advanced analysis. Tableau SQL is a subset of standard SQL, tailored to work within the Tableau environment. It enables users to write queries to extract, transform, and load (ETL) data. This SQL is used to prepare data for visualizations, perform calculations, and filter data before it's displayed in charts and graphs. For instance, you might use Tableau SQL to calculate sales figures by region or to filter data based on specific criteria. Crucially, Tableau SQL queries are often embedded within Tableau's data preparation process, allowing for dynamic data manipulation and analysis.