Final answer:
The MONTHS_BETWEEN function calculates the number of months between two dates, and is commonly used in databases and programming languages to handle date comparisons.
Step-by-step explanation:
The MONTHS_BETWEEN function is indeed used to determine the number of months between two dates. In the context of databases or programming languages that support date and time functions, MONTHS_BETWEEN can be a very handy function. It calculates the number of months separating two date values, usually resulting in a decimal value that represents full months and partial months.
For example, if you have two dates, '2023-01-01' and '2023-03-15', the MONTHS_BETWEEN function would return '2.5', indicating two full months and half a month between the two dates. To use this function effectively, it's important to understand the date format that your particular database or programming language requires, as well as any nuances in how it calculates the difference (such as how it handles end-of-month scenarios).