Power BI Tools: DAX Introduction

Description

In this two-day course, students will be introduced to using Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), which is the expression language that is used to create custom calculations in the ` Power BI Data model. The course covers some of the theoretical underpinnings of the data model and DAX, but the emphasis is on using DAX to solve common business problems. Students will learn how to write their own calculated columns, measures, and tables, how to visualize the way Power BI computes DAX calculations, and how to troubleshoot custom code. This instructor-led course consists of a combination of lecture, demonstrations, and hands-on labs. Software Used During the Class The standard lab setup for this class consists of a Window 10 PC with Power BI Desktop and DAX Studio installed.

Prerequisites

Although experience with Power BI Desktop is not strictly required for this class, students with at least some familiarity will be better equipped to get the most out of the lab work. DAX functions that are covered in this class include: ul.mb { margin-left: 30px;} li.mb { margin-bottom: 15px;} Date and time functions: CALENDAR(), DATE(), DATEDIFF(), NOW(), WEEKDAY(), WEEKNUM(), YEAR(), MONTH(), DAY() Filter functions: ALL(), ALLCROSSFILTERED(), ALLEXCEPT(), ALLSELECTED(), CALCULATE(), CALCULATETABLE(), FILTER(), KEEPFILTERS(), LOOKUPVALUE(), REMOVEFILTERS() Information functions: CONTAINS(), HASONEFILTER(), HASONEVALUE(), ISBLANK(), ISEMPTY(), ISERROR(), USERNAME() Logical functions: AND(), COALESCE(), IF(), IF.EAGER(), IFERROR(), NOT(), OR(), SWITCH(), TRUE(), FALSE() Math and Statistical Functions: DIVIDE(), SUM(), SUMX(), AVERAGE(), AVERAGEX(), COUNT(), COUNTBLANK(), COUNTROWS(), COUNTX(), DISTINCTCOUNT(), MAX(), MAXX(), MEDIAN(), MEDIANX(), MIN(), MINX(), RANKX() Table manipulation functions: CROSSJOIN(), DATATABLE(), NATURALINNERJOIN(), VALUES() Text functions: CONCATENATEX(), FIND(), LEFT(), LEN(), MID(), REPLACE(), SEARCH(), TRIM(), VALUE() Time intelligence functions: DATEADD(), DATESBETWEEN(), DATESMTD(), DATESQTD(), DATESYTD(), PARALLELPERIOD(), SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR(), TOTALMTD(), TOTALQTD(), TOTALYTD

Course Outline

Getting started with DAX What is DAX? Basics of DAX syntax Creating a calculated column Creating a calculated measure Creating a calculated table Differences in evaluation context Rules of evaluation Working with variables Commenting your code Testing your code Performing basic calculations Implicit measures Adding quick measures Doing basic math Using logic in your calculations Aggregating and summarizing data Working with DAX data types Working with context in the data model Context defined Data modeling basics Introduction to dimensional modeling Relationships and their effect on the evaluation context Getting data from other tables using RELATED and RELATEDTABLE Modifying the context using CALCULATE Looking up data without using relationships Performing more advanced calculations Handling errors gracefully Using DAX iterator functions Using table manipulation functions Troubleshooting your calculations using the Performance Analyzer and DAX Studio Working with time Performing date calculations Working with date tables Generating a date table with the CALENDAR() function Defining custom operating periods YTD, QTD, and MTD calculations Custom to-date calculations Finding year-over-year change Finding moving averages Enhancing the user experience Controlling visibility of your measures Using What-if parameters Adding banding Using DAX to provide row-level security