Dax Examples
Dax is used to bring some meaningful information hidden inside the raw data.
Dax examples. There are certain rules we have to follow for using dax. In the previous article of this series andy brown of wise owl training explained how to use the oh so important calculate function in dax to make changes to the default filter context within a formula. Dax includes many functions that return a table rather than a value.
Dax is the new language used by powerpivot and analysis services in tabular mode and it resembles the syntax of excel formula and it can be considered a functional language. You do not have iterative statements but you can run iterative functions like for example sumx and filter. This function reference provides detailed information including syntax parameters return values and examples for each of the over 200 functions used in data analysis expression dax formulas.
The following formula shows the syntax of the and function. If you need to perform an and operation on multiple expressions you can create a series of calculations or better use the and operator to join all of them in a simpler expression. 2 minutes to read.
With dax queries you can query and return data defined by a table expression. 4 minutes to read. For example you can retrieve a table and then count the distinct values in it or calculate dynamic sums across filtered tables or columns.
The table isn t displayed but is used to provide input to other functions. Robert sheldon shows how easy it is to retrieve data from a tabular database. Getting started with data analysis expressions dax can be intimidating but becoming knowledgeable in just a few basic functions can help you to unlock many new insights into your data.
Data analysis expressions dax originally the formula language for powerpivot workbooks can also be used within the mdx query window of ssms to directly access data from a tabular ssas database an in memory database that uses the xvelocity analytics engine and compression. Reporting clients construct dax queries whenever a field is placed on a report surface or a whenever a filter or calculation is applied. In simple words dax is used for data manipulation.
You ll understand these rules quickly if you are familiar with excel functions. While it is easy to create visuals in power bi or pivot charts we often desire to view data for specific time frames or with specific filters applied or removed that we are unable to accomplish with our. The answer is dax short for data analysis expressions.
This article shows how you can use the filter function to do something similar and explains the differences between the two approaches.
