Articles of 2014

11 results

From SQL to DAX: Grouping Data

The GROUP BY condition of a SQL statement is natively implemented by SUMMARIZE in DAX. This article shows how to use SUMMARIZE and an alternative syntax to group data.  Read more

From SQL to DAX: Filtering Data

The WHERE condition of an SQL statement has two counterparts in DAX: FILTER and CALCULATETABLE. In this article we explore the differences between them, providing a few best practices in their use.  Read more

DIVIDE Performance

The DIVIDE function in DAX is usually faster to avoid division-by-zero errors than the simple division operator. However, there are exceptions to this rule, described in this article through a simple performance analysis.  Read more

Check Empty Table Condition with DAX

In DAX there are different ways to test whether a table is empty. This test can be used in complex DAX expressions and this short article briefly discuss what are the suggested approaches from a performance perspective.  Read more

AutoExist and Normalization

The autoexist feature used by MDX queries sent to an Analysis Services or Power Pivot data models can have different behaviors depending on the normalization level. This article describes these differences and provides best practices to avoid unwanted results.  Read more

Natural Hierarchies in Power Pivot and Tabular

Creating a hierarchy in a Power Pivot or Tabular data model is very easy, but you might experience performance issues if the hierarchy is not “natural”. This article explains how to create hierarchies avoiding these problems.  Read more