SQLBI Newsletter #222

NEW ARTICLE - DAX 101

Using variables in DAX makes the code easier to read, faster, and easier to debug. In this article, we discuss how and when to use variables, along with why they are so important in any DAX expression.
Read more

DAX PATTERNS

Month-related calculations

The month-related calculations pattern describes how to compute year-to-date, same period last year, and percentage growth using a month granularity.
This pattern does not rely on DAX built-in time intelligence functions.

#222 · Aug 2022

LEARNING

Course calendar

Mastering DAX

	Aug 29-31 - Munich
	Sep 28-30 - Brisbane
	Oct 4-6 - Melbourne
	Oct 4-6 - Amsterdam
	Oct 10-12 - Sydney
	Nov 9-11 - Chicago

Data modeling

	Nov 9-11 - Chicago
	Dec 5-7 - Amsterdam

video courses

	Mastering Tabular
	Intro to Data Modeling
	Data Modeling for Power BI
	Power BI Dashboard Design
	DAX Tools
	Introducing DAX
	Mastering DAX
	Optimizing DAX
	Power Pivot

Because the pattern does not use real dates to link to sales, you can also implement fiscal calendars with 13 months and any non-standard time-related calculation – provided that the maximum level of detail of the reports is the month and not weeks or days.
Read more

BI-WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST

Latest news

	• Power BI DirectQuery best practices The only articles you can trust about DirectQuery optimizations are those highlighting that the best optimization is Import mode. The last sentence of this article is what should be on the front page of every DirectQuery paper: DirectQuery is slower and more expensive, are you sure you need it? If yes, it is a lot of fun, time, and money to fine-tune it! Jul 17, 2022 · Chris Webb
	• Power BI Premium Gen2 CPU smoothing Microsoft published a document explaining how it computes the CPU consumption for different workloads (background/interactive). Interesting paper to understand how autoscale works and when throttling is applied. Jul 27, 2022 · Microsoft
	• ExecuteQueries REST API versus XMLA endpoints at scale The ExecuteQueries API enables consumption scenarios in Power Automate, but you must pay attention to the scale limits of such solutions. For big columns, you should still consider XMLA endpoints. Jul 18, 2022 · Microsoft
	• How to make the right report for the users There are different possible approaches to collecting reporting requirements. If you ever created a report for someone else, you will find your experience described here, with helpful considerations about which of the different approaches works best. Bonus: the article style is all but boring! Jul 19, 2022 · Kurt Buhler

CLASSROOM COURSES

Mastering DAX in Munich is coming soon!

The upcoming Mastering DAX in Munich is confirmed and filling up quickly, but there are still seats available: do not miss the opportunity to spend 3 days in the classroom with Alberto Ferrari!

If you are in Australia, Marco Russo will be soon in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane: get your seat before the courses are sold out.

SQLBI YOUTUBE CHANNEL