Summary

In this chapter, you have seen the different uses of DAX in Power BI models: calculated columns, calculated tables, measures, security rules, and queries. The main takeaway is that DAX measures are (or should be) the primary way of generating valuable results from a model, and indeed, for the majority of the remainder of this book we will focus on DAX measures. We have given you some best practices for working with DAX: avoid calculated columns, use explicit DAX measures, create simple DAX measures and use these as building blocks for more advanced calculations, use measure tables, and hide elements of a model that could confuse the report designer (even if that is yourself).

The next chapter deals with probably the most important concepts to understand when working with DAX: context and filtering. After that, we will be ready to explore advanced DAX business cases in Part 2.