DAX Notes
DAX Notes
What is DAX?
DAX stands for Data Analysis Expressions. Expressions or formulas that are used for data
analysis and calculations.
The DAX language was created specifically for the handling of data models, through the use
of formulas and expressions.
DAX is a functional language i.e.; DAX formulas have two primary data types; Numeric and
Non-numeric or Others. The numeric data type includes integers, decimals, currency, etc.
Whereas, the non-numeric consists of strings and binary objects.
Note: DAX is not a programming language. It is primarily a formula language and is also a query
language.
DAX Scenarios
1. Mathematical Functions:
o Operates on different mathematical and trigonometric functions and returns
relevant values, as needed.
2. Relationship Functions:
o Returns a value from another related table and offers a relationship between
different expressions in a single table or different ones.
3. Statistical Functions:
o Offers statistical functions that undergo aggregations. Possible to create
aggregations based on relevant information from tables like minimum, maximum,
sum, average, etc.
4. Financial Functions:
o Performs financial calculations like rate of return, net present value, etc.
5. Information Functions:
o Offers a comparison between the input value and if the value is correct or not,
returning the relevant response.
6. Logical Functions:
o Offers information about values in an expression based on its logical output.
7. Date And Time Functions: 70%
o These are typical date and time functions that are based on the DateTime data type.
8. Filter Functions:
o They return specified data types, lookup values in different tables, and filter through
related values.
9. Text Functions:
o Provides a set of functions that can return a part of the string, concatenate values
from the string, control functions for date and time formats, and search for text in a
string.
10. Time Intelligence Functions:
o Lets users build meaningful comparisons and create calculations that leverage the
in-built knowledge about dates and calendars.
11. Table Manipulation Functions:
o These functions either manipulate current tables or return a table, by adding
calculated columns to necessary tables.
Few Limitations
Note: DAX has many possible functions, and it can be hard to know where to start. Focus on the
basic functions first: