About the Book
Data analysis expressions (DAX) is the data modelling language of Excel Power Pivot and Power BI. DAX language and DAX functions are the same in both Excel and Power BI and hence the knowledge is transferable between the two. The only difference is getting familiarised with the corresponding interfaces.
Simply reading a regular book is normally not enough to help users to learn DAX skills – you need to complete the exercises and get plenty of practice to make the transition. This book is written to give you exactly that – hands-on practice. Inside you will find explanation of the concepts, sample exercises and then practice questions and answers to maximise learning retention and experience.
Once you have read my book and completed the exercises there will be no stopping you on your path to DAX, Power Pivot and Power BI super stardom. And, you will become a data modeller to get the most of self-service BI.
If you want to learn DAX using Excel 2013, you can indicate that in the order notes and you will get a copy of Learn to Write DAX.
Excel Power Pivot and Power BI Desktop
Power BI is the self-service BI tool from Microsoft. PowerBI.com became generally available in July 2015 and is following a rapid monthly development cycle – the pace of change is quite astonishing. There is no doubt that Excel users will increasingly want to leverage the sharing and modern visualisation capabilities of PowerBI.com, and learning to write DAX is the foundation of that journey.
The DAX skills that you learn are fully transferable between Excel Power Pivot and Power BI Desktop.
About the Author (me, Matt Allington)
I have taken my 30+ years experience using Excel and also my experience in teaching live Power Pivot classes and distilled this knowledge into a book that will help any Excel user get started with Power Pivot, DAX and Power BI. The challenge with DAX is that it is completely different to the rest of Excel. As a result, you can’t just ‘incrementally learn’ this stuff off the base of your existing Excel skills – you really need to do some formal learning to get started. This book is exactly what you need to get that start.