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You're reading from  Expert Data Modeling with Power BI - Second Edition

Product typeBook
Published inApr 2023
PublisherPackt
ISBN-139781803246246
Edition2nd Edition
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Author (1)
Soheil Bakhshi
Soheil Bakhshi
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Soheil Bakhshi

Soheil Bakhshi is the founder of Data Vizioner and is a sought after BI consultant. Working in data and analytics for more than 20 years, Soheil's experience lies in Microsoft BI, Data Warehousing, and Power BI platform. He possesses MSCE, MCSA certifications and is a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional). He has a passion for sharing knowledge via his website and speaking at conferences and Power BI community events locally and globally. In following his desire for simplicity and efficiency, he is behind Power BI community tools and commercial products such as Power BI Exporter and Power BI Documenter.
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Understanding virtual tables

The concept of virtual tables in DAX is somewhat confusing and misunderstood, yet it is one of the most powerful and important concepts in DAX. When we talk about virtual tables, we refer to in-memory tables that we build using certain DAX functions or constructors. The data in a virtual table is either derived from the data within the data model or the data we construct for specific purposes.

Remember, whenever we use a DAX function that results in a table of values, we are creating a virtual table.

At this point, you may ask, so when I use a DAX function to create a calculated table, am I creating a virtual table? The answer is it depends. If you simply use a set of DAX functions that generate data or selectively load data from other tables into a calculated table, the answer is no: you have not created any virtual tables.

Nevertheless, when generating or loading the data from other tables, taking some table operations, and loading the results...

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Expert Data Modeling with Power BI - Second Edition
Published in: Apr 2023Publisher: PacktISBN-13: 9781803246246

Author (1)

author image
Soheil Bakhshi

Soheil Bakhshi is the founder of Data Vizioner and is a sought after BI consultant. Working in data and analytics for more than 20 years, Soheil's experience lies in Microsoft BI, Data Warehousing, and Power BI platform. He possesses MSCE, MCSA certifications and is a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional). He has a passion for sharing knowledge via his website and speaking at conferences and Power BI community events locally and globally. In following his desire for simplicity and efficiency, he is behind Power BI community tools and commercial products such as Power BI Exporter and Power BI Documenter.
Read more about Soheil Bakhshi