Forum Discussion
DAX Newbie Question - Base Table Expected
Community ChampionIt looks to me you are approaching DAX as if it were a query tool replacement for SQL. This is not its primary purpose and in fact this is quite a niche approach. Power BI is a model based tool. You build a model which includes tables, relationships and measures, and then visualise the data using visuals in a report. You can do all of this and never write a single dax query - the queries are managed by the visuals.
I have taught thousands of people DAX, and i see this all the time with people coming from a rdbms background. Take a step back and explain what are you trying to do. Chances are there is a better way.
Hi Matt, thank you for the response. I guess I didn't explain myself very well. It is the "... base table expected" that was throwing me for a while. Found this Implementing Input Table in DAX Query – Prologika and has put me on the right track. Cross-posting here just in case others may end up in the same place as I did.
New (ish) to DAX, but no stranger to SQL, C#, Java and way back when Turbo Pascal. Also no stranger to Kimball (ish) EDW, althougth Inmon was the fashion when I first started. "Clicky-clicky, draggy-droppy", as the saying goes, is all very well, just not always what you want.
Many thanks