How does the M language help us in Power BI ?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

My manager wants me to learn the M language thinking it could help us with Power BI but so far

I cannot really think of a situation where I have to use the M language when importing data.

Can someone please tell me a few scenarios where either I have to use it or the M makes tasks a lot easier than other methods ?

Thanks in advance

[v-piga-msft]

Hi @Anonymous,

Have you solved the confusion with the help?

If you have understood the help of M language in Power BI, please always accept the replies making sense as solution to your question so that people who may have the same question can get the solution directly.

Best Regards,

Cherry

[Anonymous]

From a best practise perspective, M should be used wherever possible instead of creating calculated columns.  If you have a desire to create large complex projects, understanding M will be invaluable for optimising your model.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

From a best practise perspective, M should be used wherever possible instead of creating calculated columns.  If you have a desire to create large complex projects, understanding M will be invaluable for optimising your model.

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But that can be done graphically in the Query Editor screen, there is no need to write the code by yourself

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

The graphical interface is good, in fact its better than most visual programming languages that i've used.  It only gets you so far though.  There are many occasions where you simply need to pop the hood and write code yourself because the interface is limited.  I'm always using a combination of both to resolve challenges that present themselves.

Skills are a toolbelt.  Some tools have overlapping uses, but that doesn't invalidate their need or usefulness.  Any good craftsman relies on have the right tools for the job when the time comes.  Deliberatly leaving out a good tool will only hurt you in the long run.  Forcing yourself to simply use what is comfortable will lead you down a path of completing work that you won't be happy with and will create problems where problems don't need to exist.  "When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail".

[GilbertQ]

I agree with @Anonymous

There will come a time when having to go into the M Code will mean you have to understand how it works. There are over 900 M Functions that exist.

Along with that, with the new CDS-A that is coming you can leverage your M skills when importing data into CDS-A