Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Get certified in Microsoft Fabric—for free! For a limited time, the Microsoft Fabric Community team will be offering free DP-600 exam vouchers. Prepare now

Reply
CCCP
Frequent Visitor

MDX or DAX with using a connection to a power bi dataset

HI,i would like to understand why when i create a report and using report query builder to create simple queries,  the query languages that are available are MDX /DAX when it is in import mode ,only mdx when the dataset is in direct query mode.
Is there a setting on the pbi tenant ? or it depends on the report builder version? 

 

thanks for your time and responses.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
v-xiaoyan-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @CCCP ,

 

 MDX can be used to query data from a cube and do a pivot of that data while DAX, being more of an expression language than a query language, cannot be used similarly.

Both being expression language, MDX and DAX are designed to query an SSAS Cube. The difference, however, lies in the details. MDX can be used to query against SSAS Multi-dimensional models, while DAX is used for SSAS Tabular models. If you use Power BI for your visualization needs, it can connect to SSAS Multi-dimensional models even though Power BI primarily uses Tabular models.

 

DAX expressions are supported only within tabular models. You cannot use measures created by a DAX expression in a multidimensional model. A DAX query to a multidimensional model can reference a measure or other calculation that is defined in that model, but those calculations must be authored using the MDX language. DAX expressions cannot be used where an MDX expression is required and vice-versa, and some DAX functions, like PATH, are not applicable in multidimensional modeling at all.

 

For more you can refer to dax-vs-mdx-is-there-any-difference 

 

Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ Caitlyn

If this post helps then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
v-xiaoyan-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @CCCP ,

 

 MDX can be used to query data from a cube and do a pivot of that data while DAX, being more of an expression language than a query language, cannot be used similarly.

Both being expression language, MDX and DAX are designed to query an SSAS Cube. The difference, however, lies in the details. MDX can be used to query against SSAS Multi-dimensional models, while DAX is used for SSAS Tabular models. If you use Power BI for your visualization needs, it can connect to SSAS Multi-dimensional models even though Power BI primarily uses Tabular models.

 

DAX expressions are supported only within tabular models. You cannot use measures created by a DAX expression in a multidimensional model. A DAX query to a multidimensional model can reference a measure or other calculation that is defined in that model, but those calculations must be authored using the MDX language. DAX expressions cannot be used where an MDX expression is required and vice-versa, and some DAX functions, like PATH, are not applicable in multidimensional modeling at all.

 

For more you can refer to dax-vs-mdx-is-there-any-difference 

 

Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ Caitlyn

If this post helps then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Helpful resources

Announcements
OCT PBI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - October 2024

Check out the October 2024 Power BI update to learn about new features.

September Hackathon Carousel

Microsoft Fabric & AI Learning Hackathon

Learn from experts, get hands-on experience, and win awesome prizes.

October NL Carousel

Fabric Community Update - October 2024

Find out what's new and trending in the Fabric Community.