Explicit Measures Podcast 422: Max Performance in Power Query
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May 8, 2025 In this engaging talk, Alex Powers, a Power Query expert and contributor to Microsoft documentation, shares his secrets for maximizing performance and optimizing data transformations in Power BI. He discusses the evolution of Power Query, focusing on feature updates and best practices. The conversation also covers the significance of query folding and the challenges it presents. Alex emphasizes the role of AI tools in modern data management, paving the way for a seamless user experience as the landscape evolves.
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Power Query's UI vs Backend Reality
- Power Query has evolved through many hosts like Excel, Power BI, and Power Apps but shares a similar UI across platforms.
- Despite the familiar UI, performance and backend infrastructure vary greatly, impacting execution time and cost.
Match Tools to Skills and Needs
- Understand your skill level and dataflow requirements before choosing between Power Query, Python, or SQL for transformations.
- Dataflows Gen 2 target both low-code and high-skill users with optimization layers to simplify complex scenarios.
Visual Queries Aid Learning SQL
- Use visual query builders to help non-SQL users create queries but be aware the underlying code is M folding back to SQL.
- This duality helps users learn SQL concepts through a more approachable UI.