Definitive Guide to DAX, The: Business intelligence for Microsoft Power BI, SQL Server Analysis Services, and Excel, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6Variables

Variables are important for at least two reasons: code readability and performance. In this chapter, we provide detailed information about variables and their usage, whereas considerations about performance and readability are found all around the book. Indeed, we use variables in almost all the code examples, sometimes showing the version with and without variables to let you appreciate how using variables improves readability.

Later in Chapter 20, “Optimizing DAX,” we will also show how the use of variables can dramatically improve the performance of your code. In this chapter, we are mainly interested in providing all the useful information about variables in a single place.

Introducing VAR syntax

What introduces variables ...