Power BI

Power BI is a business intelligence and data visualization tool developed by Microsoft. It allows users to connect to various data sources, including spreadsheets, databases, and cloud-based data services, and create interactive and visually compelling reports, dashboards, and data visualizations. Power BI provides a wide range of data manipulation and transformation capabilities, including data cleaning, shaping, and modeling, as well as advanced analytics and forecasting features. It also integrates with other Microsoft products, such as Excel and SharePoint, as well as third-party applications and services, such as Salesforce and Google Analytics. Power BI is available as a cloud-based service, a desktop application, and a mobile app, and it supports collaboration and sharing features, allowing users to share their reports and dashboards with others and work on them collaboratively.

Is ther any programming language integrated to Power BI?

Yes, Power BI provides an integrated programming language called "Power Query M"

Power Query M is a functional programming language used in Power Query, a data transformation and modeling tool available in Power BI, Excel, and other Microsoft products. Power Query M is used to perform data transformations and modeling tasks, including filtering, sorting, aggregating, and merging data from multiple sources. The language is designed to be easy to read and write, with a syntax similar to other functional programming languages such as F# and R.

Power Query M provides a wide range of built-in functions for data manipulation and transformation, including string operations, date and time functions, conditional logic, and mathematical functions. It also supports the creation of custom functions and expressions, allowing users to define their own reusable data transformation logic.

Power Query M is used to create queries in Power Query, which are used to extract data from various sources, transform it, and load it into Power BI's data model. Queries can be created using the graphical user interface provided by Power Query, or directly in the Power Query Editor using the Power Query M language. Once a query is created, it can be refreshed to update the data in Power BI, and it can also be shared with other users or used as a data source for reports and dashboards.

Overall, Power Query M is a powerful and flexible language that provides advanced data transformation and modeling capabilities in Power BI and other Microsoft products, making it a valuable tool for data professionals and business users alike.

So, is Power Query M the main way of using Power BI? or the main or most popular way is by a GUI menu-clicking approach?

The main way of using Power BI is through a GUI menu-clicking approach, which allows users to create reports and dashboards using the visual interface provided by the tool. This approach is particularly useful for users who are not familiar with coding or data modeling concepts, as it provides an intuitive way to create data visualizations and perform basic data transformations using a drag-and-drop interface.

However, Power Query M provides a more advanced way of working with data, allowing users to define complex data transformation and modeling logic using a functional programming language. This approach is particularly useful for users who need to perform more complex data transformations or create custom data models that cannot be easily achieved through the visual interface.

So, to sum up, both approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, and the choice between them depends on the user's skills, experience, and the complexity of the data transformation and modeling tasks they need to perform.

I there any way that I can get familiar Power BI and Power Query M if I don't have a license?

Yes, there are several ways to get familiar with Power BI and Power Query M even if you don't have a license:

• Power BI Desktop: You can download and install the free Power BI Desktop application from the Microsoft website, which provides a full-featured version of Power BI that you can use to create and test reports and visualizations. While the free version of Power BI Desktop has some limitations, it still provides a great way to get hands-on experience with Power BI and Power Query M.

• Power BI Free: is free online version of Power BI. It allows you to create and share basic reports, dashboards, and visualizations with limited functionality. With Power BI Free, you can connect to various data sources, such as Excel, CSV files, and cloud-based data sources like Azure SQL Database, and create interactive visualizations and reports. However, there are some limitations to the free version, such as a lower data capacity limit, fewer data refresh options, and limited access to some features like Power BI Premium.

• Power Query Editor: If you have Excel 2016 or later installed on your computer, you can use the Power Query Editor to create and test Power Query M queries. While Excel's Power Query Editor is not as feature-rich as the Power BI version, it still provides a good way to learn the basics of Power Query M.

• Is Power BI an advanced tool for data analysis, data mining, and predictive analytics?

Power BI is primarily a business intelligence and data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive reports and dashboards from various data sources. While Power BI has some data analysis, data mining, and predictive analytics capabilities, it is not primarily designed as an advanced tool for it.

That being said, Power BI does have some basic data analysis, data mining, and predictive analytics functionality through its integration with Microsoft's Azure Machine Learning service. With this integration, users can train and deploy machine learning models directly within Power BI, and use these models to analyze and predict trends in their data.