Why this is in my collection

From the publisher:

A pattern is a general, reusable solution to a frequent or common challenge. This book is the second edition of the most comprehensive collection of ready-to-use solutions in DAX, that you can use in Microsoft Power BI, Analysis Services Tabular, and Power Pivot for Excel. The book includes the following patterns: Time-related calculations, Standard time-related calculations, Month-related calculations, Week-related calculations, Custom time-related calculations, Comparing different time periods, Semi-additive calculations, Cumulative total, Parameter table, Static segmentation, Dynamic segmen

Highlights

  • An entire book of nothing but patterns — Ferrari and Russo prove that the bulk of real-world BI calculation logic reduces to a finite, nameable catalog; the same pattern-density observation that makes warehouse loading logic generatable in MDDE.
  • A pattern is a solution parameterized, not copied — each DAX pattern is presented as a template you instantiate against your own model; conceptually one small step away from generating the measure code from model metadata.
  • The measure is only as good as the star schema under it — nearly every pattern presumes a clean dimensional model with a proper date table; when the calculation gets hard, the fix is usually upstream in the model, not in cleverer DAX.
  • Time intelligence is a rules domain in disguise — fiscal calendars, week-based periods, and comparison logic are business rules encoded as reusable calculations; a concrete instance of rules as a first-class, catalogable asset.
  • Naming the pattern beats admiring the formula — the book's real gift is a shared vocabulary (semi-additive, parameter table, dynamic segmentation) that turns one-off cleverness into transferable structure; structure beats magic, applied to formulas.
  • Second editions exist because platforms churn — the patterns were rewritten for new DAX capabilities while the underlying problems stayed identical; the problem catalog is durable, the syntax is not.

Highlights on this page are generated with the help of AI.