Andy Brown

Andy works as a trainer and webmaster at Wise Owl Training, providing SQL, Power BI, Python and other training courses for businesses in the UK and (online) anywhere in the world.

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16 November 2021
16 November 2021

10 reasons why Python is better than C# (or almost any other programming language)

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After resisting learning Python for years, assuming it was just another object-oriented programming language, Andy Brown now gets what the fuss was about: Python really does make coding quicker. This article lists 10 reasons why Python is better than C# and will make your programming life easier (and two reasons, in fairness, why it might not).… Read more
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14 February 2020
14 February 2020

Creating Time-Intelligence Functions in DAX

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DAX contains a host of time-intelligence functions with exotic names such as SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR and PARALLELPERIOD. In the last article in this series, Andy Brown explains how to write measures using the range of date functions in DAX, and also explains how time-intelligence functions work behind the scenes. … Read more
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03 January 2020
03 January 2020

Using Calendars and Dates in Power BI

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You can use a host of time-intelligence functions in DAX to calculate everything from simple year-to-date totals to moving averages and average opening and closing balances. In this article, Andy Brown shows how to model various scenarios with calendars and dates, and how to get around some of the issues you may encounter. … Read more
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31 July 2019
31 July 2019

Cracking DAX – the EARLIER and RANKX Functions

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So far in this series, Andy Brown of Wise Owl Training has shed light on functions like CALCULATE, VALUES and FILTER, but it’s only when you understand the idiosyncrasies of the EARLIER function that you can claim to have genuinely cracked DAX. This article gives four examples of the use of this peculiar function, in the process explaining why it has such a misleading name. Using the EARLIER function properly all boils down (as is so often the case with DAX) to understanding row and filter context. The article also shows how to use the RANKX function to sort data into your required order.… Read more
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17 April 2019
17 April 2019

Using the FILTER Function in DAX

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In the previous article of this series, Andy Brown of Wise Owl Training explained how to use the oh-so-important CALCULATE function in DAX to make changes to the default filter context within a formula. This article shows how you can use the FILTER function to do something similar and explains the differences between the two approaches. … Read more
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14 January 2019
14 January 2019

Using the DAX Calculate and Values Functions

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In the first two articles in this series on creating DAX formulae, Andy Brown of Wise Owl Training showed how to create calculated columns and measures. In this third article, he turns his attention to two of the most important DAX functions (CALCULATE and VALUES), showing how and when to use them. If DAX knowledge can be compared to a heavily fortified castle, the CALCULATE function is the drawbridge giving access to it. … Read more
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28 December 2018
28 December 2018

Creating Measures Using DAX

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In the first article in this series, Andy Brown demonstrated how to create calculated columns in Power BI using the DAX language. This second article in the series explains what measures are, and how you can use DAX to create measures within Power BI. The formulae in the article apply equally well to PowerPivot and Analysis Services Tabular Model. … Read more
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02 November 2018
02 November 2018

Creating Calculated Columns Using DAX

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In this article, Andy Brown shares his knowledge of how to create calculated columns in tables, using Power BI as the host software (all of the formulae shown would work equally well in PowerPivot or SSAS Tabular). This article is designed to be the first in a series of articles which will show you how to master programming in DAX. … Read more
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