Distilled Side-Effects

I just realized that for the past seven years, I've been practicing essential Agile software development. After improving my skills by completing Google's Technical Documentation Course, I dove right into an Agile course. &nbsp But what exactly is Agile? How much does it cost, where can you get it, and is it a rub-on cream or a pill? Well, it’s free (unless you go for an Agile certification), and you’ll find it in the “best practices” section of project management. Depending on your team lead, you might get the cream (for a part of the project) or the pill (for the entire project). &nbsp The point is, Agile is a process for managing projects, as opposed to other management methods, and here's how it differs from other Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) models: &nbsp Iterative and Incremental: Agile is characterized by iterative development, where the project is broken down into small, manageable units called "sprints" (usually 2-4 w...

Integrating Power BI and Visual Studio Code (VS Code) can significantly enhance the experience of developing and managing Power BI reports. Here are several ways you can leverage VS Code to work with Power BI. VBA can be used for custom visuals in Power BI allowing for unique data visualizations tailored to specific business needs. VS Code can be used to develop these visuals using tools like the Power BI Visuals Tools (pbiviz).   The basics Setup: Install Node.js. Install the Power BI Visuals Tools (npm install -g powerbi-visuals-tools). Create a new visual (pbiviz new). Open the project in VS Code and start coding. For debugging use VS Code’s debugging features to test and debug your custom visuals before deploying them. Unknown by most and not used by the know is Power BI REST API. The Power BI REST API allows for programmatic access to Power BI service features. You can use VS Code to write scripts in languages like...

Microsoft is often accused of not engaging with the open-source community, but this isn’t entirely true. There are several stable open-source tools available for Power BI Desktop. For those familiar with these tools, there are even more options, including some created specifically for Power BI in the cloud. Many of these tools are free and can be easily installed and learned. Among the ones listed below, three are particularly geared towards serious developers and can be used either standalone or integrated into environments like Visual Studio Code. These tools can help automate and simplify various tasks in your pipeline. It's important to note that, according to Microsoft documentation, "External tools aren't supported in Power BI Desktop for Power BI Report Server, and Microsoft will not provide support, even for paid subscribers, if the issue can be reproduced with Microsoft tools, such as SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), or sample code that uses the p...

Using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to clean data in Excel can significantly enhance your ability to automate repetitive data cleaning tasks. How to Use VBA in Excel Open the VBA Editor: Press `Alt + F11` to open the VBA editor. Insert a Module: In the VBA editor, go to `Insert` > `Module` to insert a new module. Copy and Paste Code: Copy the desired VBA code and paste it into the module. Run the Macro: Press `F5` to run the macro or go back to Excel, press `Alt + F8`, select the macro, and click `Run`. Here are some common data cleaning tasks you can automate using VBA in Excel: Removing Duplicates You can use VBA to remove duplicate entries from a dataset. Accessibility Text – vba Sub RemoveDuplicates() Dim ws As Worksheet Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1") ws.Range("A1").CurrentRegion.RemoveDuplicates Columns:=Array(1), Header:=xlYes End Sub Trimming Whitespace Trimming leading and trailing whitespace from data i...