What is cardinality in Power BI ? Power BI interview questions and answers 129

 What is cardinality in Power BI ?

In Power BI, cardinality refers to the relationship between two tables based on the uniqueness of values in their joining columns. It essentially defines how data in one table connects to data in another table, based on specific columns. Understanding cardinality is crucial for building accurate and efficient data models in Power BI.

Here's a breakdown of the different types of cardinality:

1. One-to-one (1:1): This means each value in the joining column of one table is uniquely matched to a single value in the joining column of the other table. Imagine students and courses – each student takes only one course per semester, and each course has only one student enrolled at a time.

2. One-to-many (1:*): This is the most common type. One value in the joining column of one table (typically a "dimension" table) is matched to multiple values in the joining column of the other table (often a "fact" table). For example, one customer can have many orders, but each order belongs to only one customer.

3. Many-to-one (*:1): This is the reverse of one-to-many. Many values in the joining column of one table are matched to a single value in the joining column of the other table. Think employees and departments – one employee can work in only one department at a time, while each department can have many employees.

4. Many-to-many (:): This means there's no unique relationship between the joining columns. Multiple values in both tables can be connected to each other. For example, actors and movies – one actor can be in many movies, and one movie can have many actors.

Significance of cardinality:

• Model accuracy: Choosing the correct cardinality ensures data consistency and accurate calculations. Incorrect relationships can lead to misleading results and inaccurate reports.

• Query performance: The right cardinality optimizes data retrieval and querying speed. Many-to-many relationships can impact performance and require careful handling.

• Visualizations: Understanding cardinality helps create accurate and meaningful visualizations by filtering and aggregating data correctly.

Determining cardinality:

• Power BI automatically suggests the most likely cardinality based on the data.

• You can manually override the suggestion and choose the appropriate type based on your understanding of the data relationship.

• Visual indicators in the model view show the cardinality between connected tables.

In conclusion, understanding and setting the right cardinality in Power BI is essential for building robust and accurate data models, leading to reliable insights and effective data-driven decision-making.

Feel free to ask further questions if you have anything specific you'd like to know about cardinality or Power BI!