Today I would like to showcase a project that I started this week (02/13/2023) using a tool known as PowerBI.
About Project
I have been inactive in the RSPS scene for quite a few years. I work as a BI Developer doing both Data Engineering and Data Visualization. I came back recently to the RSPS scene and came up with the idea of seeing if I can implement some of my work practices I use everyday to a RSPS. I thought this project could be valuable to the community showing a different sort of tool and how it could be implemented to even private servers. I would like to throw out a special shoutout to my friend Settings for letting me use his server theme for my projects concept. At the end of my project I plan on releasing the .pbix(PowerBI File Format) to the community or to any servers that may be interested in this concept. I appreciate any sort of feedback you would like to give to me or others for this project (Things to add,change, or modify). If you have any questions about this project or if you are also familiar with PowerBI please feel free to comment your thoughts and opinions. Would love to hear from everyone.
If you would like to interact with this project and try out the functionality, you can at my development website at: http://therechargeable.com/ (Interactive Demo)
Project Specs
PowerBI As Visualization Tool
PowerBI Pro License
Azure SQL as Database(1gig)(Works with MySQL as well)
Azure Data Studio & DBeaver for DB Management
Project Pros
No Major Coding Knowledge Needed
Highly Scalable
User Friendly
Cut down on development time
Project Cons
Initial Learning Curve can be overwhelming
If you are using MySQL you cannot have a direct query of data (Meaning you can only have scheduled refreshes)
No out-of-the-box writeback to datasource capabilities.
You have a lot of flexibility with PowerBI but not 100% customization as if you were to code a website from scratch
Hiscores
Spoiler for Hiscores Media:
Created a hiscores grabbing player data and ranking players by their Total Experience.
I created a measure to rank them (Measures are calculations using DAX)
Code:
HS Rank = --Ranks all players and ranking them by their Total XP
RANKX(
ALL(players),
SUMX(RELATEDTABLE(playerXP),[Total XP]),,,Skip)
You can also add Variables to your DAX
Code:
HS Rank = --Ranks all players and ranking them by their Total XP
VAR _RankPlayers =
RANKX(
ALL(players),
SUMX(RELATEDTABLE(playerXP),[Total XP]),,,Skip)
VAR _Results = _RankPlayers
RETURN
_Results
I created a calculated column and threw in the base URL of OSRS Wiki and I am having the players specific slot Item Name fill into the URL parameters. For Example: https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/images/thumb/amulet_of_power_detail.png/219px-amulet_of_power.png
I ended up having to wrap the url into a LOWER function since the wiki was giving fits have capitalizations inside of the URL.
Will be putting more time into this to make it more appealing to look at. But happy with how the functionality is coming together!
this is a pretty interesting idea, especially using powerBI. i am currently learning the platform suite at the moment, aiming for the PL 200 if you know it. focusing on trying to learn PBI in that right now as it is tying along with my university courses. i need to dip my toes into learning SQL and databases but this project is a sound enough proof-of-concept for something that I could make down the line.
this is a pretty interesting idea, especially using powerBI. i am currently learning the platform suite at the moment, aiming for the PL 200 if you know it. focusing on trying to learn PBI in that right now as it is tying along with my university courses. i need to dip my toes into learning SQL and databases but this project is a sound enough proof-of-concept for something that I could make down the line.
I have heard great things about the PL 200 certificate. I was thinking about taking that or some very similar courses and certificates. Power Platform is extremely powerful and if the company you are working for is a Microsoft shop, can do some really neat things. I have used quite a bit of Power automate for Data Migration (Automating DAX queries, SQL Queries, Python Scripts, e.t.c). I am now working with Power Apps. IMO takes a bit to get used to it, but if done right can be a very nice tool.
You will have to keep me updated on your Power Platform journey and your thoughts with PL 200 if you think it is valuable or not to pursue!
If you ever want to talk Power Platform shop feel free to add me on Discord!