Commenting Power Query With Azure Open Ai Event

Scott Simon

2 min read

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11-01-2025

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Power Query, a powerful data transformation tool within the Microsoft Power BI ecosystem, often involves complex formulas and transformations. Understanding these formulas can be challenging, especially when working with large or intricate datasets. This is where the integration of Azure Open AI's capabilities offers a transformative solution. A recent event showcased the potential of leveraging Azure Open AI to automatically generate insightful comments for Power Query code, significantly improving readability and maintainability.

The Challenge of Understanding Power Query

Power Query's M language, while powerful, can be dense and require significant expertise to decipher. Long chains of function calls, nested tables, and custom functions all contribute to the complexity. Without clear and concise comments, maintaining and debugging Power Query scripts can quickly become a laborious and error-prone process. This is especially true in collaborative environments where multiple individuals might work on the same codebase.

The Power of AI-Assisted Commenting

This is where Azure Open AI steps in. By integrating AI capabilities into the Power Query development workflow, we can automate the process of generating comments. The AI model is trained on a vast dataset of Power Query code and comments, allowing it to understand the context and intent of the various transformations. The result? Automatically generated comments that provide a clear and concise explanation of each step within the query.

Azure Open AI's Role in Enhancing Power Query

The event demonstrated how Azure Open AI can analyze the Power Query M code and generate comments that explain:

• The purpose of each step: Understanding the "why" behind each transformation is crucial. The AI-generated comments can provide this crucial context.
• Data transformations applied: Comments can detail the specific transformations being applied (e.g., filtering, sorting, merging).
• Key parameters and their effect: Understanding the impact of specific parameters within functions is vital. The AI can explain this to the user.

Benefits of AI-Driven Comment Generation

The benefits of this AI-powered approach extend beyond simply improving code readability. By providing clear, automatically generated documentation, it:

• Reduces development time: Developers can spend less time deciphering existing code and more time building new features.
• Improves code maintainability: Clear comments make it easier for developers to understand and modify the code in the future.
• Facilitates collaboration: Well-commented code makes it simpler for teams to work together on shared projects.
• Reduces errors: Improved understanding leads to fewer mistakes during development and maintenance.

Conclusion

The event showcasing the integration of Azure Open AI for Power Query commenting highlighted a significant step forward in data transformation tools. By automating the documentation process, this technology significantly enhances the developer experience, making Power Query more accessible and efficient. This approach promises to boost productivity and improve the overall quality of Power Query scripts, making data analysis more streamlined and collaborative. The future of Power Query looks bright with the adoption of AI-powered assistance.