The R programming language

R is a very powerful scripting language that is primarily used for advanced analytics tools but also has several integration points within Power BI. One such integration is the ability to apply business rules to your data with the R language.

Why is that important? Well, with this capability, you can extend beyond the limits of the Power Query Editor and call functions and libraries from R to do things that would not normally be possible. In the next two sections, you will explore how to set up your machine to leverage R within Power BI and then walk through an example of using an R script transform.

There are many additional books and references you can read to learn more about the R scripting language, but for the purposes of this book, our goal is to inform you of what is possible when R and Power BI are combined.

Installation and configuration

To use R within Power BI, you must first install an R distribution for you to run...