Tabular Model
In essence a tabular model (further on model) is a semantic layer on top of one or multiple datasources. It depends on the situation, but when you are connected to a dataplatform, it's most likely that you have just one datasource. When you are used to connect multiple sources in Power BI with for example all kinds of M-query stuff, it's probably a good time to read this first, before moving on.
Items
A model consists of the following items:
A table can contain:
Every model has at least one Table with one column. A reference is a relation between two tables (technically a table can also reference itself, but that's for later). Measures are also attached to a table, but that just place them somewhere, it can do calculations on complete other tables, than it is connected to.
The model is defined in model.yaml file in Easy Tabular. It is possible to have multiple models, and it is also possible to have derived models.
For a model the following structure is advised:
|Models/My1stModel/model.yaml
|-----------------/formatstrings.yaml
|-----------------/measuretemplate.yaml
|-----------------/Measures/..
|Models/My2ndModel/model.yaml
|-----------------/formatstrings.yaml
|-----------------/measuretemplate.yaml
|-----------------/Measures/..
Preview - Split the model.yaml
Models can get quite big, it is possible to split the model.yaml in multiple files. This has advantages, but also one big disadvantage. If you want to search in the yaml file, it's easier to search in one big file, than multiple files.