SQL vs. Power Query – The Ultimate Comparison

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On the left side, we have a veteran warrior with 37 years of data battle scars and  redundant six pack.  They call him SQL.

On the right side, there is a young challenger with transformative powers and “never say undo” attitude. He goes by the moniker Power Query.

Who is going to win this battle?!?

I have been using SQL for 25 years and Power Query since it came out in early 2012. And in this article, let me share my views on how SQL compares with Power Query. If you prefer to listen, check out the podcast episode – SQL vs. Power Query. 

Listen: SQL vs. Power Query Podcast Episode

Listen to the Podcast

SQL vs. Power Query - The Comparison

SQL

Power Query

What can you do? 

All CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete)

Only Read the data

What kind of data?

Usually single source from a database or warehouse
(ex: SQL Server)

Can access data from anywhere and combine data from multiple sources too.

How do you use it?

You need to “WRITE” queries to use SQL. 

You “BUILD” Power Queries using the UI buttons and menu options.

Where can you use it?

Works almost universally. You can use SQL with most database systems and programming languages. 

Only with Microsoft stack of products, primarily with Power BI, Excel and Fabric.

Who can use it?

By default, you need permissions / special software to use SQL.

Almost anyone can use Power Query as it comes packaged with Excel and Power BI.

How fast is it?

Built for performance and scalability. You can use SQL to access data quite efficiently.

Can become slow and tedious as your data grows. 

Resources for Learning SQL

Resources for Learning Power Query

What do you think?

Have you used both or either of these technologies? What do you think? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

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13 Responses to “Convert fractional Excel time to hours & minutes [Quick tip]”

  1. Debraj Roy says:

    Hi Purna..

    Again a great tip.. Its a great way to convert Fractional Time..
    By the way.. Excel has two great and rarely used formula..

    =DOLLARFR(7.8,60) and =DOLLARDE(7.48,60)

    basically US Account person uses those to convert some currency denomination.. and we can use it to convert Year(i.e 3.11 Year = 3 year 11 month) and Week(6.5 week = 6 week 5 days), in the same manner...

  2. Jason says:

    This doesn't work for me. When applying the custom format of [h]:mm to 7.8 I get 187:12

    Any ideas why?

    • Hui... says:

      @Jason
      7.8 in Excel talk means 7.8 days
      =7.8*24
      =187.2 Hrs
      =187 Hrs 12 Mins

      If you follow Chandoo's instructions you will see that he divides the 7.8 by 24 to get it to a fraction of a day

      Simple, assuming the fractional time is in cell A1,

      Use below steps to convert it to hours & minutes:

      1. In the target cell, write =A1/24
      2. Select the target cell and press CTRL+1 to format it (you can also right click and select format cells)
      3. Select Custom from “Number” tab and enter the code [h]:mm
      4. Done!

  3. WhoKnows says:

    Hi, sorry to point this out but Column C Header is misspelt 'Hours Palyed'

  4. abhishek malik says:

    good one

  5. Julia says:

    So how do I go the other way and get hours and minutes to fractional time?

    • Chandoo says:

      If you have 7.5 in cell A1,

      - Use int(A1) to get the hours.
      - Use mod(A1,1)*60 to get minutes.

      If you have 7:30 (formatted as time) in A1

      - Use hours(a1) to get hours
      - Use minutes(a1) to get minutes.

      • Paula says:

        I had the same issue. You can solve it by changing the format as described above:

        Right click cell > Format Cells > (In Number tab) > Custom > Then enter the code [h]:mm
        ([hh]:mm and [hhh]:mm are nice too if you want to show leading zeros)

        • Jack Scarce says:

          Thanks guys, these are the tips I'm looking for.
          ...dividing the number of minutes elapsed by the percent change is my task - "int" is the key this time

  6. Srikanth says:

    It doesnt work for greater than 24 hours
    It returns 1:30 for 25.5 hours. It should have returned 25:30

    Ideally I would right function as
    =QUOTIENT(A1,1)&":"&MOD(A1,1)*60

    • Paula says:

      Sorry, replied to wrong comment....

      ----
      I had the same issue. You can solve it by changing the format as described above:

      Right click cell > Format Cells > (In Number tab) > Custom > Then enter the code [h]:mm
      ([hh]:mm and [hhh]:mm are nice too if you want to show leading zeros)

  7. Daniel says:

    Clever use of MOD here to extract the decimal part of a number. Divide a number containing a decimal by 1 and return the remainder. Humm. Very clever.

  8. Tomer says:

    Thanks very much, extremely useful !

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