Microsoft Power Fx

{{Short description|General purpose programming language}}

{{distinguish|PowerFX}}

{{Infobox programming language

| name = Microsoft Power Fx

| title = Microsoft Power Fx

| logo = Power Fx logo.png

| logo size = 115px

| paradigm = Low-code, general-purpose, imperative, strongly typed, declarative, functional

| designer = Vijay Mital, Robin Abraham, Shon Katzenberger, Darryl Rubin, Greg Lindhorst, Mike Stall

| developer = Microsoft

| released = {{Start date and age|2021}}

| latest release version =

| latest release date =

| latest preview version =

| latest preview date =

| typing = strong

| license = MIT License

| file ext =

| website = {{url|https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/power-fx/overview}}

| influenced by = Excel functions, Excel macros, Pascal, Mathematica, Miranda

}}

Microsoft Power Fx is a free and open source low-code, general-purpose programming language for expressing logic across the Microsoft Power Platform.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/02/microsoft_debuts_lowcode_power_fx/

|title=Excel-lent: Microsoft debuts low-code Power Fx language... but it is not really new

|last1=Anderson|first1=Tim

|work=The Register

|date=2021-03-02

|access-date=2021-03-14

}}{{Cite web|url=https://thenewstack.io/this-week-in-programming-microsofts-power-fx-low-code-language/

|title=This Week in Programming: Microsoft's Power Fx 'Low Code' Language

|last1=Melanson|first1=Mike

|work=The New Stack

|date=2021-03-06

|access-date=2021-03-14

}}{{Cite web |last=Moorhead |first=Patrick |title=Microsoft Build And Power Platform - Navigating Change, And The Role Power Technology Can Play |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2021/05/25/microsoft-build-and-power-platformnavigating-change-and-the-role-power-technology-can-play/ |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

It was first announced at Ignite 2021 and the specification was released in March 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-confirms-the-launch-of-power-fx-its-new-low-code-language/

|title=Microsoft confirms the launch of Power Fx, its new low-code language

|last1=Jawad|first1=Hamza

|work=Neowin

|date=2021-03-02

|access-date=2021-03-14

}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.developer.com/net/microsoft-open-sources-low-code-power-fx-language.html

|title=Microsoft Open Sources Low-Code Power Fx Language

|last1=Vizard|first1=Mike

|work=developer.com

|date=2021-03-08

|access-date=2021-03-14

}} It is based on spreadsheet-like formulas to make it accessible to large numbers of people.{{Cite web|url=https://betanews.com/2021/03/03/microsoft-power-fx-open-source-low-code-programming-language/

|title=Microsoft Power Fx is an open source, low-code programming language

|last1=Wyciślik-Wilson|first1=Sofia

|work=BetaNews

|date=2021-03-03

|access-date=2021-03-14

}} It was also influenced by programming languages and tools like Pascal, Mathematica, and Miranda.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/02/microsoft-launches-power-fx-a-new-open-source-low-code-language-for-its-power-platform/

|title=Microsoft launches Power Fx, a new open source low-code language

|last1=Lardinois|first1=Frederic

|work=TechCrunch

|date=2021-03-02

|access-date=2021-03-14

}}

As Microsoft describes the language, it heavily borrows from the spreadsheet paradigm. In a spreadsheet, cells can contain formulas referring to the contents of other cells; if the user changes the content of a cell, the values of all its dependent cells are automatically updated. In a similar fashion, the properties of components in a Power Fx program are connected by formulas (whose syntax is very reminiscent of Excel) and their values are automatically updated if changes occur. For instance, a simple formula may connect a component's color property to the value of a slider component; if the user moves the slider, the color changes.{{Cite web|date=2021-02-26|title=Microsoft Power Fx overview - Power Platform|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/power-fx/overview|access-date=2021-05-10|website=docs.microsoft.com|language=en-us}}

The initial formula language was created by a Microsoft team led by Vijay Mital, Robin Abraham, Shon Katzenberger and Darryl Rubin as part of the Tangram and Siena projects. Later, as part of Power Apps, Greg Lindhorst and Mike Stall led the effort to enhance the language to what is now become Power Fx. Power Fx is available as Open-source software.{{cite web|url=https://github.com/microsoft/Power-Fx|title=GitHub - Microsoft/Power-Fx: Power Fx low-code programming language|website=GitHub}} The source code was shared under MIT license by Microsoft on November 2. 2021.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-02|title=Greg Lindhorst: Power Fx: Open source now available|url=https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-fx-open-source-now-available/}} Only the documentation was originally open source.{{cite web |title=Microsoft Power Fx overview - Power Platform |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/power-fx/overview |website=learn.microsoft.com |language=en-us}}

In the April 2024 feature update, Microsoft introduced two new Copilot features for Power Fx: Explaining a Formula and Generating Power Fx from Natural Language. These features aim to simplify the use of Power Fx by providing natural language explanations and generating formulas from user input.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-01 |title=What’s new: Power Apps April 2024 Feature Update |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/power-apps/whats-new-power-apps-april-2024-feature-update/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Microsoft Power Platform Blog |language=en-US}}