DATA[dev].diary

Let the Journey Begin…

What started out as a LinkedIn update quickly morphed into developing a website. My goal was to share resources and perhaps a bit of my journey to help other aspiring DataDevs out there. After all, many of us work in silos. I’ve always experienced the greatest growth when I could partner and exchange ideas with others. It’s that organic “push and pull” that naturally occurs with true collaboration where the greatest inspiration comes from.

I’ve always struggled with keeping track of all the great resources I find. It’s not that there is a shortage of resources. Rather, the number of tools, articles and links available feels endless in this age of AI. I’ll never be able to explore every interesting lead I find. However, I can at least make note of those that prove most useful. If sharing information helps expedite the learning curve of at least one person, then it’s worth it. The Tableau DataFam community has given me so much both personally and professionally. This at least provides me with a new vehicle to give back.

So here goes…

In addition to getting this website off the ground, I was able to experiment with Tableau’s Hyper API using the latest DataDevQuest challenge submitted by Nik Dutra (datadevquest.com). So far so good, as I’ve been able to successfully convert an Excel file into a Tableau extract with a bit of Python and the Hyper API. There are definitely some use cases for this one. Give it a try!

Here’s a quick snapshot of tools, posts and sessions that stood out this week:

🛠️ Tools:

Tableau Workbook Analyzer (by Paula Munoz) – Great for extracting formulas from calculated fields, font details and hex color codes.

Tableau Calculations & Lineage Analyzer (by Ana Milana) – Drag and drop your workbook to produce a detailed table of all fields, calculations and data types. Comes with export functionality.

🗒️Articles:

“VizQL Data Service for Tableau -A Deep Dive” (by Kyle Massey) – Great introduction with step-by-step instructions. Perfect for those just starting out.

“Tableau LangChain: Build highly flexible AI-applications that extend your Tableau Server or Cloud Environment” (Will Sutton & Stephen P.) – I have every intention of experimenting with LangChain at some point. This article is going to be my first stop!

“How to use the Tableau Public API” (Zyad Wael) – This is an excellent follow-up to his recent Tableau Buddy TUG presentation. A great step-by-step example using his “Viz of the Day”.

🎥Videos and Presentations

DataDev TUG (5/29/25): DataDevQuest solution (Apr) involving VizQL Data Service as well as an introduction to the latest challenge involving Tableau’s Hyper API.

DataFam TUG (5/29/25): “VizQL and Chill” (Will Perkins & Kyle Massey). -They do a great job of providing a Tableau VizQL use case involving Tableau Server and a “Netflix-like” theme.

AI + Tableau TUG (5/19): (Tristan Guillevin, Pablo Gomez, Cristian Saavedra Desmoineaux & Will Sutton). -A great collection of DataDev topics including combining ChatGPT with Tableau Extensions, applying color to meet a wider audience, as well as the use of LangChain to expand Tableau’s capabilities.