DataDev Bingo: Play with your skills and developer site

One of the biggest benefits of joining the Tableau Developer Program is a free, personal developer site. With this site, developers can learn and test Tableau APIs on various projects. You don’t have to stress about accidentally deleting all the sites on your production environment —I’m speaking from personal experience—since this provides developers with a safe space to experiment and test.

Last summer, we launched the DataDev mini challenges, which were three months of fun challenges for all. It was awesome to see the response from the community. Some participants used a new API for the first time, and some learned how to code or use APIs for the first time.

Remember, your site is yours and it is an isolated environment from your production site or server. You don’t need to install anything to begin. Just sign up for the Developer Program, request a developer sandbox site, and you are set!

The sandbox site is a safe space to start learning more about the Developer Platform or to learn more about a new API. Learn by making mistakes. There is no need to be an API Jedi or have coding as a second language to start taking advantage of the developer sandbox site. Let’s say you create a script to send emails to all users on the site, but you find that it is only sending to one user. You can spend time debugging the script instead of apologizing to all your Tableau users. There are no negative consequences. This is your playground: play around, make mistakes, and try something new.

We also developed step-by-step tutorials for anyone that has a developer site so you can start testing Tableau APIs. For example, you can learn how to automate the creation of new projects with the Tableau REST API or build an extension that refreshes all data sources.

Live save: Test your code before production

Because every sandbox site owner has Tableau Server admin access, developers can test their code end-to-end. The site comes up with three licenses: one Creator, one Explorer and one Viewer. This enables developers to test their implementation using the different roles Tableau offers. For example, you can test the  Explorer experience of an extension, before deploying an extension to your entire user base.

The production site is set with a pre-released version of Tableau, where developers can try the latest APIs or features before anyone else. Through the Developer Program, developers also receive exclusive invitations to monthly Tableau Developer Sprint Demos to hear about all the new features from the Tableau Engineering team that they can start testing. Developers don’t have to wait for their organization to upgrade to test and learn about new features—they have access as soon as the upgrade is done!

Keep calm and play DataDev Bingo

We are excited to present you with a new format for mini challenges: DataDev Bingo. Download your Bingo card from our website. We have 24 mini challenges for you to solve with different levels of difficulty while using various APIs and/or developer tools. All of this is for you to expand your Tableau Developer Platform knowledge in a fun, engaging way. 

All the challenges can be solved using your free Tableau Online developer site. You can also rewatch the “How-to webinars” on our YouTube channel. Or if you’re signed up to the Developer Program, workshops for all the Tableau APIs are available on the Tableau Developer Portal. 

The rules for DataDev Bingo are simple: You have to complete five challenges in a row, then you can call out, “Bingo!” by sending us an email or sharing on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram) by using #DataDev in a public post. 

Join the Tableau Developer Program to have access to all the training resources, and request your Tableau Online Developer Site. Happiness is learning new skills, having fun, and playing Bingo with your DataDev community.