The goal of this book is to empower you to become a Tableau master; in Tableau-speak, the term is Jedi. Yes, that is official Tableau terminology. Attend the yearly Tableau conference and you can sit in on Jedi classes. Of course, simply attending a class will not automatically bestow you with Jedi powers - nor will simply reading this book. Diligent work on real-world problems is absolutely essential. Couple this diligent work with industrious study and you will make it. You will become a Tableau Jedi. My hope is that this book will prove useful to you on your journey to mastery.

If you are a seasoned Tableau author, you may find this initial chapter elementary. (A person who creates Tableau workbooks is referred to as an author, not a developer.) For such persons, I recommend a quick, inspectional read. If after a few minutes you are satisfied you already possess a solid understanding of the concepts discussed, feel free to proceed to subsequent chapters. If, however, you find some of the content unfamiliar, it may be wise to read with greater attention.

Those who are fairly new to Tableau should find this chapter helpful in getting up to speed quickly; however, since this book targets advanced topics, relatively little time is spent considering the basics. For a more thorough consideration of fundamental topics, consider Learning Tableau, written by Joshua Milligan and published by Packt Publishing.

In this chapter, we will discuss the following: