I've never used violin (or viola) tablature, but I've seen it. It's written much like guitar tablature: four lines for four strings, and numbers indicating fingers. What you've posted is not guitar tablature.

Still, being able to quickly find patterns of whole and half steps in the key of the piece is crucial for orchestra musicians who have to read too much music to memorize every note.

More experienced string players sometimes shift positions to make the pattern of whole and half steps as comfortable as possible. (For example, I sometimes shift to avoid having to play two whole steps between 2nd/3rd/4th fingers.)

One further note: In orchestra music, especially if the notes are moving quickly and there are a lot of accidentals, I sometimes mark half steps in my part. There's actually a common notation for those. You'll see them immediately after rehearsal O in the attached excerpt (from the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, viola part). The upside-down V markings that I penciled in above the staff indicate that the interval between the notes is a half step.

Pete, how did the performance go? And how are other people's orchestra adventures going?

wtw said
Doing good here. I'm having a bit of a hard time with what we're playing, but still making progress. I'm using musescore to practice a few passages at increasing tempi (is that the plural of tempo ?), it's useful. I know I won't get to the required speed though, so there'll be quite some faking involved at the concert Like with this - with some more practice I think I'd manage at 85, but at 100, no way for now :

  

Often a well-chosen fingering can help. This passage is much easier if you play most of it in 2nd position with some bits in 3rd position. For example, I think it is easiest to play the entire first six measures in 2nd position both to avoid 4th finger on the C string and to avoid crossing over to the D string. (I would play the entire passage on the C and G strings.) After that, I would note that I have to be in 3rd position to play the high F#, and 2nd position to play the low E, look for the most comfortable places to shift to put my hand there, and pencil in those shifts.

Of course, I realize intermediate players may not be secure enough in 2nd position to do this, and the concert may be too soon to avoid faking. If this isn't useful immediately, I hope it's at least a bit of insight into how more experienced orchestral players think about these things.

(BTW, I may still have a marked-up copy of this from when I played it three or four years ago.)