From Lockheed Martin’s talk on Jython in the Joint Strike Fighter to Microsoft’s presentation of IronPython and Silverlight and Red Hat’s session on GUI testing, PyCon 2008 is packed with presentations on various uses and implementations of Python. The rapid expansion of PyCon 2008 is due to the growth of Python as the dynamic language of choice for both small and large-scale projects in many different industries. In a keynote talk, creator and “father” of Python Guido van Rossum is presenting a preview of Python 3000, slated to be released mid-year and is currently in its third alpha release version. Van Rossum currently works at Google, devoting half of his time solely to Python development.
“Individuals and organizations are increasingly adopting and using Python for every day purposes,” said van Rossum. “It’s great to see PyCon, a true grassroots movement, expand into such a large and vibrant community.”
Python activities span a full week, with the conference itself preceded by a tutorial day, in which attendees can choose from a variety of topics taught by experts, and followed by four days of free “sprints,”
“Because of the huge success of past tutorial days where most classes were full and attendees begged for more room and more topics, coupled with the tremendous flood of proposals this year, we decided to add a completely new tutorial track,” said PyCon 2008 chair David Goodger. “Now ‘Pythonistas’
Four days of the conference are allotted for hands-on coding workshops with the world’s best Python developers in what PyCon calls “sprints.”
“Python represents a substantial (and growing) piece of the open-source ecosystem, and Sun is committed to building tools and infrastructure for open-source developers. To do a good job of this, we need to be a part of the Python community; we think hiring Ted Leung and Frank Wierzbicki is a good start. In addition, it makes me happy that we are sponsoring the Jython and PyPy sprints at PyCon 2008,” said Tim Bray, director of web technologies at Sun Microsystems. “In the world of Open Source, code talks.”
Development sprints have long been a regular feature in the Python community, but until recently they have been less familiar to developers in other languages. For many, the opportunity to work side-by-side with friends from across the world is one of the highlights of PyCon.
“At sprints, we collaborate in an informal and productive atmosphere,”
If interested in attending, admission passes will be available at the door. For more information about this event, please visit http://us.pycon.org.
About PyCon
Presented by the Python Software Foundation, the world’s largest Python conference brings together a diverse group of developers, enthusiasts, and organizations to explore new challenges, launch new businesses and forge new connections within the Python community. PyCon provides attendees with the opportunity to delve into the dynamic programming language employed by well-known companies such as Google, Cisco, and the New York Times. PyCon helps people learn new tools and techniques, showcase projects, and meet other Python fans.
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