383 Project go to Europython 2009

In any industry a conference is an important event, but in the web development industry they become almost vital. Conferences provide people within many sectors of the industry an opportunity to;

• Network and meet with their colleagues,
• Discuss developments to the industry,
• Share ideas and gain feedback on projects,
• Inspire new ways of thinking,
• Provide a sense of purpose to your role.

This week 383 Project have been at Europython, a conference about the Python programming language. Python is a high level programming language which features everywhere across the programming world as a tool for running servers, completing and automating tasks, but most importantly to 383 Project, building rich web applications.

The conference was held just around the corner from 383 Project, at the Birmingham Conservatoire. With more than 400 delegates from across Europe and the world the conference was the biggest it has ever been.

Community is a vital part of software development and Europython is entirely community run. The introduction featured a great phrase;

“If it’s not here, its because you haven’t done it”

This really sums up the achievement of the Python community in Europe, because the conference was packed full of useful talks, discussions and opportunity to share ideas and get involved.

So what did we learn at Europython?

The main focus of the conference is the lectures. Anyone is free to submit a lecture topic, but generally they are presented by well renowned people in their fields, so you can expect real expert opinion. We went to a range of talks covering everything from the nitty gritty of python, through to testing our code and using new technologies such as Google App Engine, and Amazon’s S3 to host our Python projects.
As professional developers there will always be things we already know, but often this is just blind convention. One of the definite highlights was learning about the underlying thinking behind what we do and gaining a deeper understanding.

Of course, when at a community conference you can expect divides within the community as people vocally demonstrate their passions. There was a great discussion on automated testing in Python which turned in to a very productive debate about the best way to be testing our software. Usually when a community debates like this you realise there is often no “right way” of doing anything, but the debate highlights reasons that you may choose one approach over another to suit your needs.

But there is so much more at Europython than just the lecturing. Book sales from major publishers, open spaces for un-moderated discussion, and a personal favourite, the lightning talks.

Lightning talks are free for anyone to present, but can last no more than 5 minutes. Usually this is just someone getting up on the stage to tell everyone about their latest program, or an idea they’ve had that they wish to share. Listening to people’s ideas and seeing new trends from the grass roots of the community can only lead to inspiration, and there was no shortage of ideas on offer this year.

Finally, Europython provides a more subtle benefit to developers. Throughout the conference, both formally and informally, those steering Python are listening to feedback of users. As a commercial user its a chance to explain what it is that makes my job easier with Python, and how it benefits the clients of 383 Project directly. Its also a chance to say where Python doesn’t work, what we need and how it can improved. As a community driven programming language it really is possible to see how this feedback directly influences and brings about change. This channel of communication is essential to the development of Python and is infinitely more difficult without the real-world interaction.

All in all Europython is one of the best conferences of its kind in the world, and it was great to be there. The contacts we make, and the knowledge we part with with can only make us better at what we do.

Next year’s conference will be in Birmingham again, and I highly recommend anyone with an interest in Python attends.

Introducing Ideas Buffet!

Here at 383 we’ve been working on a new project and we’re really excited to finally be able to bring you a few of the details. The project is called “Ideas Buffet” and was first inspired by the apparent lack of web sites providing an easily accessible platform for discussing ideas. Branding Ideas Buffet as “a collaborative thought engine” we hope to provide a new tool for community brain storming that’s easy to use and provides groups and individuals with a simple way to collaborate.

We’ve taken our inspiration from a variety of popular web applications including message boards, Twitter, Google Analytics and web polls. We believe the result is a very elegant application that will serve as a useful tool.

Its almost ready, and we expect it to be available to the public within a couple of weeks. But before we can do that we need to make sure everything’s in working order. There’s an awful lot going on behind the scenes in this app and it all needs fine tuning. The only way we can do this is by asking a few of our friends to join us for beta testing.

We’re looking for a variety of people; everyone from creatives to paper-pushers and web gurus to complete novices. You’ll be given a sneak peak at the application before it goes live, have a chance to give your feed back and gain an insight in to how real websites are developed. You can have as little or as much input as you have time for.

So if you’re interested just drop a comment on to this post or you can send us an email from the contact form at the bottom of the page. We’ll be in touch with you just before we’re ready for testing to find a little more about you and your experience, and to see how involved you’d like to be.