CodeMash.org Preconference notes

I’ve donned my roving reporter hat once again and am on the road. This time, I’m in Sandusky, OH – US for CodeMash.org. This conference is a bit different than most of the conferences I attended last year; this is my first community sponsored conference. Before I arrived, I expected that to mean minimalist because they don’t have a company behind them. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The organizers of this conference (all members or regional Users Groups representing many different languages and technologies) have made sure that the event is as professional as any I’ve been to.

Last night was the pre-conference panel. Moderated by Bruce Eckel, the panel was discussing “Languages”. I’m ashamed to say that the language that powers more of the web than any other, PHP, was not represented on the panel. I think my favorite question Bruce posed to the panelists was “What language is best for Colleges to teach programming in?” The general consensus among the panelists was that there was no one “right language” but that teaching multiple languages was the best way. However, Jay Pipes, Community Relations Manager for MySQL, had the best answer I heard when he responded “SQL”. Whether you love it or hate it, his comment was that almost every programmer has to use it at some point or another.

After the panel broke up, Bruce introduced the “Open Spaces” aspect of the conference, then we all adjourned to the bar.

Another unusual aspect of this conference is the fact that it does not concentrate on a single technology or language. One of the purposes of the conference is “cross pollenation”. It’s purpose is to expose the attendees to languages and methodologies beyond the ones they are using now. This makes for an eclectic range of session topics.

Today’s sessions are no exception to that, they cover a wide range of topics. I’ll let those that are interested browse the list instead of just repeating them here. I am, however, looking forward to Jay’s “Maximum Velocity MySQL”. Tomorrow, of course, Zend’s own Kevin Schroder will be presenting “Caffeinated PHP”.

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures as this conference unfolds.

=C=