January 3, 2007

Questions for Python Developers

Those who aren't heavily involved with the Python world may have missed the fact that PyCon 2007 will be held towards the end of February. There are already signs that the hotel is starting to fill up and early bird registration ends in less than two weeks, so if you are planning to attend now would be a good time to register.

Besides the database tutorial I am presenting on the Thursday before the conference proper, I am also acting as moderator for a panel where Python developers will answer questions, some of which will come from the audience. Is there anything you'd like to know about how Python is developed, what the general philosophy is, or what it takes to become a committer? The broader the scope of the discussions, the more interesting this session is likely to be. If you would like to add your own question you can do so on the PyCon web site, and I will be happy to include it.

If you are so technophobic that you aren't comfortable editing a wiki page then you can add a comment on this blog, but since that would involve clerical work on my part I can't guarantee that channel will operate as effectively.

It's interesting to see what an organised conference PyCon has become under Andrew Kuchling and Jeff Rush, this year's joint chairs. I still remember wondering whether the first one would cover its costs after I had casually predicted that the community could run a better conference than the commercial organisers who had run the IPC series before it. So far each PyCon has made positive contributions to the Python Software Foundation's coffers, thanks largely to the generous sponsorships we have attracted.

Since I am responsible for administering the sponsorships, and since there are a number of people whom I need to correspond with quite urgently I had beter get back to that task. If your organisation would like to help by sponsoring the conference, please visit this page or drop me a line.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just registered at the Marriott web site for my hotel stay. The weekend of the conference is still available at the PyCon group rate, but the sprinting days are pricing out at $239/night. So that might deter some sprinters without deep pockets. (That would include most of us!)

Steve said...

I believe this is a mistake. It seems unlikely that the sprints are more popular than the main conference, and rooms are supposed to be available for both. There have been problems in the past with the hotel booking system, and this looks like (yet) another glitch.

Call the hotel reservation line on 1-800-228-9290 to check availability with a Real Human Being (TM), and if they won't give you the PyCon rate send email to pycon@python.org to see if the organisers can help.