use Perl

The ACT website for Nordic Perl Workshop 2008 is now online at http://conferences.yapceurope.org/npw2008/ and registration is open. You need an ACT account to register but if you've been to any YAPC or local workshop the past few years chances are good that you already have one. If not, signing up for one is easy peasy.

Oh, and don't forget to submit talk proposals if you want to give a presentation!

Hope to see you in Stockholm,
Claes Jakobsson and the NPW2008 organizer team

So it's quite a while since I last wrote in my journal here. I moved temporarily to LJ but the Perl community really is where my heart is so I'll return here from now on.

Now? what's happened since my last entry on 29th sept. 2006?

1) Winter 2005 just after NPW2005 I got burnt out and that has had quite a few implications to my life. In late october 2006 I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and social fobia. But thanks to drugs and therapy I feel a lot better now and I'm starting to rebuild my social life.

2) I quit my job at the Swedish Premium Pension Authority to start my own business in order to develop a software that's been on my mind for quite some time. More about that further down.

3) Altho I officialy started the company in early 2007 I didn't feel up to nor was a able to do any work until late 2007 when I started to feel better. Really a bummer since I had to live off my savings but taking almost a year off was not so bad after all. It sure has gotten me more eager to invest time and energy into building something like a business and continue to be active in the Perl community.

So what does the future hold?

Business - client projects
Try to find more customers and especially those who want to open source what I do for them. One of my customers, Linserv AB, suggested themselves to release it on CPAN (M3::ServerView). Companies like that rock.

Business - own projects
The reason I decided to start my own was so I could transform my thoughts about software comprehension and visualisation into a product. Several years ago I wrote CPANXR, a cross-referencing tool which worked not quite so well. This new system which I call OpenGrasp will eventually be released as open source. Currently my focus lies on the core database which stores the software model which basically is a typed directed graph. This graph has to be searchable, traversable and transformable. I'll be posting more about OpenGrasp as it develops.

Nordic Perl Workshop 2008
I went to NPW2007 in Copenhagen and it was excellent. Now as you may know YAPC::EU will be hosted by Copenhagen Perl Mongers this year so they weren't capable of organizing NPW. So I took it upon me and planning is starting really soon. We're aiming for late may, probably a friday + saturday. My hope is that I'll be able to arrange a free introduction course to Perl at the university here in stockholm a few days before NPW so we can get some fresh blood interested in the community. We'll also hopefully be able to get a well-known Perl author to do a one-day class just before NPW for those who are interested (this will not be free tho).

YAPC::Europe 2008
I'm definitely going. Copenhagen is also really close to Skåne where my family has a summer house so it's just a short trip over the bridge. mmm... bridge... gaaaaah.

Social life
Big step.. due to reasons given earlier I haven't been able to go out for quite some time. I'm working on this by exposing me to situations I don't like. CBT++

Now if only a cute sweet girl who understands the life of a hacker would cross my path =)

Happy 2008
/Claes

After getting more and more aggrevated at the speed of my current mac I finally threw in the towel and bought myself a MacBook.

I went for the low-end version (1.83 GHz) because I couldn't justify the extra 2000 SEK (~ $280) Apple wants for a slightly faster CPU and a SuperDrive. Now I just have to order myself 2GB RAM and I'll be all set.

I'm also on the hunt for an external display so I can use extended desktop. I'm considering the Philips 200W6CS/00.

However if someone has another recommendation please leave me a comment. I want at least 1440x900 pixel resolution and it should be too pricy (sorry Apple).

The workshop is now only a month away. Here is the latest dirt:

Date of event
Since we have booked a venue we now know that the workshop will be the 22nd and 23rd of October so you can book that in your calendar.

Talks
A few more proposals has been submitted but there are still slots to fill. So if you're interested in giving a talk submit a proposal to npw2005-talks@surfar.nu now.

Wiki
The wiki is up and running. There isn't much there yet.

Registration
The website and online registration will open soon. The cost for this event will be 50 Euros.

Good ideas are worth stealing (thanks Cog).

Here is a first report on the progress of Nordic Perl Workshop 2005.

Talks
Since the call-for-papers came out almost a week ago we have received proposals for five ordinary talks and one lightning-talk. With the non-submitted ones that we know about we're already up to seven talks.

Keep 'em coming!

Venue
Today we booked the venue where NPW 2005 will be. It's located in the central parts of Stockholm a two-minute walk from Odenplan. Google maps!

Pricing
Pricing has not yet been decided but expect it to be around the price for previous NPWs which is around 50 EUR.

Call-for-participants
As we now have final dates for the workshop this one is due out really soon.

That's all for now.

/Claes

In an effort to unify testing at work I've now created a JUnit runner that outputs results in TAP.

Let the sweet things begin!

I, like probably most other Perl developers, trust that a distribution on CPAN with a version number below 1.00 is still usable and considered safe.

But, if I was a non Perl-programming manager who had to make the decisions I would be more skeptical on relying on software that didn't have a "stable" version number. "stable" in this context meaning 1.0 or later. I believe that the fact that there are so many distributions on CPAN with a version below 1.0 (some of mine included) could scare the decision makers off and instead of embrace and extend just go on developing their own internal modules that does the same thing.

The problem that we are seeing this is because h2xs sets 0.01 as the initial version of the module it creates and many authors are just too lazy to even bother thinking about if this should be considered stable. Are there any guidelines in the Perl community when a distribution should receive a >= 1.00 version number?

So my question to all of you is:

How do you version your distributions and why?

I've done my presentation about "CPANXR - Odds and ends of Perl cross-referencing" and it felt like it went good.

Tommorow looks like an interesting day with some really advanced talks.

Soon it is time to head out for some food and beer.

Til then,
Claes