Presentation Abstracts
Programming Parrot - Patrick R. Michaud
Parrot is a virtual machine designed to efficiently compile and execute bytecode for dynamic languages. Parrot currently hosts a variety of language implementations in various stages of completion, including Tcl, Perl 6, Python, PHP, Lua, Javascript, Ruby, APL, and a .NET bytecode translator.
This talk provides an detailed description of the Parrot project, the virtual machine architecture, its rich set of compiler tools, and the implementations of various languages on Parrot.
An Introduction to Mercurial - Eric Evans
For many, the words "version control" are synonymous with CVS and/or Subversion, but recently a new breed of tools have emerged which discard the centralized client-server model in favor of a distributed approach. One such distributed version control system is Mercurial.
This talk will provide an overview of:
- Distributed version control concepts and how they differ in comparison to the centralized approach.
- Creating a Mercurial repository, committing changes, and publishing the results.
- Branching, merging, and conflict resolution.
- Configuring, customizing, and extending Mercurial.
Playing With a Net - Making Programming Fun Again - Jeffrey L. Taylor
I'm not some guru come to tell you how you "should" code, I'm just a fellow traveler reporting back from further on up the road on what I've found that works. I'd rather be writing code than fixing old bugs. So I write automated tests. I like prevention more than cleanup. So I use version control. Working without a net is exciting in the short run, exhausting in the long run, and often bruising or even fatal. Playing, that is programming, with a net takes the "splat" out. Version control and automated testing are part of the net.
What is Python and Why Is It Cool? - Jeff Rush
For those who know little about Python and are wondering what it is all about, I'll introduce the criteria for choosing a programming language, discuss its strengths and weaknesses and walk through a few source code examples. I'll also cover various problem domains in which Python is used and list some of the many projects who you may not know are using Python.
An Introduction to Perl 6 - Patrick R. Michaud
This talk provides an introduction to the Perl 6 programming language. The talk is intended as a general introduction to Perl 6, a background in Perl is not needed for the talk. We will briefly review the history of Perl 6, the design principles that lie at the foundation of the language, and introduce some of the new programming constructs and features available in Perl 6.
Open Source takes on Enterprise Management - Tarus Balog
Open source products are often thought of a cheaper and less functional versions of commercial applications. OpenNMS has shown that an active open source community can take on the likes of HP and IBM (OpenNMS won TechTargets Gold Medal against those two products). This presentation will give a brief overview of OpenNMS and show how a 100% open source project can out perform and out scale the big guys using case studies.
LAMP Stack Apps for K12 ... for all the right reasons! - Ken Task
Presenter could be termed a "LAMP-seeder" ... one who travels the State of Texas working with ISD's and assisting them in installing, configuring, and administering LAMP stack apps such as Joomla and Moodle. Why LAMP stack apps like Joomla and Moodle? For all the right reasons! Presenter will share his experiences with LAMP so if you are in K12 or work with K12 and you've been thinking about it, you might want to hear experiences from one in the trenches.
Not a Programmer? Not a Problem! How Anyone Can Contribute to Open Source Projects - Janet Swisher
Open source software depends on involvement of communities that include not only programmers but also users of the software, with varying technical backgrounds. This talk highlights the ways that non-programmers can participate in creating and enhancing open source software. Options fall on a range of knowledge and commitment, from asking and answering user questions, to submitting and commenting on bug reports and feature requests, to writing or editing documentation. Rewards of participating include improving the software, helping others, making worldwide contacts, creating a positive "Google trail" for yourself, and possibly adding to a portfolio of your work.
Open Source 3D Modeling Software Development with Qt - David Morris
In this presentation, I will discuss an open source topological mesh modeling system developed at the Texas A&M Visualization Laboratory. I will cover various aspects of the development process starting with a brief history and the motivation to make it open source, the user interface toolkit selection process, development with the Qt library from Trolltech, the dual license model, lessons learned, and the future plans of the software (commercialization options) now that my thesis research is done.
Making Money by Giving Things Away: Open Source as a Business Model for Technology Companies - John Wohn
By surveying current literature on the topics of technology product strategy and open source, this report describes how technology companies can make use of open source products and techniques to enhance their profitability and competitiveness. The paper begins with a brief introduction to open source and a description of the value open source brings to end-users, developers, and companies. After that, this paper describes several strategies for generating revenue when giving a product away for free. Finally the report briefly considers how open source principles may affect education, entertainment, and business in the future. Presentation link
An Open Source Approach to Digital Humanities - James Smith
The Texas A&M University College of Liberal Arts is working to develop a "telescope of the mind:" a digital research environment based on open standards and a robust open source toolset to allow faculty to create extensive and reusable digital collections capable of advancing research in digital humanities (i.e., the academic semantic web). This session covers the constraints we are working within and the open source technologies we are applying. We will also touch on some of the open source packages we are producing.
The Ubuntu Community: Contributing to the Revolution - Belinda A. Lopez
The Ubuntu Community continues to grow at an astonishing rate. The various teams and processes that make up an Open community are not always transparent to new users; even those who want to contribute. In this talk I'll explain how the various Teams, Projects and technology work in order to achieve the six month release cycles and grow the Ubuntu Project. An overview of the Community Leaders and ways for those new to the Open Source movement to contribute will also be included.