[python-advocacy] help on wording of PyTexas 2010 announcement for profs/students

[Martin Thomas]

Brad,
Just me being picky perhaps but I would drop the word "shell" .. 
It might also be worth linking to the Python.org success page to indicate the wide variety of companies using Python.

2c // M


On Jun 6, 2010, at 8:26 PM, Brad Allen wrote:

> We're working on an announcement to attract students to PyTexas 2010,
> and I would like to get some feedback on the wording before the
> announcement goes out. The goal here is to help professors and
> students understand why Python might be interesting and worth learning
> about.
> 
> An editable version is available on the PyTexas wiki
> 
> http://pytexas.org/AnnouncementForProfs2010
> 
> Here is the current version of the text:
> ====================================
> 
> Hello professors,
> 
> I'm writing on behalf of the organizers of PyTexas 2010, a one-day
> conference organized by the Python programming community in the Texas
> region. It will be held at Baylor University in Waco on Saturday,
> Augst 28, and we'd like to invite you and your students to join us.
> 
> Python is a general purpose, open source programming language popular
> for its elegant, high level, cross-platform design. It's fundamentally
> object oriented, but allows programming in a procedural style, which
> provides a smooth learning curve for those new to object-oriented
> concepts. It also supports many functional programming concepts such
> as iterators, generators, and list comprehensions.
> 
> More importantly, Python has a wide range of practical uses, from
> simple shell scripts to large scale enterprise applications. It's used
> for system administration, web development, building GUI applications,
> scientific computing, game development, and as a "glue" language for
> systems integration, among other things. Python developers have many
> choices of runtime environments, including CPython, JVM(Jython), and
> .Net(IronPython). It's also used at some universities as an
> introductory language for computer science.
> 
> At PyTexas this year we're planning a beginner's track, to help those
> new to Python get comfortable with the language and the most popular
> libraries. We'll also have a track for experienced Python developers
> interested in more advanced topics.
> 
> We'd like to gauge interest among university level students and
> others.  To do so we've developed a very brief survey that takes less
> than 5 minutes to complete.
> 
> We could use your assistance disseminating the survey to students,
> other professors, or anyone else you think might be interested.
> Please forward the below introduction and link to students' emails or
> to an appropriate UT listserv. Also, you yourself should feel free to
> fill out the survey if you have any personal interest in attending.
> 
> Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Brad Allen
> Member of the DFW Python User Group
> 
> *******************************************************************************
> 
> Hello,
> 
> The PyTexas group invites you to take a very brief survey.  We are
> organizing PyTexas 2010, a conference to share Python-related
> knowledge and enthusiasm, in the form of presentations, coding
> sprints, "teach me" sessions, and general socializing.
> 
> Python is an excellent programming language with a thriving open
> source community.  You can use it for system administration, web
> development, building GUI applications, scientific computing, game
> development, and as a "glue" language for systems integration, among
> other things. With its elegant, clear syntax, it's easy to learn; many
> Python developers like to say "Python fits my brain."
> 
> We encourage you to get involved!  To do so, please take a few moments
> to answer the questions in our survey.  The link is available here or
> you may copy and paste the link below into your browser.
> 
> Sincerely,
> PyTexas
> http://pytexas.org/
> 
> http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9fj1H0BQlQsbWG4LT55DcXz7hhnvgzTQ8MjnmiuHh38%3d&
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