[EuroPython] spacetime

[Martijn Faassen]

Marc Poinot wrote:
[snip]
> > I think introductory Python tutorials would be good to have at the
> > Python conference; part of the exercise is to interest non-Pythoneers
> > in Python, and tutorials are good in that respect.
> > 
> Non-Pythoneers would not come to a Python event ? Would they ? Maybe they
> would prefer to have a look at it before going for one, two or three
> days in a Python event.
> When I'm interested in a new technical point, I use to read docs (yes :),
> try it by myself, etc... Then I decide to go to an event, and I'm ready
> to pay for it.

Sure, I work the same way, but apparently some other folks don't. We're
not all hackers. Anyway, Andy Robinson was interested in this point,
so perhaps he can speak up? He mentioned he has some clients that he'd
like to send over there for tutorials and such.

After all, IPC has a tutorial day as well, and at least in 2000 I spoke
to some folks who were going there because they didn't know Python yet.
(and they looked at me weirdly, who is this guy? I assumed they'd at
least might've heard of me from the newsgroup, but they didn't read it..)

Anyway, that's not to say we should emulate this, but it's at least a 
decision we need to make. The folks who really want this should get a
program chair or whatever one calls that. :)

(and to this possible chair; I can give an intro on Python and/or Zope
if desired and I have time. :)

> Thus, I think it's better to focus on "high" level tutorial, with
> solution topics for supercomputing, banks, webs, real-time control,
> system administration, etc... We can have some workshops with real
> case studies: yes can I do a format translator in half an hour, 
> yes all the XML tools are there just pick them up, yes I can do FFT, etc...
> People would leave the event with Python solutions, instead of some new
> language questions.

Oh, I agree that this is definitely very important. We should definitely
do this.

> One more point is that many European people are frustrated by the IPC
> events (or even O'Reilly confs), because a week in the USA is far more
> expensive than three days elsewhere in Europe (except Monaco).
> The Brussel place is the right place for the European Python community.

Sure; there's plenty of potential in Europe!

Regards,

Martijn