Name: The Perl Conference, Glasgow 2018
Start: 2018-08-13T09:30
End: 2018-08-17T19:00
Location: The Studio

An Apology

17/08/18 09:46 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

'Failure is a key to success, each mistake teaches us something'

There are two things I wish to talk about. Let me begin by talking about myself. There have been some clear errors of judgement made during the organisation of this event that I know have caused issue. I am not going to make a complete list at this time but I will hopefully be passing on what I have learned to other organisers. This may end up as a list of things that I should have changed, or should never have done. I know I could have done better. My actions do not fit what I wanted to achieve which is a space for us all to feel comfortable and greatly welcome. I can learn from that.

I would like to make a specific apology for the printing of clothing sizes on the stickers of the conference badges. I did this unmindful of the clear issue it created and I know it has caused distress. I would like to offer my deepest apologies for such an irresponsible error of judgement.

When we have a code of conduct it is not a set of rules, it is the codification of behaviour. If done well we can all learn not only from its existence but from its enforcement. It is why I apologise for my errors and the harm that they have caused.

The second item is that on Wednesday a Lightning talk was given that use a series of tropes and stereotypes. Despite the fact that these were being used to as a mockery of how those stereotypes do not actually exist or apply. The talk was inappropriate and not the manner of talk that should have been given. We have taken the decision to remove the video and it will not be shown on the internet and the speaker has removed the talk and its slides from any public access.

I should be clear and it is something we should all think about. Using imagery, personality type, or any other distinguishing features is how we set people apart, it is how we set caricatures or roles. It does not matter that the intention is to show how these roles are invalid. This is especially true when we have a shared space, with people of different values, cultures, societies and beliefs.

When we use language in this manner, when we use stereotypes and imagery with humour it cheapens any message. Most often mockery of anyone is how language can enforce elements such as privilidge or dominance and victimise people. We see it all the time. These things are not humour for so many people in our community. We should have the discourse without the drama, and give it the respect it deserves.

I would like to formally apologise on behalf of the organisers and let us all learn from the mistakes we have made.

Newsletter Digest (2)

08/08/18 15:05 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is just one week until the Perl Conference in Europe 2018 will be held in Glasgow so it is a good time to share some organisational information for all of you attending.

As our guests we want you to feel safe and comfortable at all times and please talk to any of the conference staff if you have any requests or issues. We are there to help you, but also bear in mind that all of us are volunteers and so we may not respond as quickly as you would expect.

You can email Mark (@shadowcat_mdk) [mdk (at) shadow (dot) cat] or Tom (@TBSliver) [tbsliver (at) shadow (dot) cat] at any time. Mark will also be available on Telegram and his mobile is: 07951557226 if there are any emergencies (please don’t use this for casual enquiries).

Pre-Event Social

On Tuesday Evening (14th August) we will be happy to welcome you to a pre-Event social sponsored by Booking.com. There will be two free drinks (of your choice) per person and unlimited coffee and water. There will also be a range of small nibbles served throughout the event.

The social will be held at the venue on the 9th floor between 18:00 and 20:30, we are sure many of you will then be able to move to another location to continue the social activities. Due to having to guesstimate numbers in advance we will be limiting the sponsored drinks to 150 people (two tickets each), please feel free to bring your partners along, though we ask that you only take two drinks tickets per conference ticket holder.

Students, sponsors, speakers and other guests will receive 2 free drinks tickets and are encouraged to join us.

Conference Dinner

Our conference dinner will start at 19:00 on the evening of Wednesday 15th August at the delightful venue of Òran Mór (Òran Mór - Top of Byres Road, Glasgow, G12 8QX : General Enquiries - T: 0141 357 6200 - E: info@oran-mor.co.uk). This event is sponsored by Booking.com who have generously contributed to the whole of the community events that accompany this year’s conference.

Food, served from 20:00, is a mixture of small dishes. There will be vegetarian options but can I ask that anyone with a specific dietary requirement contact us in advance. Can those of us who do have a broader dietary preference (omnivores like myself) could I respectfully ask that you make sure that those with less choice get to eat (i.e. the meat eaters shouldn’t snaffle all the veggie food and leave them hungry :) ). There will also be plates specifically for those who prefer a Vegan lifestyle.

The venue has a licence until very late (we have set the time as 01:00 but the banqueting manager may alter this and close the bar earlier or as late as 02:00) but anyone under the age of 18 should leave before 11:30 p.m., please do not buy alcoholic drinks for, or encourage drinking, of anyone below the age of 18.

Game Night

Thursday Evening is Game Night. We have secured permission from the venue for an extended evening for you to bring your favourite board, card or other style of game and play a hand/round/level or two. There will be no food or drinks planned but we expect that you can bring some as long as you clear away your mess. This event will run until 21:00.

BoF

This year we have decided to schedule a special session in which to hold your BoFs. This will run between 13:00 and 13:50 on the Thursday and the whole of the conference venue barring the organisers room and green room will be available. Since this falls straight after dinner you can extend your BoFfing to 12:20 if you eat and communicate.

Code of Conduct: The Quick Version

The Conference has adopted a Code of Conduct which is posted to the main site. The quick version of this is:

Our conference is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices.

We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks, workshops, parties, Twitter and other online media.

Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organisers.

Food

The conference will be pleased to provide all attendees with lunch at the venue on each day as part of your conference ticket. The venue itself will prepare all foods and will label them appropriately.

On each day there will be at least one Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegetarian or Meat choice. It may be possible that items such as the dairy or gluten free are a vegetarian or meat based dish.

Diets

For those of you who have a very restricted diet or severe allergies please contact Mark before the event, the venue can prepare a number of specialised dishes that will be separate to the normal food for your consumption. Please note a request for no shellfish has already been passed to the venue who will ensure this is not part of the regular dishes.

Coffee Breaks

There will be a longer coffee break on each morning and in each afternoon of the main conference days. At these breaks there will also be light food bites (pastries, biscuits etc.) for consumption. The venue will also provide some bowls of various items such as fruit throughout the day (and if you need a sugar boost there are always sweets at the reception desk on Floor 8).

Hot Drink and Water Machines

Outside of breaks the venue has hot drinks and water (still/sparkling) dispensers on both floors and you are free to use these at any time.

The Conference Layout

The conference venue is opposite Glasgow Centre Railway Station and on many other transport routes (bus and metro). We are on the 8th and 9th floor of the building and there are lifts to both floors as well as stairs (for the more energetic of you). We have renamed some of the conference rooms and maps to each room will be made available to you. However a brief guide is below.

Climb: Cpanel Room

This is the main lecture room on the 9th floor. Lightning talks and opening/closing addresses, keynotes etc., will be held in this room.

Aspire: Zoopla Room

The first room next to the lifts and reception desk on the 8th floor and our second lecture theatre (lecture theatres 2 and 3 are the same size).

Proclaim: Pirum Room

This room is next to Zoopla and will be our 3rd and final lecture theatre.

Hope: Quiet Room - non-Hallway Track

We love that conference attendees come not just to learn but to socialise. Perl is a community with many relationships and many people who want to meet, talk and discuss. We also encourage talking in the hallway track.

However there may be times you want to sit alone, or in a small group and not be disturbed. Hope, is our quiet room. It is situated next to the coffee machines on Floor 8. If you sit in Hope you can gain some calm, if you see someone sitting in Hope please respect that they want peace and do not disturb them. Leave this room if you want a louder conversation or are open to multiple conversations.

Twist: Organiser’s Room

Opposite to hope and next to Proclaim:Pirum is Twist. This is the organisers room and no one but staff are allowed in this room. This includes speakers and sponsors.

Shout: The Green Room

Our Green room is next to Twist and opposite Hope, it is a room just for speakers and sponsors where they might prepare or recover. Please give priority to those who need this room to prepare for their talks. It is not open to other conference attendees.

Foyer 8th Floor

The 8th floor foyer is a general hallway track zone. Want someplace to stand and chat, or meet to go to a talk or discuss, then please use the Foyer on 8th.

Foyer: 9th Floor

The Foyer on the 9th floor is also for hallway track communication but we would also like you to visit one of the many sponsor tables and talk to the people who helped make this event a reality.

There will be a table set aside for sticker exchange on the 9th floor. We ask that you do not put any promotional flyers or other company related literature except for free merchandise.

Lifts and Access

We are on the 8th and 9th floors of a building and so most of us will want to use the lifts at some point. Please, though, give priority to those who are less able bodied than yourself, also if you are queuing for the lifts do so in a line (like a British person :) ) as this will give clearer access to those who need or would like to use the stairs.

If you have specific issues with mobility then please make this known to a volunteer so we can help you get to whatever talks or events you would like to attend. Please consider helping your fellow attendees.

Smoking

Smoking, including vaping, is illegal inside all public buildings and immediately in front of commercial doorways (as in milling around an entrance) in the whole of Scotland. Please try to manage your specific inhalation requirements with that in mind.

Lightning Talks

As always there are Lightning Talks. As always they need to be submitted to Act (conference website) like a regular talk or Geoff Avery is going to ignore you. There will be limited time and slots and you must test your equipment in advance.

Volunteers

The event has been organised and will be managed entirely by volunteers. They will be wearing a distinct top and I ask that you give them priority seating if they need to monitor rooms and follow their requests.

We still need volunteers to help with room monitoring and other small tasks. If you want to help monitor a room or learn how to operate and monitor a video stream then let us know as soon as possible. We will be creating a volunteer schedule and form so get your name to us as soon as you can, with what times you are available.

Video

It is our intention this year to stream the entire of the event live. As such all talks will be broadcast (except where the speaker specifically requests they are not). The cameras will only be active during the talks and normally pointed at the speaker, but please be aware that they are there.

We will also be streaming highlights and screens between talks and there will be schedule information alongside the video stream. If you are joining us online and appreciate this effort you can contribute to the video fund for this and future events. Contact Mark or Tom at the above addresses.

Please note that there is a great deal of sensitive recording equipment and a number of people who will be handling this. Please resist the urge to pull with any cables or unplug any item as this may cause terrible issues. Recording and streaming equipment will be active and functional before the event, during breaks and lunch, and during some of the social events.

Tickets

Don’t forget to purchase your conference ticket (if you haven’t already) and any tickets extra for partners who wish to attend the conference dinner on the Wednesday night at Òran Mór.

A Conversation With…

30/07/18 14:50 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

One of the delights* of organising a conference is picking specific people to do one-off talks, these are usually your keynote or plenary sessions. It is a delight as you as an organiser can help guide what is going to happen even if you have little influence over the actual content or delivery.

For many years Larry Wall has attended events and given Keynotes, or Q&A sessions and no doubt he is surprised by new thoughts while being badgered by the age old queries. This year we will give him a break.

It is a great pleasure to announce that this year we will have a Conversation with Gloria Wall. Gloria has been a part of Perl since before it even bore the name of Perl. She has lived with three decades of not just the language creator, but its users, its community.

Gloria will be sharing some of the ups, and probably some of the downs, of living with the Perl Community for 30 years. As Gloria recently noted to me ‘the Perl community has been a community for my family too’.

This is a rare event and not to be missed, I have to admit that it is a guilty pleasure for me as well as I have always wanted to hear Gloria’s thoughts on the community, the people and the inevitable shape that has on a person and their family when they are in the centre of everyone's gaze.

The event will take place on Day Two of the main conference before the Lightning Talks.

* And there are quite a few to be fair but they are not always apparent when you are in the depths of pre-event planning

Closing Keynote Speaker

30/07/18 10:37 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." (Edgar Allan Poe)

To mark the closing of the Perl Conference in Glasgow we are pleased to announce that Curtis ‘Ovid’ Poe will present a charming little narrative about the possible future of the two branches of Perl. The title is:

The Future of Perl 5 and 6: A short, aspirational, steaming pile of ones and zeros.

As Curtis himself puts it:

"We're just going to have fun and play around with ideas in this talk. Perl 5 will focus on simple (ha!) changes that could improve the language. Perl 6 will focus on the next concrete steps."

Curtis has already started the conversation on his personal blog (http://blogs.perl.org/users/ovid/2018/07/the-future-of-perl-5.html) about the changes that could be brought to Perl 5 and many people will be familiar with his talks on Perl 6. However we are going to project into a possible future for both of the languages. It may be serious, it may also be whimsical (this is Curtis after all), at least we can be assured that it will not be an Ovidtuary (ouch!).

Call for Papers

28/06/18 10:41 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

“‘The time has come’, the Walrus said, ‘to speak of many things’...” but I bet not a single one of them was the closing of the call for papers for this year’s European Perl Conference in Glasgow. But the time has come. Saturday 30th June at Midnight will be the official close of the call for papers for this year’s event.

If you have an idea, even if it is just a formative idea, then now is the time to submit as after the 30th we will be ignoring (probably) any submissions that are not Lightning Talks.

On which subject, please feel free to submit a Lightning Talk. Note that accepted speakers who have a talk greater than 20 minutes in length will receive a free conference ticket. However that excludes multiples of Lightning Talks.

We have already accepted a number of talks and so the space in the Schedule is rapidly diminishing.

We look forward to seeing your submissions.

Newsletter Digest

12/06/18 16:35 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

TPCiG (YAPC::EU::2018) Newsletter #1

Welcome to the first newsletter as we countdown to the Perl Conference in Glasgow 2018 View here. It is only 11 weeks until the conference begins so if you are late in submitting a talk, booking a hotel, arranging travel or securing your conference ticket then it is probably time to do that.

ABOUT

The conference will be held over five days between 13-17th August 2018 at the Studio in the centre of Glasgow View here. The first two days will be taken up with workshops and training (detailed below) and then 3 days of the main conference.

The call for workshops has closed and we have secured our speakers and events. The call for talks (short, long and lightning) is still open until 30th June so go and submit a talk proposal now. The organisers have been accepting talks throughout the year and will continue to do so View here.

The Perl Conference is a volunteer run event which means we rely on you to help boost the collective experience. Please make sure to add details to the wiki of when you are arriving and departing and staying (though only if you wish to and you can alter and remove this data at any time) View here.

If you want to help out at this year’s event then please don’t hesitate to contact Mark or Rick as soon as possible (we are always looking for help). We would particularly love people who have some spare time to help us with promoting the event (including social media management and outreach) and in organising talks and proposals and liaising with speakers.

The wiki also contains details of BoF sessions and some of the talks alongside a growing collection of helpful advice of:

* places to stay View here;

* travel View here and here

* tourism View here.

Please note that there is a major sporting event the week before the conference and an International Band Festival following so hotels in the centre of Glasgow are starting to fill up. However there are a large number of surrounding regions that are all within a short rail or bus journey. Glasgow has an extensive public transport system so check out the timetables and routes. If you are a keen camper the beautiful shores of Loch Lomond at 30 minutes away by car or 45 minutes by train and metro.

KEYNOTE

Our first keynote speaker was announced as Ruth Holloway (GeekRuthie) In her presentations, Ruth Holloway shows you her own life and heart with humor and passion. With thirty years of experience in the technology trade, she has developed her skills in many technologies, while becoming a student of humanity.

Ruth epitomises the very essence of a community leader bringing humility, understanding and insight with a range of technical skills and social understanding. These are aspects that see her respected as a speaker, writer and advocate of diversity and inclusion.

WORKSHOPS

Crash course - Using databases with DBIx::Class

View here

By Andrew Solomon (‎illy‎)

Date: Tuesday, 14 August 2018 13:30

Duration: 210 minutes

Target audience: Intermediate

Language: English

DBIx::Class is a database framework (a.k.a "Object Relational Mapping" or "ORM") which presents the data as objects and keeps SQL at arm's-length. In this class I'll show you how to use DBIx::Class to make your code easier (and more pleasant) to maintain.

For this course you should be comfortable writing Perl and SQL. As soon as you sign-up for this course I'll give you a 3 month enrolment in Geekuni's online Perl Essentials course so that you can be sure you're on top of Perl and ready for class!

Crash course - Object Oriented Perl 5

View here

By Andrew Solomon (‎illy‎)

Date: Tuesday, 14 August 2018 09:30

Duration: 210 minutes

Target audience: Intermediate

Language: English

Although Perl is famous for its powerful one-liners and quirky syntax, there's also an extensive framework for fully-fledged OO programming.

In this half day class I'll introduce OO programming then take you from the built-in 'bless' through to Moo and Moose frameworks together with types, inheritance, roles and the object lifecycle.

The only requirement is that you're comfortable with non-OO Perl programming. To make sure of that, as soon as you sign-up for this course I'll give you a 3 month enrolment in Geekuni's online Perl Essentials course which has everything you need to know for this class.

I don't want to be an asshole anymore.

View here

By Mark Prather (‎Trg404‎)

Date: Monday, 13 August 2018 09:30

Duration: 420 minutes

Target audience: Any

Language: English

A three-part course focused on getting your internal outlook correct, how to approach dealing with others, and follow up to help solve problems. I will condense a plethora of reading and give cited examples on each process to help people understand where the message they are trying to convey is getting lost and help them to better facilitate their conversations with others.

With 4 years experience working with programmers in soft skills coaching role I have seen these techniques work and want to pass them on to make the community a better place to be in.

Web Site Tune-Up - Improve Your Googlejuice

View here

By Dave Cross (‎davorg‎)

Date: Tuesday, 14 August 2018 09:30

Duration: 210 minutes

Target audience: Any

Language: English

Warning: Perl Free Zone!

Most of us have web sites. And for most of those web sites, success means getting more visitors visit it. And that means getting better ranking in Google. And that means SEO.

You can spend hours poring over spreadsheets of keywords that you want your web site to rank for. But there's another side to SEO. There are a number of relatively simple tweaks you can make to your site in order to make it more attractive to Google. Over the course of three hours, we will cover some of these.

The Professional Programmer

View here

By Dave Cross (‎davorg‎)

Date: Tuesday, 14 August 2018 13:30

Duration: 210 minutes

Target audience: Any

Language: English

Being a successful professional programmer isn't just about being good at programming. There are plenty of other skills that a programmer should have and in this three-hour session, Dave Cross (who, despite appearances to the contrary, has been doing this for thirty years) will explain some of them to you.

Introduction to Perl 6

View here

By DrForr

Date: Monday, 13 August 2018 09:30

Duration: 420 minutes

Target audience: Any

Language: English

Starting from one-liners like 'Hello, world!' Jeffrey explores all of the programming styles that Perl 6 has on offer, from basic procedural programming to object-oriented style, aspect-oriented, functional programming, and even logic programming. From the basics of sigils (the signs that so many scratch their heads over) and context, you'll banish lazy evaluation, march through infinite lists, and stalk the wild hyperoperators. Jeffrey introduces simple variables and user I/O by way of a guessing game.

You'll walk out of the tutorial with a solid grasp of the fundamentals of Perl 6 and an exposure to what lies beyond the world of basic scripting.

First Keynote Speaker

07/06/18 13:55 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is a great pleasure to announce Ruth Holloway (GeekRuthie) as the first keynote speaker for this year conference.

In her presentations, Ruth Holloway shows you her own life and heart with humor and passion. With thirty years of experience in the technology trade, she has developed her skills in many technologies, while becoming a student of humanity.

In talks around the globe, Ruth seeks to inspire, challenge assumptions, and give attendees a greater consciousness of the world they inhabit.

Ruth has keynoted at conferences before where she has been praised for tackling difficult social issues, technical understanding and the puzzle that is people with both empathy and humour.

Ruth Holloway lives in Houston, TX, where she works for cPanel as a Perl Developer. She's a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a writer, a woodworker, and proud Mommy of the cutest dog you'll ever meet.

Andrew Solomon Workshops and BoF

07/06/18 09:46 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is a great pleasure to announce that Andrew Solomon (of Geekuni fame) will be holding a BoF and two workshops at this year's Perl Conference. Andrew is also offering some free advance tuition at Geekuni for those who take up a workshop to bring them up to speed fast enough to get maximum value from the workshops.

The BoF has not yet been scheduled but both of Andrew's workshops will be held on Tuesday 14th August 2018.

Growing your Perl Team

How do you grow your Perl team?

There's no question that expanding your Perl team is a challenge and I've seen different approaches including:

cross-training
internships
outsourcing
offshoring

and all of these come with their own set of challenges.

This 90 minute BOF is for HR, developers, trainers and recruiters to share their experience and exchange ideas for finding and nurturing Perl talent.

Please drop me a line if you're interested and I'll make sure there's enough snacks and drinks to get the ball rolling!

Crash course - Using databases with DBIx::Class

By Andrew Solomon (‎illy‎)

Date: Tuesday, 14 August 2018 13:30
Duration: 210 minutes
Target audience: Intermediate
Language: English

Crash course - Object Oriented Perl 5

By Andrew Solomon (‎illy‎)

Date: Tuesday, 14 August 2018 09:30
Duration: 210 minutes
Target audience: Intermediate
Language: English

Although Perl is famous for its powerful one-liners and quirky syntax, there's also an extensive framework for fully-fledged OO programming.

In this half day class I'll introduce OO programming then take you from the built-in 'bless' through to Moo and Moose frameworks together with types, inheritance, roles and the object lifecycle.

p.s. Please bring along your laptop - it'll be very hands-on!

Workshops

Crash course - Object Oriented Perl 5

Growing your Perl Team

Call for Workshops Closing on 31st May

19/05/18 22:25 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

The call for Workshops at The Perl Conference in Glasgow (#TPCiG #TPCiG18) will close at 23:59:59 on Thursday 31st May 2018. At this point we have 4 accepted workshops with the provision to hold more on a second day. Workshop will be held the same day (Tuesday 14th August), though if we accept another workshop we will open up Monday 13th August.

The tickets for the existing four workshops that were confirmed earlier in the process are already available and we recommend that you purchase them well in advance as we will have to have an early cut off date to ensure that we can adequately prepare for the number of guests.

Current Workshops

Web Site Tune-Up - Improve Your Googlejuice - Dave Cross (half day)

Warning: Perl Free Zone!

Most of us have web sites. And for most of those web sites, success means getting more visitors visit it. And that means getting better ranking in Google. And that means SEO.

Anyone can apply these techniques to their web sites. But very few people do. That's why they work.

This is an extended version of the workshop I gave at the London Perl Workshop in 2017.

The Professional Programmer - Dave Cross (half day)

Introduction to Perl 6 - Jeff Goff (full day)

After discussing variables and how they're affected by the context they're used in, Jeffrey delves into what's traditionally been the core of Perl: regular expressions. Starting with some simple matching tasks, Jeffrey explains how to parse what even Perl 5 regular expressions can't tackle with a custom grammar. This custom grammar helps teach you object orientation and aspect-oriented programming. You'll then build an interpreter with the help of some hyperoperators and use Perl 6 roles to construct both an interpreter and assembler inside Perl 6. Jeffrey also discusses the community surrounding the language, how to find other programmers, and how to find and share your Perl 6 code.

You'll walk out of the tutorial with a solid grasp of the fundamentals of Perl 6 and an exposure to what lies beyond the world of basic scripting. Materials or downloads needed in advance:

Attendees should bring a laptop with at least 4GB of RAM and a working Perl 6 installation from either Docker (recommended for Mac or Linux), Rakudobrew (recommended on Linux, and what the instructor uses inside his VM), or the MSI installer on Windows.

Attendees should be familiar with at least one programming language (C, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, etc.). While object orientation will be discussed, you do not need to be familiar with this beforehand.

I don't want to be an asshole anymore - Mark Prather (full day)

With 4 years experience working with programmers in soft skills coaching role I have seen these techniques work and want to pas them on to make the community a better place to be in.

Sponsors Wanted

03/04/18 21:33 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

The Perl Conference in Glasgow is just 20 weeks away and we happy organisers have stepped up our panic mode to level four on the quivering-with-things scale. Today I would like to reach out and once again ask for sponsors to come join us at the event, have tables, stands and displays and if they would also like to contribute in other ways that would be excellent.

Diversity Sponsorship

A particular passion for Mark this year is to have a greater diversity of speakers and attendees. The way to grow as a community and as individuals is by new experiences and change, that involves new people. Sometimes it involves encouraging those people who attend, or would like to attend, but stay in the background, too unsure.

I would like to invite companies to consider sponsoring a speaker from an under-represented group. How about finding a speaker, who may even be new to speaking, or not from our community and give them a chance to speak at our event.

Sponsor their attendance, get them to submit a talk. We will work with any organisation to help make this a possibility. Contact Mark to see discuss this further. To us this is just as good a reason to list you as a sponsor and to give your our heartfelt thanks.

TPCiG Workshops Wanted

27/03/18 11:43 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

There are fewer than twenty-one weeks to go until the Perl Conference in Glasgow starts and for most of us that is the time we start thinking about maybe submitting a talk, signing up to the event or looking at hotels. For a brave few it is time to start considering the Workshops?

Would you like to give a workshop at this year’s TPCiG? Would you like to attend a workshop? There are already events listed on the website and we are looking for more workshops to truly round out this year’s European Perl Conference. They need not be about Perl. The magnificent Dave Cross is doing a workshop on SEO (yes you heard that correctly) so flex your creative juices and submit.

There are limited workshop openings so submitting early with good levels of detail is an absolute must. Use the normal link to submit a presentation and choose your workshop length. You can always talk to Mark or Rick if you need more details or want some feedback.

StickerYou And YAPC::EU

19/03/18 12:17 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

Not all the sponsorship that we receive for a conference is in the form of a monetary donation. Often an organisation or individuals provide patronage, or support, in time, people or products.

One such organisation is StickerYou.

We have great pleasure in announcing that we have partnered with StickerYou to provide some custom stickers and Floor Decals for this year’s YAPC::EU in Glasgow.

About StickerYou

StickerYou Inc. provides the best platform in the world to create custom products that make you stick!

We are passionate about providing you with the highest quality custom stickers, labels, decals, iron-ons, temporary tattoos and more. Our website is built with proprietary die-cut technology to help you create and order your products exactly as you need them. This means you can order any quantity (as little as one), in any size and shape you need.

StickerYou was founded in 2008 by Andrew Witkin, who was inspired during a walk on Los Angeles’ Manhattan Beach when he noticed how stickers played a huge role in the local scene and culture but realized how expensive it was for individuals to create awesome die-cut stickers themselves.

StickerYou is based in beautiful Toronto, Canada.

Our Media Sponsors

08/03/18 15:03 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is a great pleasure to announce that cPanel will be the media sponsors for this year’s European Perl Conference (TPCiG/YAPC::EU) in Glasgow.

cPanel have had a long association with the Perl community regularly attending and sponsoring events and activities. They host one of the most innovative and expert Perl teams on the planet and have created a world leading hosting platform that is used by millions of sites worldwide.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that cPanel® is one of a kind. We like to think it’s because of four qualities that are deeply ingrained in both our product and our people: Integrity, Respect, Collaboration, and Follow-Through.”

About cPanel

cPanel & WHM is The Hosting Platform of Choice for web hosting automation. cPanel, Inc. writes and releases the software, to be perfect for any user. From the beginner to the advanced system administrator, cPanel & WHM provides the ideal platform for web hosting providers.

In 2017 we made it easier for application developers to use our software. In 2018 we're focused on making deployments to the most popular cloud providers as easy as possible.

cPanel is always on the lookout for talented, capable individuals. Spirited, intelligent, quirky, friendly, adventurous. These are just a few of the traits that cPanel employees bring to the table, but with all our varied skill sets and personalities, we defy labels.

We are a tight-knit team that consistently challenges and encourages one another. Best of all, we sincerely believe in the value of the work that we do. And with 20 years under our belts — we’re not looking to slow down anytime soon.

It will be a great pleasure to see cPanel at the event in Glasgow and we are sure many of their team will not only attend but present at the conference.

Answering the Call

05/03/18 14:20 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

The Call for Papers for this year’s European Perl Conference, TPCiG also known as Yet Another Perl Conference Europe (YAPC::EU), that is held in Glasgow from 15th-17th August is still open and accepting submissions.

This year we are taking a different approach to the submissions by accepting some talks early and filling out the schedule in advance. This is to encourage new speakers, those who have to travel and book in advance and to help spur people into action. We have already accepted some talks and will be accepting more in the following week(s) so get your proposals in now.

The event is entirely volunteer organised and we would also accept invitations from people who wish to help organise the event in advance or on the day. If you think you can help out then please contact Mark (@shadowcat_mdk) or Rick (@PerlRick) as soon as you can. Even a few hours help in writing messages or promoting the event will be an enormous boon and we will be hugely grateful.

So don’t delay, now is the time to submit a talk, or to offer to lend a hand.

Call for Volunteers

17/12/17 20:46 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

As many of you are aware the Perl Conference in Europe (Glasgow) will be held between 13th-17th August 2018. The website is already active and attracting both speakers and sponsors and the main organising team of Mark Keating and Rick Deller have been planning the general shape of the conference.

However, an event as large as this takes more than just two people and we are now seeking a team of others to help us with the event. This will be tasks from speaking to sponsors, speakers, event management, writing articles, social media management, general tasks that happen before the event.

We will also need technical and non-technical people to help with the many tasks at the conference. These are a range from making sure people know where to go and what talks are in what rooms, to setting up rooms, timing speakers, video help and a host of small tasks too numerous to mention here.

This is your chance to shine and to be part of an important event and a major contributor to the best community Perl conference. You can make a real difference in the community and be rewarded with thanks, limited edition swag and some other special gifts.

Contact Mark or Rick if you wish to express an interest or if you have experience and once again wish to take up the mantle. It is best, these days, to hit us up on Twitter at @shadowcat_mdk or @perlrick.

A Whole Day Perl 6 Tutorial for 2018

11/10/17 12:54 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is a great pleasure to announce that Jeff Goff will be giving a whole days tutorial on Perl 6 for the Perl Conference in Glasgow in 2018.

About the Course

Jeffrey also discusses the community surrounding the language, how to find other programmers, and how to find and share your Perl 6 code.

You'll walk out of the tutorial with a solid grasp of the fundamentals of Perl 6 and an exposure to what lies beyond the world of basic scripting.

If you've heard about earlier seminars, please note this will have updated content, including sections on concurrency and parallel execution. The author keeps the content up-to-date and relevant to the ever-growing Perl 6 ecosystem.

Requirements

Materials or downloads needed in advance: Attendees should bring a laptop with at least 4GB of RAM and a working Perl 6 installation from either Docker (recommended for Mac or Linux), Rakudobrew (recommended on Linux, and what the instructor uses inside his VM), or the MSI installer on Windows.

About Jeff

Jeff Goff is a well respected and recognisable member of the Perl and Perl 6 communities. He has been programming Perl for more years than he cares to admit and is employed as a senior perl developer at Good Data in the Czech Republic. Jeff is a contributor to the Perl 6 community and to Rakudo Perl. He has published a number of modules in both Perl 5 and Perl 6 and given numerous training courses in Perl 6 at conferences such as OSCON, FOSDEM, Perl Conference in Amsterdam and as part of O'Reilly Online.

Jeff is known as DrForr on irc and social networks and can regularly be found hanging out on the Perl 6 community web sites and social media groups.

Eligo Sponsors the Perl Conference

11/10/17 12:22 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is a great pleasure to welcome Eligo to the sponsors of the Perl Conference in Glasgow for 2018.

Eligo are well known in the European Perl community for their sponsorship of Perl events. They are, however, also widely respected for the efforts of Rick Deller a Perl recruitment specialist at Eligo and community contributor. Rick is the leader of the London Perl Mongers, organiser of the LPM Tech meets, one of the organisers of the London Perl Workshop for 2017 and co-organiser of the Perl Conference in Glasgow.

Aside from providing sponsorship, Eligo will be sponsoring a lot of time from Rick and other staff and will be present at the conference venue helping to run next year's event.

A little bit about Eligo...

We are a niche boutique recruitment consultancy with a team of dedicated Perl Consultants.

We live and breathe our markets. In fact we like to think we are as passionate about the sector as those who work within it.

Because we understand the market shifts, history and challenges, we are able to provide honest and accurate insight into the market in terms of new entrants to the market, company growth, new products, opportunities, candidate availability, salary surveys, industry standards, competitor information etc.

We are able to find you the right person and/or job whether you are looking for-Permanent, Temporary and Fixed Term Contracts

We specialise in and have experience in recruiting Perl Specialists across a wide range of sectors, roles typically include –

Junior Developers
Senior Developers
Lead Developers
DevOps
Development Managers
Head of IT

Whether you are looking for a role or a candidate in the UK, Europe or US, we can help.

Please come to see us at the workshop or get in touch before on 020 8944 4187, Rick@eligo.co.uk, on Twitter via @PerlRick, Eligo technical. Connect with Rick on LinkedIn.

Dave Cross Workshop

09/10/17 09:40 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

The first workshop to accompany the 2018 Conference has just been accepted. Dave Cross, well loved and respected community member and long time Perl trainer from Magnum Solutions, has submitted a half day tutorial on SEO: View Website Tune-Up.

Dave has this to say about the presentation:

'Most of us have web sites. And for most of those web sites, success means getting more visitors [to] visit it. And that means getting better ranking in Google. And that means SEO.

You can spend hours poring over spreadsheets of keywords that you want your web site to rank for. But there's another side to SEO. There are a number of relatively simple tweaks you can make to your site in order to make it more attractive to Google. Over the course of three hours, we will cover some of these.'

This is an event that will appeal to: people outside of the Perl community; any developer who wishes to understand how SEO impacts sites; managers and project developers wishing to further promote their sites.

You can register your interest in the event by signing up to the conference and starring the workshop but seats and tickets will not be allocated until a later date.

Geizhals Sponsors TPCiG

06/10/17 15:37 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is a great pleasure this year to welcome Geizhals Preisvergleich to the sponsors of the Perl Conference in Glasgow. Geizhals Preisvergleich employs a specialised Perl team many of whom are well known in the Perl community.

Geizhals Preisvergleich was conceived in 1996 in Austria as an independent price comparison service and soon enjoyed enormous popularity. In June 2000 it incorporated and professionalized as "Preisvergleich Internet Services AG".

In the early years Geizhals Preisvergleich focused primarily on technical products ranging from hardware to consumer electronics, but with its growing popularity and categories like home & living, health & beauty it became more and more important.

All the products covered are carefully classified and regularly updated by the editors and completed by additional product information, expert and consumer reviews. The detailed product filters make it easier for shoppers to find the right product within a category. With this tool they can select the features they are looking for in a product.

Due to this consumer-oriented features and broad scope, Geizhals Preisvergleich, with its popular subsidiaries in Germany, UK and Poland, has established a strong leadership in central Europe.

We look forward to welcoming Geizhals Preisvergleich and its developers at the event in 2018.

Perl Services (De) Sponsor TPCiG

04/10/17 09:28 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is a great pleasure to welcome on board the wonderful Perl Services as a sponsor to The Perl Conference in Glasgow.

Perl Services, in the guise of Renée Bäcker, have been sponsors and speakers at a number of Perl events worldwide. If you are an organiser of an event they are amongst the first of the Perl companies in Europe to approach you and offer their sponsorship.

Renée and Perl Services are significant community supporters. They contribute greatly to the Perl community in their homeland of Germany and at many European Perl events.

If you have need of good Perl services, training or Perl support, in particular strong support for OTRS, including custom module, extensions and libraries, then I urge you to consider opening a discussion with Renée.