This year for the ASP.NET Track, at Philly Code Camp 2010.2, there is going to be a heavy focus on getting started with some of the new[er] web technologies, with a couple caveats. In the past we have had a great mix of intro classes and advanced classes, but it really left little room in between for people professionally past the introductory sessions but not really ready to dive in to the advanced sections yet. And almost a rule of thumb for obvious reasons, the intro classes are very well attended, while the advanced topics are rather esoteric and not well attended compared to the intro topics. So this challenged me to think about the sessions we have had in the past and set goals for the ASP.NET track, and this time around:
My number one goal is to have every session packed full!
To accomplish this goal, this year I am going to put out a game plan that will focus on the intro and middle crowds. I am going to lay out the game plan for the topics I want to see this Code Camp, and from those topics is what I am going to base the ASP.NET track’s speaking sessions on. I am making this public so that everybody knows what I will be looking for and there is no confusion. There is always flexibility in any game plan, but the general rule of thumb I am going to abide by is the following:
- No ASP.NET Web Forms, the technology just isn’t interesting anymore
- Nothing too focused, such as ASP.NET w/ X combined with Y technologies
- Hoping for a Non-Microsoft technologies session this year, as we had last year with Sara J Chipps, I am hoping for a Ruby On Rails person this time around
- Hoping for a entrepreneurship talk, about how to get your business rolling on the web
- Couple intro topics
- Couple mid-level topics
- And at least one what’s new topic
- Please no WebMatrix talks
Topics I will be looking for to satisfy the game plan:
- Intro to MVC
- Intro to jQuery
- Intro to HTTP (seems weird but most web developers don’t understand HTTP or the difference between GET and POST)
- Intro to Ruby On Rails
- Transitioning from WebForms to MVC
- What’s New In MVC 3 (w/ a Razor Overview)
- Techniques to create a functional Web 2.0 site
- The programmable web and how that fits in to your websites. (Think effective use of REST)
- Entrepreneurship and the web
So if you think you have an interesting talk, that falls in one of the above 9 topics or maybe one that I missed, and can make it to Code Camp this time around. Please feel free to submit the topic to the Code Camp site. I am always looking for new speakers to intro to the community, so don’t be afraid to submit the talk.
Code Camp, Code Camp 2010.2
As a fellow MVC developer it would be great to see more MVC topics; however you may be projecting your interests as a developer more than the reality of the industry. If a web developer looks for a job in the industry now, chances are it will be a Web Forms job. Those developers are just as eager to learn new techniques as the MVC crowd.
It is possible that without the Web Forms crowd we could have less attendees in our ASP.NET track than 2010.1 code camp.
Because of MVCs extensible nature, topics like MVC with x and y are quite common and often extremely valuable. Would you reject MVC + Silverlight talks? What about MVC + jQuery + AJAX? I hope not. Production MVC code never stands alone.
Just a friendly comment to make sure you keep your ears open to all talks and filter them down when necessary. Perhaps you could even take a different approach and allow the community to vote on what sessions they would like to see at 2010.2 code camp.
Hi Steven,
I totally agree with you.
That is why I requested jQuery, functional Web 2.0, and understanding HTTP as topics I would love to see submitted. I tried to find topics that are equally relevant to Web Forms, MVC, Ruby On Rails, or insert-web-technology-here. Because I treat this track more as a “Web” track than an “ASP.NET” track. I have to be cognizant of the type of dynamic-people who come to Code Camps, they are usually out-going-blog-reading-curious-developers, and chances are if I pick a topic about data-binding DataSets to GridViews it would keep more people out of the track than cutting edge technology that they can’t yet use.
But to answer your question directly, I would probably pass up the MVC + Silverlight, since the main technology of interest there is Silverlight and we have a Silverlight specific track. Also MVC + jQuery + AJAX, I wouldn’t pass up because it is very relevant to two of my requested topics, jQuery, and functional Web 2.0.
While I would love to do a community vote situation, we just don’t have enough time. There is only a month between the call for speakers and the Code Camp, and during that time all the track leads negotiate with each other over speakers. Such as with the MVC + Silverlight, me and the Silverlight track lead would have to come to an agreement about where that speaking session goes. But really that is part of my job as the track lead to keep a pulse of the situation and what will attract the most developers to the ASP.NET track. Last year was my first time doing it, and I was happy to see that all the sessions were filled.
The double edged sword with Code Camp, and one of the greatest things in my opinion, is the mixing of developers from all levels. So we need to keep it interesting at all levels. So not-to-basic and not-to-obscure has traditionally yielded a great mix of content that everybody enjoys.