Charles Nutter: JRuby in 2010: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going

Charles Nutter, Engineyard

When: March 23rd, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Atomic Object, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

JRuby has changed a lot in the past year. With a new focus on Java
integration, the entire world of Java libraries has opened up to
Rubyists. We’ll explore what this means for Ruby and Rails and how you
can start using JRuby with your existing Java environments, apps, and
libraries today.

About the speaker

Charles Oliver Nutter has spent the past 4 years making JRuby into an
oustanding Ruby implementation. Now he’s working to make JRuby a
first-class JVM language, with all the Java integration features users
expect. Charles blogs at blog.headius.com.

Dr. Richard Enbody: “Secure-bit: Hardware buffer-overflow prevention”

Dr. Richard Enbody, MSU

When: February 23rd, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Atomic Object, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Buffer-overflow attacks persist and there have been many solutions proposed — all with weaknesses. We mark all external data as ‘tainted’ and refuse to jump to any ‘tainted’ addresses. By using hardware to support this approach we are able to prevent all buffer-overflow attacks that culminate in jumping to a user-supplied address, i.e. the nasty ones. In addition, our approach is backward compatible for user code at the machine-code level, i.e. no recompile or change in user software is needed. Furthermore, there is no way to ‘untaint’ data once it has been marked ‘tainted.’

About the speaker

Dr. Enbody received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1987 and has been in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Michigan State University since then. He has published research in a variety of areas including design automation, parallel processing, computer architecture and security. He is currently co-authoring an introductory computer science text using Python — due in February. When not teaching he enjoys wilderness camping, hockey, and squash.

Welcome

Welcome to SoftwareGR. We used to be XP West Michigan but we’ve updated our identity. We’re still the same people and we’ll be hosting the same great meetings regularly.

You can find out more about us.

Check out our meeting calendar, and if you’re interested in attending one of our events, be sure to sign up for email updates so you don’t miss any important announcements.

Software GR’s Inaugural Meeting

Eric Sink, Source Gear

When: January 26th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Work Play Space, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

In his day job he is a software developer at SourceGear, a company which sells source control (aka “version control,” “SCM”) tools for small and midsize software teams.

In October 2002, SourceGear was named one of the fastest growing companies in the nation by Inc magazine.

By original training, he is a software programmer. He has a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He founded the AbiWord project and was responsible for much of the original design and implementation. The title on his business card says “Software Craftsman.”

Prior to founding SourceGear, Eric was at Spyglass (now part of OpenTV) for around five years, where he served as Project Lead for the browser team. They built the original versions of the browser you now know as “Internet Explorer.”

“Creative Process as Seen Through Creative Language”

Jon Wettersten, IDEO

When: October 27th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Work Play Space, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

In this lecture, Wettersten examines communication across the languages of art, mathematics, programming, and music and the implications for the creative process. Wettersten’s topic of discussion centers on the idea that languages used during the creative and design process have themselves also been designed.

Wettersten’s multi-disciplinary background includes major concentrations in mathematics, classical music and fine art—his current occupation finds him in a Senior Application Designer role at IDEO in Chicago.

Speaker Bio

An application developer and design strategist who helps lead IDEO Chicago’s digital experience efforts, Jon Wettersten encourages project teams to push the limits of technological feasibility and supports IDEO’s more strategic projects through their later-stage development processes. Since joining the company in 2007, he’s worked on projects spanning financial services, telecommunications, health, and web and mobile application development.

Jon comes to IDEO with over 10 years of experience in the design and development of user-centered software applications and web-related server-based technologies for a wide range of clients and industries including financial services, retail, publishing, education, and not-for-profits. Immediately prior to IDEO, Jon served as a managing technology partner for a research, design, and development firm where his duties included providing appropriate technology strategies and collaborating with research and design teams on rapid prototyping, among other responsibilities. He holds a BA degree with a concentration in Fine Art from St. Olaf College with continued education in computer science at Northwestern University. A classically trained violinist and avid cyclist, Jon also enjoys sewing, playing tennis, figure painting, and volunteering in his community.

“Software Craftsmanship: Raising the Bar of Professional Software Development”

Doug Bradbury, 8th Light

When: September 22, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Work Play Space, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Agile began as a developer centered set of values and practices that aimed to uncover better ways to develop software. As the movement has grown, the Agile community has been flooded by managers and agile coaches who see the improved productivity and want to harness it for their companies. As a result, much of the discussion in Agile has moved towards managing people, managing backlogs, managing those typists who write the code. Well typists, where have those eXtreme values that first excited you so much gone?

In the last year, many people have begun talking about Software Craftsmanship. Pete McBreen first coined the term with his 2002 book of the same name. This year a summit in Chicago, a conference in London, a google group, a manifesto, and the recent Software Craftsmanship North America conference in Chicago have brought together craftsmen from all over the globe to refocus the conversation on writing good code.

In this talk, we will explore why the craft meme works in talking about software and the kinds of things being learned from historical craft work. We will look at the values in the Manifesto for Software Craftsmanship and the related ethics statement. We will also talk about what it means to be a professional and to work towards mastery of your craft.

Intentional practice is one of the ways in which many craftsmen are building their skill sets and improving the way they write code. In the second half of the evening, we will do a bit of practice ourselves with a randori. Randori is a group coding exercise where we take turns working on the same piece of code. Your disciplines of testing and writing clean code will be put to the test in a fast and high pressure couple of minutes when you take the stage in front of your peers.

Speaker Bio

Doug joined 8th Light with more than 5 years of software development experience. Doug has written everything from assembly level digital signal processing algorithms to web application with Ruby on Rails. He adds strong real-time embedded C++ experience to 8th Light’s talented and diverse group of software craftsmen. He has worked for companies serving several niche markets including pro audio and speciality printing.

With 8th Light, Doug has contributed to several projects in Ruby, C++, and Java. He was a team member on the Fidelity Life project. He helped craft the Manifesto for Software Craftsmanship and is continuing to contribute to this emerging movement. Doug is the creator of the web based (rails) app Gift of Admin.

Doug and his wife, Jen, are avid travelers, hikers, and skiers. Much of their time is also devoted to teaching and mentoring junior high and high school students in a suburban church.

Summer Networking Session No. 3

When: August 25th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: HopCat, 25 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

It’s summer! We’ll be taking it easy this summer. No speakers; just each other. Join us to just hang out, network, eat, and drink. We’ll be at HopCat at the usual time.

About HopCat

HopCat was envisioned, designed, stocked and staffed with one mission in mind: to bring you great beer. We specialize in Michigan brews, but also offer a wide range of global beer, with a large Belgian selection. If you’re not in the mood for a beer, you can get a glass of wine or cocktail from our full bar.

Summer Networking Session No. 2

When: July 28th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Bar Divani, 15 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

It’s summer! We’ll be taking it easy this summer. No speakers; just each other. Join us to just hang out, network, eat, and drink. We’ll be at Bar Divani at the usual time.

About Bar Divani

Divani is Hindi for being crazy in love – something we anticipate you will be experiencing shortly. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff is available to make exploration of the vast beverage selection as dauntless as possible. With over 200 liquors to choose from we will be sure to recommend one that is well suited for you.

In addition to liquor, we have an overwhelming list of wines by the glass, half bottle, or bottle. And beer is fun too: there are plenty of bottle options to choose from as well as a rotating set of local and national hand-craft beers on tap.

Summer Networking Session No. 1

When: June 23, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: The Green Well, 924 Cherry Street, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

It’s summer! We’ll be taking it easy this summer. No speakers, just each other. Join us to just hang out, network, eat, and drink. We’ll be at the Green Well at the usual time.

About The Green Well

At the Green Well, an Essence Restaurant Group establishment, we serve honest fayre with local flair in a green, neighborhood setting that keeps customers coming back. Our innovative gastro pub is green beyond its name: Our building is LEED® certified inside and out which means it’s environmentally safe, ultra efficient and leaves behind the smallest possible carbon footprint.

Our creative, ever-changing menu features a global range of eclectic flavors prepared with ingredients from local farmers, and our beverage offering includes a wide array of local craft brews and wines, all to support our local economy.

Our greenness also spills over to our guests who benefit from affordable prices and outstanding service by a fun, welcoming staff.

“jQuery”

Karl Swedberg, Fusionary Media

When: May 26th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Work Play Space, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

jQuery is a powerful JavaScript library that can enhance your websites regardless of your background.

For designers, jQuery leverages existing CSS and HTML skills, allowing you to dynamically find and change any aspect of a page. This talk provides a gentle introduction to jQuery concepts, allowing you to add interactions and animations to your pages – even if previous attempts at writing JavaScript have left you baffled.

For programmers, jQuery offers an open-source, standards-compliant, unobtrusive approach to writing complex JavaScript applications.

Speaker Bio

After having taught high school English, edited copy for an advertising agency, and owned a coffee house, Karl Swedberg began his career as a web developer four years ago. He now works for Fusionary Media in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he specializes in client-side scripting and interaction design. Karl is an “Evangelist” for the jQuery JavaScript Library and the co-author of two books, Learning jQuery and jQuery Reference Guide.