White Oak Technologies, Inc., Google, Sun Microsystems Sponsor PyCon

White Oak Technologies, Inc., Google, Sun Microsystems Sponsor World's Largest Python Conference
Python 3.0 enters spotlight at PyCon 2009
CHICAGO - March 24, 2009 - PyCon 2009, the largest annual conference of the worldwide Python
programming community, takes place March 25 - April 2 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and the Crowne
Plaza Chicago O'Hare in Chicago, IL. The core conference runs March 27-29, with days of special
events both before and after the main conference.
 
Last December's release of Python 3.0 marks one of the most important events in Python's history,
and PyCon 2009 provides developers a chance to learn to adapt to it from the worldwide masters of
Python programming. Though Python's 2.x series will remain viable for years, the Python community
is clearly excited about the way forward paved by Python 3.0. Several PyCon sessions will cover
features new to the 3.0 release and techniques for writing Python 3.0 code. Following the main
conference days (March 27-29), eighteen major Python-based projects and the Python language core
itself will gather attendees for four days of development sprints, where usually far-flung groups
will work together to improve and extend their project codebases, and adapt them to Python 3.0's
new possibilities.
 
Python continues to advance in popularity and is acknowledged as one of the most important and
useful languages in the IT community. In the past year, the Python language has been awarded the
Linux New Media "Best Open Source Programming Language" award and the LinuxQuestions.org Language
of the Year, and is currently at position 6 in the TIOBE Programming Community Index.
 
Alan Broder, President of White Oak Technologies, Inc., says, "Since its inception in the late
1990's, WOTI's excellent reputation as a developer of high-performance software has depended on its
ability to find top developers who can develop and deliver excellent software products. The
marketplace for top technical talent in the Washington DC area is quite competitive, so we needed
to choose a language that would enable WOTI to recruit from the widest possible pool of developers.
As accomplished developers in C/C++, Lisp, Perl, and other languages, we decided to conduct an
experiment to try and build identical web-client applications in both Python and Java, starting
with little knowledge of either language. The results were dramatic - including all learning time,
we were able to build our first viable Python application in far less time than the equivalent Java
application. Python was the obvious choice, and since then, we've not looked back. We're
 quite pleased that Python continues to provide us with a competitive edge."
 
Twenty-five industry leaders have joined to sponsor PyCon 2009, including White Oak Technologies,
Inc. (Diamond); Google and Sun Microsystems (Platinum); and ESRI, CCP, Visual Numerics, Microsoft,
slide.com, and Walt Disney Animation Studios (Gold).
 
PyCon 2009 includes over eighty-five talks and keynotes, plus Open Spaces, Lightning Talks, and
nighttime events - activities that give attendees chances to meet and learn from each other in
unstructured and semi-structured ways. An Expo Hall will bring attendees together with sponsors and
vendors.
 
The core PyCon conference days (March 27-29) are preceded by two days (March 25-26) of intensive
half-day tutorials. Two invitation-only summit meetings, the Virtual Machine Summit and the Python
Community Summit, will run concurrently with the tutorials. These first-time-ever summit meetings
will give leaders from the Python and other dynamic programming language communities an opportunity
to share ideas and strategize together. All PyCon attendees are invited to stay after the core
conference for development sprints (March 30 - April 2).
About Python
Python is an open-source, dynamically typed, object-oriented programming language that can be used
in nearly the entire range of technology applications. It offers an easy learning curve and access
to a vast array of libraries. With implementations available for all common operating systems as
well as the Java and .NET platforms, Python can be used on virtually any system in existence. Like
other open-source, dynamic languages, it offers rapid productivity and a vigorous developer
community; at the same time, Python's clarity and reliability give confidence to enterprise users.
The December 2008 release of Python 3.0 marks a major milestone in Python's history, bringing new
levels of clarity, consistency, and power to Python code.
About PyCon
Presented by the Python Software Foundation, the world? largest Python conference brings together a
diverse group of developers, enthusiasts, and organizations to explore new challenges, launch new
businesses and forge new connections within the Python community. PyCon provides attendees with the
opportunity to delve into the dynamic programming language employed by well-known companies such as
Google, Cisco, and the New York Times. PyCon helps people learn new tools and techniques, present
their own projects, and meet other Python fans. Press passes to the conference are available for
members of the press who would like to see PyCon in person.
 
About White Oak Technologies, Inc. White Oak Technologies, Inc. (WOTI) provides the next generation
of solutions to massive, information-intensive, strategic intelligence challenges. WOTI, with its
industry-leading expert staff, is a premier provider of advanced software technologies. Python is
WOTI's primary programming language for solving many or our clients' problems. As a past sponsor of
PyCon, WOTI is honored to further support the Python community through PyCon 2009. For more
information, visit www.woti.com.
Links
PyCon website: http://us.pycon.org
Python website: http://www.python.org
White Oak Technologies, Inc.: http://www.woti.com/
LinuxQuestions.org: http://www.linuxquestions.org/
Linux New Media: http://www.linuxnewmedia.com/
TIOBE index: http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/ind...
Python Software Foundation: http://www.python.org/psf/
Media Contact
David Goodger, conference chair
pycon@python.org
514-662-2443