It is 2008 already! Time really does fly as it only seems like yesterday when I was starting to plan out how to get user group events going in Glasgow and now I’m planning a conference.
I’m still in the process of putting an event schedule together for Glasgow for the upcoming year, so if there is any thing specific you would like to hear about then please let me know and I’ll try to find some speakers to talk on that subject. In the mean time we have one excellent event coming up this week and more in the works.
Wednesday 16th January in Glasgow (Evening)
Gary Short: My Favourite Design Patterns
He’ll show you what they are, what they are used for and he’ll rustle up a coded example. If you’ve heard of design patterns and want to find out a bit more, or if you know about them already and just want to see how someone else does it, then this talk might just float your boat.
This talk is a repeat of the talk Gary gave at DDD6 where he got excellent feedback from the audience. We are in for a real treat on Wednesday evening and we’ve given Gary some extra time he didn’t have at DDD so this will be an even better extended version.
Tuesday 12th February in Glasgow (Evening)
Richard Fennell: Team Foundation Server
The talk will be on Team Foundation Server, but the exact aspect is, as yet, to be decided. The page linked to will be updated when the details are finalised.
Wednesday 13th February in Edinburgh (Evening)
Colin Mackay: Where’s my data? An introduction to Spatial Queries in SQL Server 2008
It is reckoned that 80-90% of data has a spatial component to it. But what do we do with it now? At best, we constrain it to postcodes. Well, that would be great if we were delivering letters, but the majority of us aren’t. In this session we look at Spatial Queries in SQL Server to see how it works and what can be done with it.
Martin Bell: SELECT TOP(@x) Name FROM MyFavouriteDMVs ORDER BY MyRanking
Dynamic Management views were introduced in SQL Server 2005 and have made management and troubleshooting of SQL Server significantly easier than in previous versions. Even if you do not write your own queries against these DMVs you may be using them in Performance Dashboard Reports or other performance reporting applications. In this talk I will go through my TOP favourite DMVs and show how and when they can be used and why I like them!
Saturday 1st March in Birmingham (All day)
Following from the fabulous success of the first SQL Bits conference last year in Reading they are moving to a bigger venue in Birmingham.
Wednesday 5th March in Edinburgh (Afternoon)
Oliver Sturm: Business Apps with WPF – The Full Monty
Lots of demos of WPF show flashy UIs with animations and videos and trickery worthy of a Hollywood production worked over by ILM. Is that what your next business app is going to look like? Probably not. Nevertheless, WPF can do a lot for you, because it’s the most powerful and most productive UI platform out there. Full stop. This double session walks you through the whole process of creating a business application with WPF, focusing on how it saves you development time.
NOTE: This is a paid event. Prices start at £10 for members and £25 for non-members with the early bird discount.
Saturday 10th May in Glasgow (All day)
An event that is being run by the community for the community. Currently the call for speakers is open, so if you would like to submit a talk please just email me and let me know. In early February the voting opens and you will then be able to vote for the sessions you’d like to see.
Keep an eye on the Scottish Developers website for more information about upcoming events.
[This is a copy of the Scottish Developers events newsletter I just sent out]
The Blog of Colin Mackay 