Developers Workshop 2007

Netlabs Developers Workshop 2007 July 7 & 8 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
This page is dedicated to the OS/2, eComStation and Voyager Developers Workshop 2007!

News
11-06-2007: First Schedule online 10-06-2007: More presentations added including more descriptions 15-05-2007: The first 3 presentations are now listed with detailed information; Added two hotels 08-05-2007: Added the first presentations 08-04-2007: Sent out a message with ticket information and how to submit presentations 29-03-2007: Added registration info

What
Like the years before, the workshop will be a great mix of information exchange between developers and translators from all over the world. They can be present on location or online. It is cool to meet developers in real life to match faces to nicknames! This makes working online later easier and more fun as well.

Both days will have six sessions of 45 minutes each. Starting at 9:30 AM and ending at 17:00/16:00 PM. We are currently talking to various developers to get the sessions filled with high quality content. So keep this page monitored to have the latest information! The final schedule will be posted soon. If you have not been contacted yet while you have an interesting subject to present about, then please contact us via mail at: mailto:developersworkshop@netlabs.org

Topics
Currently we have the following topics arranged already:


 * Introduction to NOM (Netlabs Object Model)
 * Chris Wohlgemuth
 * NOM is the object model developed for the Voyager project but may be used for any kind of apps. It's lightweight with C syntax, binary compatibility over releases and a free license. The presentation shows the architecture and gives examples of how and why to use NOM in application development.
 * Why using NOM?
 * NOM compared to SOM
 * Garbage collection
 * Object pointer verification
 * Current development status
 * Programming example
 * Future plans and contributions
 *  Utilizing Multi-Core Processors
 * Keith Merrington
 * A summary of how to use multiple threads in PM programs, with the emphasis on utilizing Object Windows. Also covered is synchronisation, semaphores, deadlocks and the SMP specific API's.
 * The Voyager Project: Where Are We Now?
 * Adrian Gschwend, netlabs.org
 * There is significant progress in the development of The Voyager Project, mainly done by some of its (so far few) core members. In this presentation we will give an overview about the status and show where we plan to go in the next months. We will hopefully encourage some new people to contribute to the project.
 * A Freely Programmable USB-Interface for eCS - Focussing on the DLP-USB245M
 * Uwe Hinz, OS/2 User Group Dresden
 * The presentation shows a possible way to overcome the barrier of missing USB-Drivers for eCS. Instead of programming one particular driver for a particular USB device, it will be explained how the already existing driver 'usbedc10.sys' by Wim Brul can do the job easily. Together with the famous USB-Interface Modul DLB-USB245M and a Microcontroller (MCU) the presentation will show how to build USB devices for eCS that can do digital I/O, analog I/O and a number of tasks in the world of Data Acquisition and Control (DAC). Two working examples written in VXREXX will be presented and some details about the USB protocol will be mentioned as well.
 * How to create popular software products for eComStation
 * Eugene Gorbunoff, eCo Software
 * 100 tricks and tips
 * How to select a project
 * What do users need
 * How to organize work
 * How to collaborate with other developers
 * How to survive on eCS market
 * eComStation User Interface
 * Eugene Gorbunoff, eCo Software
 * Advantages and disadvantages
 * New control elements, libraries and templates
 * The future of eComStation UI
 * Managing Program Resources
 * Christian Langanke
 * Christian Langanke introduces a design idea for Voyager that intends to automate the handling of program resources. For that the concept of Content Negotiation is adapted to the scenario of conventional pogramming. A new API would select between any type and variant of resources, such as standard types (like language) and application defined types, while offering flexibility to integrate any resource file format.
 *  Overview of Kernels, Microkernels
 * Yuri Proniakin
 * Current status of OS/2 kernel; the requirements of OS/2 developers and users for future kernel; the overview and analysis of available microkernels (IBM K42, L4, etc)
 * VirtualBox
 * Adrian Gschwend, netlabs.org
 * Description will follow soon.
 * Description will follow soon.

Workshop
This event is a great gathering and is being organized for the third time now by volunteers. We try to keep costs as low as possible, but we can't make it for free, unless you are a student!

To make registration and payments easy and flexible you can use the Mensys system for this. '' Please register and pay up front, even if you are a student, so we don't have to deal with cash money and credit cards on location. Thereby preparing badges before the event starts already and making things go smoothly.''

The following options are available:


 * netlabs.org Developers Workshop 2007, Saturday and Sunday: 45 Euro
 * netlabs.org Developers Workshop 2007, one day: 25 Euro
 * netlabs.org Developers Workshop 2007, students: Free

Lunch
Each day a very complete lunch buffet (cold and warm) will be provided near the location (50 meters). This will cost 14,- Euro per meal (without beverages, for which the bar will be opened), to be paid at the location.

Where
After Dresden (Germany) and Biel (Swiss), this years edition will be held in the beautiful and famous city of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. As this city has many great things to offer, besides this workshop of course, if might be wise to extend your visit with some extra days! Then you can explore the many gems that can be found in this city. Take a look at the Tourist Information site to fill your agenda.

The event location will be: Cultural center Griffioen of the VU Amsterdam. This university is also the seat of Dr. Andrew S. Tanenbaum.

It is located on the border of Amsterdam and Amstelveen, but it is very easy to reach from the city center! Here is some more information on the location itself, but it is in Dutch only: Location information

Sleeping
As Amsterdam is still a tourist magnet it is wise to arrange your ho(s)tel early! The same accounts for cheap flights, which are available from many international airports.

Cheap but good
For a cheap, but good quality, hostel look at: StayOkay (about 7 km from location)

This one is located on the edge of the city center, and close to the stops of tram line 5. Not practical when you come by car!

Handy hotel
If you travel by car, the following hotel might be of interest:
 * Bastion Hotel Amsterdam/Centrum-Zuidwest

Other ho(s)tels
If you are looking for other hotels or hostels, try to find one close to tram line 5 or 51 as that makes traveling to the location very easy! And cheap, as most hotels might have free/cheap parking.

Note: When looking for hotels in Amsterdam, We came across two hotels that are located close to the station Amsterdam - Zuid. We have no further information about the hotels, but we thought they should be listed here:
 * Novotel Amsterdam (about 3.5 km from location)
 * Holiday Inn Amsterdam (about 3.5 km from location)

Getting there
There are many ways that lead to Amsterdam:

By train
The event location is close to station 'Amsterdam - Zuid'. If you travel with an international train you need to transfer at 'Amsterdam - Duivendrecht'. Otherwise it might be easier to go to 'Amsterdam - Centraal' and take one of two direct trams from there (line 5 and 51). More information about train connections can be found at the Nederlandse Spoorwegen site.

By plane
There is an enormous amount of airlines flying to 'Amsterdam International Airport Schiphol'. So it should be possible to get there at reasonable prices, so book your tickets early! The airport is one stop away by train ('Amsterdam - Zuid'). Be sure NOT to travel into the direction of 'Amsterdam - Centraal' More information about arriving by plane can be found at the Schiphol site.

By car
Although there is plenty of free parking space near the event, be aware that parking is expensive and that there are high fines on not paying if you stay in the city of Amsterdam !!. From all directions: travel to 'Ring A10' and take exit 'VU Hospital'. More precise directions will follow soon.

In case you have a navigation system, here is the full address of the site: Cultuurcentrum Griffioen Uilenstede 106 1183 AM Amstelveen Phone: (31)-(0)20-5985100

Hope to see you all there! Developer Workshop Team

This page is under construction. If you are looking for information which is not listed yet or have information that might be of interest to others then please mail us at: mailto:developersworkshop@netlabs.org