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
09-07-2007: Credits added 08-07-2007: Statistics added 07-07-2007: Added presentation download section 07-07-2007: Schedule changed 04-07-2007: DWS will be streamed to the wiki 29-06-2007: Road work added 29-06-2007: Added food menu for both days 27-06-2007: Added electricity information 14-06-2007: Added description for VirtualBox presentation 13-06-2007: New hotel added 12-06-2007: Schedule updated 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 'usbecd.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.
 * Brief introduction to a perspective OS design
 * Yuri Proniakin, eCo Software
 * Goals or "Game over"
 * Overview of existed traditional and microkernel (K42 and L4-based) designs
 * Perversion
 * Overview of proposed design
 * OS/2-compatibility - problems and solutions
 * VirtualBox
 * Adrian Gschwend, netlabs.org
 * The talk will present a technical overview how VirtualBox works internally and compares to other virtualization solutions. Also we will present the current state of the OS/2 and eCS port of VirtualBox.
 * Developing GUI applications using Qt
 * Dmitry Kuminov
 * The presentation will give some basics of using the Qt Toolkit version 3 on OS/2 or eComStation to create modern and powerful user interfaces quickly and easily. It will include the review of the current Qt features available on OS/2, how to setup the build environment, how to write a simple UI, and some thoughts about the future.
 * XML from REXX
 * Christian Langanke
 * How to use and deal with XML from REXX.
 * How to use and deal with XML from REXX.

Live Stream of Presentations
We will stream the presentations via an ogg stream! You can listen to that stream on eCS as well:


 * The straight forward method is to use the Audio-Stream object class in eCS 1.2, it's in the Multimedia Templates subfolders of the Templates folder. Simply drag the object to your desktop and add the URL http://streaming.netlabs.org:8000/dws.ogg to it. To start playing simply doubleclick on it.
 * If that doesn't work you either don't have Ogg Codecs installed or you have an old version of them. In this case the simplest solution is to get the Ogg Vorbis package of Brian Havard and use ogg123 to play it: ogg123 http://streamsing.netlabs.org:8000/dws.ogg (in a commandline window).
 * Note that Z! doesn't want to play Ogg streams for some reason on my system, maybe it works on yours.
 * Russell O’Connor has some details as well about streaming on OS/2.
 * There is also a playlist available here.

The first presentation starts at 10:00 Dutch time, which is GMT+1. If you need to know your local timezone you can check that here:

http://www.timezoneconverter.com/index.shtml

Note that during the breaks we will most probably play some music so you will hear anything anyway :) Note that there might be some noise on the stream, because of the line in of the laptop used for digitizing, although we are using another setup this time then last year.

The webcam can be found here. It will automatically reload the picture so don't click reload please, that just kills the webserver :)

You can also ask questions live during the presentations if you join the netlabs.org IRC channel #netlabs on eCS Network, see the following URL for a list of servers:

http://www.ecomstation.com/chat.phtml

We will have userids with DWS in the name where you can ask your questions.

Download Presentations

 * Utilizing Multi-Core processors
 * XML from REXX
 * Managing program resources
 * Introduction to NOM
 * eComStation User Interface
 * A freely programmable USB-interface for eCS - Focussing on the DLP-USB245M
 * How to create popular software products for eComStation
 * VirtualBox
 * Developing GUI applications using Qt - interactive demo, no slides available. OGG file will be coming later.
 * Brief introduction to a perspective OS design
 * The Voyager Project - Where are we now?

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.

Saturday July 7 - Tomato soup - Turkish bread - Various 'health' sandwiches - Chicken gyros - 'Bratwurst' with sauerkraut and mustard - Colored rice - Deep fried new potatoes - Raw vegetables with smoked chicken, feta cheese and olives on the side - Hot vegetables - Various beverages

Sunday July 8 - Curry soup - French bread - Various 'health' sandwiches - Spanish meatballs - Chipolata sausages - Scrambled eggs with fried bacon - Yellow rice - Deep fried new potatoes - Raw vegetables with smoked chicken, feta cheese and olives on the side - Hot vegetables - Yoghurt and fresh fruit salad - Various beverages

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

Electricity
For using power you might need plug convertors to be able to use the power outlets. Here you can find the correct ones for the Netherlands, the Type F ones are most common. Power Outlet overview

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)
 * Hotel Haarlem Zuid (Good connection with ZuidTangent bus, stops in front of hotel and nearby DWS 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

Roadwork If you come by car, it might be handy to know about some planned roadwork! In the period of July 6 till 9 heavy roadwork is planned close to Eindhoven. This will have impact (more than 30 minutes) for driving both ways on the A2 in the southern part of the Netherlands! Cross the German border via the A12 to Arnheim. The same accounts for Den Bosch, which is a bit more north, but still on the A2. Expected delay of more then 10 minutes. Also roadwork is expected on the A9, south of Amsterdam. Expected delays of more then 10 minutes again. And finally, the same accounts for the A6, which is from Amsterdam North in the direction of Almere. Expected delays of more then 10 minutes as well.

Statistics
This years Developers Workshop can be considered a succes again! Good quality presentations and a lot of people attending. Let us see where they are coming from: But the amount of visitors is even a bit higher (about 34) as some people could only attend one day.

Credits
This Developer Workshop was brought to you by: - Bart van Leeuwen - Robert Henschell - Adrian Gschwend - Jacques van Leeuwen - Gerrit Schoenmaker - Esther Eberwijn - Joachim Benjamins - Jan van der Heide - Mensys - and all presenters of course!

Thanks for coming!
We hope you all had a great time in Amsterdam and the Netherlands! And now know faces to the nicknames online. If you missed this one, the 2008 event is in the planning already :-)

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