ACCU Programme Highlights

The ACCU Spring Conference 2004 boasts an impressive technical programme with an emphasis on C++, Java and Python, with tutorials, workshops and discussions on eXtreme Programming, Patterns and embedded software. This year's event features keynote talks by Herb Sutter, Chuck Allison and Neil Martin.

For all professional software developers, this is a key event allowing them to take a few days out to catch up on the latest developments in languages, tools and development methodologies and to learn from the very best.

C++ Programme highlights

As always at the ACCU conference, we are featuring the most expert C++ speakers to be found at any event, worldwide. Herb Sutter, lead architect of C++/CLI, gives us a tour of these language extensions for .NET. Currently going ECMA standardisation, this is a hot topic of urgent interest to the C++ community as a whole.

In addition, we have a set of sessions shedding light on one of the darkest, most feared areas of programming - multi-threading. After Richard Howell's invaluable Threads Primer, Kevlin Henney offers More C++ Threading. In this talk Kevlin recaps and builds on the generic model for multi-thread programming in C++ he presented to a packed room at last year's conference, including examples illustrating it's practical application. And finally, Andrei Alexandrescu's Honey, I Shrunk The Threads presents further new idioms for C++ multithreaded programs, which allow your compiler to detect not only race conditions, but deadlocks as well.

Further highlights include:

• Dietmar Kuhl on Correcting STL Problems - tackling the usability issues that can hinder programmers from unlocking the full power of the standard library
• Thomas Witt describing  the Boost Iterator Library - the co-author of the Boost Iterator Library describes how it provides an easy way to create or adapt iteators
• Two sessions from Francis Glassborow for less experienced C++ programmers, demonstrating a Consistent Coding Style for Learning C++ and the Design and Implementation of a set of Templates for Input
• Mark Radford sharing his Design Eperiences in C++

Java highlights

At this year's conference we are focussing on upcoming features in the world of Java. In Java Generics Angelika Langer takes a look at the new support for generic types coming in J2SE 1.5, how it will help improve your programs, and what it's limitations are. Scott Crawford, a member of the EJB 3.0 expert group - the people writing the next version of the specification, looks Towards EJB 3.0, offering an active chance to feed back changes into this process by asking you what the most widespread EJB problems are, and what should be done about them.

We also cover the full range of current usage of Java, from Jon Jagger's description of his Sauce code review framework to Russel Winder's coverage of Embedded Java: yes, Java as an embedded systems language. And Alan Griffiths challenges sacred cows in not one but two sessions of Heretical Java.

Process highlights

Of course, there is more to software development than just programming, and the ACCU Conference has a long history of covering many issues of process and methodology. This year Hubert Matthews examines the Economics of the Design Process, drawing on a wide range of fields from cybernetics to evolution, from disruption to lean thinking, and from queuing theory to the theory of constraints.

We have a strong pair of extended workshops: Alan O'Callaghan and Ria Kavanagh's Bots and Pieces Workshop, being held across a full day, offers an opportunity for you to explore the systemic and configurational knowledge required for success in software development projects (while building a race-winning Lego Mindstorms robot).

The Test Driven Develpment Workshop, run by Rachel Davies, Ivan Moore and Duncan Pierce (three prominent members of the Agile community), offers a hands-on introduction to this way of working that produces clean, concise and well tested code.

And we go beyond... Beyond the Gang of Four with Kevlin Henney revisits the GoF patterns, reflects on them, deconstructs them and re-evaluates them from the practitioner's perspective, while in Beyond Methodology Allan Kelly argues that the methodolgy view fails software development, proposes that an amethodological view is better, and shows how concentrating on people provides a richer view.

Python Highlights

The UK Python Conference, hosted by ACCU, has its own page here.

Open Source Highlights

The Open Source Forum, hosted by ACCU, has its own page here.