Northern Virginia Software Symposium
November 5 - 7, 2010 - Reston, VA
View the event details here ».
Venkat Subramaniam
Founder of Agile Developer, Inc.
Dr. Venkat Subramaniam, founder of Agile Developer, Inc., has trained and mentored thousands of software developers in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Venkat helps his clients effectively apply and succeed with agile practices on their software projects, and speaks frequently at international conferences and user groups. Venkat is also an adjunct faculty and teaches CS courses remotely at the University of Houston. He is author of ".NET Gotchas," coauthor of 2007 Jolt Productivity Award winning "Practices of an Agile Developer," author of "Programming Groovy: Dynamic Productivity for the Java Developer" and "Programming Scala: Tackle Multi-Core Complexity on the Java Virtual Machine" (Pragmatic Bookshelf).
Presentations
Scala Tricks
Scala is a very powerful hybrid functional pure object oriented language on the JVM. Scala is known for its conciseness and expressiveness. In this presentation we will look at some common tasks you do everyday in developing applications and see how they manifest in Scala.
We will look at the strengths of Scala from application development point of view. Rather than focusing on the syntax of Scala, we will focus here on Scala idioms and powerful Scala libraries to perform routine tasks.
Test Driving Multithreaded Code
Once I got convinced about the benefits of TDD, I used it pretty extensively and consistently to drive the design and development of my code. So, it came as a surprise when I was trying to convince myself that those practices do not apply on a highly multithreaded code I was creating on a project. Thankfully, I set out to prove that TDD does not apply, but ended up proving myself wrong.
In this, zero powerpoint, all coding presentation, we will use TDD to drive the design and implementation of a multithreaded code. Along the way we will hit some road blocks, and learn techniques and practices that can break the barriers. If you have confronted the issue or have wondered about it, this presentation is for you.
Tackling Concurrency on the JVM
In this presentation we will take a quick walk though the issues with concurrency and how the solutions provided in Scala and Clojure help address those.
The gaining popularity of multi-core processors has rekindled the concurrency question: How do you effectively implement multithreaded applications on the Java platform? The familiar approach in Java is to create threads and to manage access to shared mutable state using synchronized locks. This approach to concurrency is fraught with hard work and uncertainties. Have you marked the appropriate methods synchronized, did you decorate the relevant fields volatile, did you properly construct the mutually exclusive regions of code, and is there a potential for deadlock lurking in the code.
In this talk you'll learn about alternate ways to tackling concurrency on the JVM. One approach is the functional way, along with an actor based model provided in Scala, to deal with immutable state. This removes the problem at the root, since data can't change there is no issue of contention to contend with. Another distinct approach, provided in Clojure, is to protect access to mutable data, not using locks, but using transactional boundary. The Software Transactional Memory brings database like transaction model to in-memory data. In this presentation we will discuss the pros and cons of these approaches and how to effectively apply them.
Keynote: It could be heaven or hell (being a polyglot programmer)
Keynote discussing the benefits and challenges of being a polyglot programmer.
Keynote discussing the benefits and challenges of being a polyglot programmer.
Transforming to Groovy
Groovy is a elegant, dynamic, agile, OO language. I like to program in Groovy because it is fun and the code is concise and highly expressive. Writing code in a language is hardly about using its syntax, however. It is about using the right idioms. Come to this section to pick up some nice Groovy idioms.
In this presentation you will take some Java code that does common operations and transform it to idiomatic Groovy. You will participate in exploring various options as you help transform several examples. Each example is intended to hone a particular idiom or Groovy facility.
Improving your Groovy Code Quality
Groovy is concise and expressive. However, writing good quality code takes effort and discipline.
Come to this session to learn about good coding styles, ways to observe, and measure the quality of your Groovy code. We will take several Groovy code examples, identify smells in them, measure and refactor to improve the quality.
Functional Programming in Groovy
Functional programming style is gaining popularity. Though Groovy is not a functional programming language, writing in functional style is common and idiomatic in Groovy. While you have used these features in Groovy, learning the tents of functional programming will help you recognized these and make better use of them in the future.
In this presentation we will learn what functional programming is and its benefits. Then we will explore the functional style of programming in Groovy.
How to Approach Refactoring
You can't be agile if your code sucks. You know that you have to constantly refactor your code and design. But the questions is how? In this presentation, instead of looking at a laundry list of refactoring techniques, we will instead look at how to effectively approach refactoring and along the way discuss some core principles to look for.
We will take some sample code and refactor it. As we refactor, we will measure the quality of code using continuous integration. You can pick up a list of refactoring techniques from tools. However, in this section you will learn how and when to drive those tools, and more important why.
What's Brewing in Java
Java has come a long way, and yet there is so much that's happening in this space. In this presentation we will take a look at the exciting additions and changes coming up in the next version of Java.
Status of the Java language and the libraries Features that are around the corner JVM capability enhancements Benefits of these imminent changes
Design Patterns in Groovy
When I got into Java I had a "Wow, look how easy it is to implement these patterns." When I got into Groovy, I had the same reaction, but only better. The dynamic nature of Groovy makes it easier to implement some common patterns. What's better, there are some patterns that you can exploit in Groovy that are not so easy in Java. In this section, you will learn how to implement some traditional patters in Groovy, and also other patterns you are simply not used to in Java.
This presentation will go far beyond the Gang-of-four (GOF) patterns. You will learn how to implement some GOF patterns, but also some patterns that will allow you to exploit dynamic nature of Groovy and the elegance of Groovy closures.
Unit and Functional Testing using Groovy
The concise, expressive syntax of Groovy and the ability to create internal DSLs make Groovy a great language for testing related tools. I
In this presentation you will learn different Groovy based testing related tools that can help you attain and sustain agility on your projects. Rather than looking at a mere laundry list of tools, we will explore the key benefits and rationale for each tool, and understand strengths and weaknesses.
Objective-C for Experienced Programmers
This session is intended for programmers with good working knowledge in at least one OOP language and interested in learning Objective-C to develop Mac and iPhone Apps.
After a rapid introduction to the basic language constructs, you'll deep dive into Objective-C specific concepts including Protocols, Categories, blocks, and how to really manage memory without getting overwhelmed in the process. You will also be introduced to tools and techniques to monitor and improve your code quality and performance.
Books
by Venkat Subramaniam
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Scala is an exciting, modern, multi-paradigm language for the JVM. You can use it to write traditional, imperative, object-oriented code. But you can also leverage its higher level of abstraction to take full advantage of modern, multicore systems. Programming Scala will show you how to use this powerful functional programming language to create highly scalable, highly concurrent applications on the Java Platform.
The increasing popularity and availability of multicore processors is creating a whole new set of challenges--although you can enjoy true concurrency, you're now faced with higher contention and synchronization issues. Deploying an existing application on a multicore processor may bring out previously hidden concurrency issues. Java's multi-threading facility by itself isn't enough---it's a very low level abstraction. Instead, you need a paradigm that provides a higher level of abstraction to deal with concurrency. It's time to embrace Functional Programming.
Scala is a hybrid Object-Oriented/Functional Programming language on the JVM. Using Scala, you can create traditional imperative programs, intermix them with Java code, and at the same time take advantage of higher levels of abstraction. You can use features that lead to concise, highly expressive code that remove the pain of dealing with concurrency.
Programming Scala will show you the fundamentals of functional programming using Scala. Very quickly, you'll learn how this statically typed language can give you dynamic capabilities to create concise, scalable, highly capable concurrent code.
Pragmatic programmers always use the right tool for the job. For concurrent programming on the Java VM, Scala is the tool, and Programming Scala by award-winning author Venkat Subramaniam is your guide.
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Scala is an exciting, modern, multi-paradigm language for the JVM. You can use it to write traditional, imperative, object-oriented code. But you can also leverage its higher level of abstraction to take full advantage of modern, multicore systems. Programming Scala will show you how to use this powerful functional programming language to create highly scalable, highly concurrent applications on the Java Platform.
The increasing popularity and availability of multicore processors is creating a whole new set of challenges--although you can enjoy true concurrency, you're now faced with higher contention and synchronization issues. Deploying an existing application on a multicore processor may bring out previously hidden concurrency issues. Java's multi-threading facility by itself isn't enough---it's a very low level abstraction. Instead, you need a paradigm that provides a higher level of abstraction to deal with concurrency. It's time to embrace Functional Programming.
Scala is a hybrid Object-Oriented/Functional Programming language on the JVM. Using Scala, you can create traditional imperative programs, intermix them with Java code, and at the same time take advantage of higher levels of abstraction. You can use features that lead to concise, highly expressive code that remove the pain of dealing with concurrency.
Programming Scala will show you the fundamentals of functional programming using Scala. Very quickly, you'll learn how this statically typed language can give you dynamic capabilities to create concise, scalable, highly capable concurrent code.
Pragmatic programmers always use the right tool for the job. For concurrent programming on the Java VM, Scala is the tool, and Programming Scala by award-winning author Venkat Subramaniam is your guide.
by Venkat Subramaniam
-
The strength of Java is no longer in the language itself; it's in the Java Platform (the JVM, JDK, and rich frameworks and libraries). But recently, the industry has turned to dynamic languages for increased productivity and speed to market.
Groovy is one of a new breed of dynamic languages that run on the Java platform. You can use these new languages on the JVM and intermix them with your existing Java code. You can leverage your Java investments while benefiting from advanced features including true Closures, Meta Programming, the ability to create internal DSLs, and a higher level of abstraction.
If you're an experienced Java developer, Programming Groovy will help you learn the necessary fundamentals of programming in Groovy. You'll see how to use Groovy to do advanced programming including using Meta Programming, Builders, Unit Testing with Mock objects, processing XML, working with Databases and creating your own Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs).
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The strength of Java is no longer in the language itself; it's in the Java Platform (the JVM, JDK, and rich frameworks and libraries). But recently, the industry has turned to dynamic languages for increased productivity and speed to market.
Groovy is one of a new breed of dynamic languages that run on the Java platform. You can use these new languages on the JVM and intermix them with your existing Java code. You can leverage your Java investments while benefiting from advanced features including true Closures, Meta Programming, the ability to create internal DSLs, and a higher level of abstraction.
If you're an experienced Java developer, Programming Groovy will help you learn the necessary fundamentals of programming in Groovy. You'll see how to use Groovy to do advanced programming including using Meta Programming, Builders, Unit Testing with Mock objects, processing XML, working with Databases and creating your own Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs).
by Venkat Subramaniam and Andy Hunt
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Want to be a better developer? This books collects the personal habits, ideas, and approaches of successful agile software developers and presents them in a series of short, easy-to-digest tips. This isn't academic fluff; follow these ideas and you'll show yourself, your teammates, and your managers real results. These are the proven and effective agile practices that will make you a better developer.
This book will help you improve five areas of your career:
- The Development Process
- What to Do While Coding
- Developer Attitudes
- Project and Team Management
- Iterative and Incremental Learning
These practices provide guidelines that will help you succeed in delivering and meeting your user's expectations, even if the domain is unfamiliar. You'll be able to keep normal project pressure from turning into disastrous stress while writing code, and see how to effectively coordinate mentors, team leads, and developers in harmony.
You can learn all this stuff the hard way, but this book can save you time and pain. Read it, and you'll be a better developer.
-
Want to be a better developer? This books collects the personal habits, ideas, and approaches of successful agile software developers and presents them in a series of short, easy-to-digest tips. This isn't academic fluff; follow these ideas and you'll show yourself, your teammates, and your managers real results. These are the proven and effective agile practices that will make you a better developer.
This book will help you improve five areas of your career:
- The Development Process
- What to Do While Coding
- Developer Attitudes
- Project and Team Management
- Iterative and Incremental Learning
These practices provide guidelines that will help you succeed in delivering and meeting your user's expectations, even if the domain is unfamiliar. You'll be able to keep normal project pressure from turning into disastrous stress while writing code, and see how to effectively coordinate mentors, team leads, and developers in harmony.
You can learn all this stuff the hard way, but this book can save you time and pain. Read it, and you'll be a better developer.
by Venkat Subramaniam
-
Like most complex tasks, .NET programming is fraught with potential costly, and time-consuming hazards. The millions of Microsoft developers worldwide who create applications for the .NET platform can attest to that. Thankfully there's now a book that shows you how to avoid such costly and time-consuming mistakes. It's called .NET Gotchas.
The ultimate guide for efficient, pain-free coding, .NET Gotchas from O'Reilly contains 75 common .NET programming pitfalls--and advice on how to work around them. It will help you steer away from those mistakes that cause application performance problems, or so taint code that it just doesn't work right.
The book is organized into nine chapters, each focusing on those features and constructs of the .NET platform that consistently baffle developers. Within each chapter are several "gotchas," with detailed examples, discussions, and guidelines for avoiding them. No doubt about it, when applied, these concise presentations of best practices will help you lead a more productive, stress-free existence.
What's more, because code examples are written in both VB.NET and C#, .NET Gotchas is of interest to more than 75 percent of the growing numbers of .NET programmers. So if you're a .NET developer who's mired in the trenches and yearning for a better way, this book is most definitely for you.
-
Like most complex tasks, .NET programming is fraught with potential costly, and time-consuming hazards. The millions of Microsoft developers worldwide who create applications for the .NET platform can attest to that. Thankfully there's now a book that shows you how to avoid such costly and time-consuming mistakes. It's called .NET Gotchas.
The ultimate guide for efficient, pain-free coding, .NET Gotchas from O'Reilly contains 75 common .NET programming pitfalls--and advice on how to work around them. It will help you steer away from those mistakes that cause application performance problems, or so taint code that it just doesn't work right.
The book is organized into nine chapters, each focusing on those features and constructs of the .NET platform that consistently baffle developers. Within each chapter are several "gotchas," with detailed examples, discussions, and guidelines for avoiding them. No doubt about it, when applied, these concise presentations of best practices will help you lead a more productive, stress-free existence.
What's more, because code examples are written in both VB.NET and C#, .NET Gotchas is of interest to more than 75 percent of the growing numbers of .NET programmers. So if you're a .NET developer who's mired in the trenches and yearning for a better way, this book is most definitely for you.

