Last week Matt Raible (@mraible) and I hosted an all-day workshop on JHipster 4 at the DevNexus conference in Atlanta. We decided to run the workshop as sort of a hybrid between a training class and a presentation. This was a great opportunity to work together for the first time, and it was great to have someone free to provide assistance as needed while the other focused on presenting.
The skill levels and experience of the attendees varied quite a bit from new to programming to seasoned veterans. A few attendees had some trouble with setting up their laptop, but most of the class was able to follow along and build the lab exercises. The attendees were genuinely excited about all the speed and power JHipster provided. We had a great turnout, and the room was close to capacity. Based on some feedback received after the workshop, I feel safe declaring it a success!
Attending a conference as a speaker has a different feel than regular attendance. There are events just for the speakers, and there is a special bond that speakers share. Many of the speakers are technology advocates, and speaking at conferences is a big part of their job. I highly recommend speaking at a conference and joining in this camaraderie.
At DevNexus specifically, I had a chance to meet so many people who are prominent in the software industry. The entire event was very well run and everything went very smoothly. This did not happen by accident, as the organizers were extremely dedicated to the cause. The speakers were all very friendly and accepting of a new face among them.
If I had to attach a central theme to many of the sessions, I would say: microservices. Sure, there were plenty of sessions that had nothing to do with microservices, but the microservice buzz is unavoidable. The other hot topics revolved around container technology. You can only imagine how many people might attend a session about running microservices in containers! To further my point, some of the sessions I attended were “Kubernetes for Docker Developers,” “Spring Boot Microservices and Progressive Web Apps,” and “Container Tips & Tricks.”
Between the very apropos sessions, all the fantastic speakers, and the great organization of the event, I would highly recommend the DevNexus conference to any software engineer. And it would be even better if you could speak there. When the time comes, submit your topic, and perhaps I will see you there next year!
