[python-uk] [EuroPython] London Python Pub Night

[jonathan hartley]

Hi folks,

The idea of a Python dojo night in London has been suggested. Partially 
by me.

A venue has been generously offered for the evening of August 20th (see 
below, emails from the Europython mailing list)

I'm mad keen on the idea. However, I can't be present that night because 
I'm out of town Aug 18th to 23rd.

Does anyone else feel up to leading the charge? I'd love to pass on what 
I know, but be warned that I know almost nothing, having gleaned the 
entirety of my experience of the subject from discussion and examples 
from Emily Bache at EuroPython last month.

As I understand it, the word 'dojo' is a figurative reference to a 
martial arts training meetup, to improve one's skills. A coding dojo 
consists of a hands-on programming exercise, performed as a group. The 
intent is to choose a problem which is simple enough to allow 
participants to focus on the process of arriving at the solution, 
without being overly distracted by the unknowns of the problem domain or 
any inherent complexities of the resulting code. This makes it an ideal 
format to learn or hone skills such as:
     + choosing one design over another
     + test-driven development
     + egoless programming
     + evidence-driven debugging
     + no doubt many more

The best one-page description of a coding dojo I have found to date is here:
http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~gpollice/Dojo.html

Your thoughts, objections, and expressions of curiosity are all much 
appreciated,

    Jonathan

Jonathan Hartley wrote:
> Sounds like a fantastic idea, thanks for the prod Nicholas.
>
> Does it make sense to migrate the discussion to the Python UK mailing 
> list?
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-uk
>
> I'm not well qualified to explain Dojos, but I'll give it a shot. More 
> from me on python-uk, later today...
>
>
> Nicholas Tollervey wrote:
>> Guys,
>>
>> It was good to meet up last night. One of the topics that often came 
>> up was "we should make this a more regular event". Jonathan also 
>> mentioned organising a "Code Dojo" - I'll let him explain what that'd 
>> involve.
>>
>> So, while the iron is hot: how about a time and place for August..?
>>
>> Say 7pm, 20th August, starting with a "Code Dojo" / lightning talks 
>> followed by the pub at the offices of Fry-IT? (Thanks Peter and 
>> Marcus for volunteering these premises for free):
>>
>> 503 Enterprise House
>> 1/2 Hatfields
>> London SE1 9PG
>>
>> Comments, suggestions, confirmations..?
>>
>> Nicholas.
>>
>> On 10 Jul 2009, at 10:51, Stephen Emslie wrote:
>>
>>> Those at EuroPython in Birmingham showed quite a bit of interest in 
>>> regular London Python meetups. So while it's is still fresh in all 
>>> of our minds, lets do a post-convention debriefing at the Old Bank 
>>> of England pub on Fleet Street next Wednesday.
>>>
>>> Ideally, we would like to make this a regular event. We all hope 
>>> Simon Brunning (or someone else) finds the time to reboot the more 
>>> official London Python meetups, with talks + sponsored beer & pizza, 
>>> etc. so the intention here is to provide a relaxed and informal 
>>> regular meet to drink ale and discuss Python (drinking of ale is 
>>> optional).
>>>
>>> Time: Wednesday 15 July, from 7pm
>>> Venue: Old Bank of England Pub: 
>>> http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/66/660/
>>>
>>> In case you weren't at EuroPython but would like to come, we'll 
>>> display the usual can of spam to make us identifiable.
>>>
>>> Stephen Emslie & Andy Kilner
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> EuroPython mailing list
>>> EuroPython at python.org
>>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/europython
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> EuroPython mailing list
>> EuroPython at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/europython
>>
>
-- 
Jonathan Hartley      Made of meat.      http://tartley.com
tartley at tartley.com   +44 7737 062 225   twitter/skype: tartley