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PyCon press release #1

World's Largest Python Conference Comes to Atlanta


ATLANTA - December 18, 2009

The Django Pony made her sparkly public debut. The infamous Beards of PyCon were captured on film. Guido van Rossum announced the beginning of his gradual retirement as Python's Benevolent Dictator for life - then kidnapped the Django Pony. Backseat language drivers were threatened with the terribl(y silly) fate of being Van Lindberg'd.

PyCon 2009 drew nearly a thousand Python programmers from around the world, representing projects on all seven continents - including Antarctica! They gathered for serious learning, discussion, and strategizing... and for not-so-serious fun. PyCon 2010, the eighth annual conference of the Python programming community, promises even more on all counts: more talks, more education, more creativity; more work and more play.

Interest in PyCon is growing along with the use of the Python language itself. This year alone has seen a 50% increase in the number of talk proposals submitted by community members, and the organizers have added an unprecedented fifth track to the conference schedule. The conference will include 95 regular talks and panels, covering everything from language basics to deep-space astronomy to robotic submarines. PyCon also offers 32 half-day tutorials, Open Space sessions, special keynotes, Lightning Talks, development sprints, an exhibit hall, and a hands-on lab - countless opportunities for attendees to learn. This year, PyCon also introduces poster sessions for detailed, personal examination of a variety of topics with subject matter experts.

Python's growth has been partially driven by an explosion in new implementations of the language. The IronPython and Jython implementations make Python a perfect tool for .NET and Java environments, respectively, gaining full-scale use of those platforms' existing capabilities and libraries while retaining Python's ease, elegance, and dynamism. Other implementations, like Stackless and Google's Unladen-Swallow, focus on improving Python execution speed. Finally, the Pynie and PyPy implementations bring Python programs to all-new experimental execution environments. All these implementations will be examined in several PyCon talks and in PyCon's Python Language Summit and Virtual Machine Summit.

PyCon 2010 will take place February 17 to 25 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference is organized and run by volunteer Python programmers; the users' perspective governs everything from talk selection to conference cost, making an exceptionally worthwhile conference. Registration is open now, and early-bird registration discounts apply through January 6.

About Python


Python is an open-source, dynamically typed, object-oriented programming language that can be used in nearly the entire range of technology applications. It offers an easy learning curve and access to a vast array of libraries. With implementations available for all common operating systems as well as the Java and .NET platforms, Python can be used on virtually any system in existence. Python's power and versatility have made it one of the world's most popular programming languages, currently ranked #7 in the TIOBE index. Like other open-source, dynamic languages, it offers rapid productivity and a vigorous developer community; at the same time, Python's clarity and reliability give confidence to enterprise users.

About PyCon


Presented by the Python Software Foundation and sponsored by Google, the world’s largest Python conference brings together a diverse group of developers, enthusiasts, and organizations to explore new challenges, launch new businesses and forge new connections within the Python community. PyCon provides attendees with the opportunity to delve into the dynamic programming language relied upon by institutions from MIT and NASA to Cisco and Walt Disney. PyCon helps people learn new tools and techniques, present their own projects, and meet other Python fans. Press passes to the conference are available for members of the press who would like to witness PyCon in person.

PyCon: http://us.pycon.org
Python language website: http://python.org
Python Software Foundation: http://www.python.org/psf/
TIOBE Index: http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/tiobe_index

See PyCon 2010 press releases at http://us.pycon.org/2010/about/press/

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