I had the immense pleasure of traveling to New York City last week to speak at the NYC Java SIG to promote the upcoming No Fluff Just Stuff show in Jersey City. The Java SIG is what most people call a JUG, but in world class cities, they have a bit more flexibility in setting their own conventions. You’re going to call it a SIG, and you know what? You’re still going to love it.
I’ve driven through and around Manhattan before, but I’ve never really been in the city. I had a scant 20 hours to enjoy the place, which I did with some abandon. I’m fundamentally a man of the suburbs, but I love the city, and lovers of the city are truly bound to enjoy Midtown. I will certainly be back at my earliest opportunity.
The JUG—or rather, the SIG—is led by the redoubtable Frank Greco, CEO of Crossroads Technologies (no relation). I gave my talk on Gaelyk, shown here:
There was lively discussion about Gaelyk’s very lightweight structure as a framework, and the limitations imposed by that structure. Many of the SIG attendees are Enterprise developers in the classical sense, so a product like this was understandably strange to them. And to be sure, I would never commend it for use in anything of even moderate complexity. However, for sites so simple you don’t want to incur the cognitive cost of dealing with a larger framework, and for which any kind of sophisticated hosting would be overkill, Gaelyk is a perfect fit. Interaction with the audience moved delightfully to a discussion of the way our tools shape the way we solve problems, and even the kinds of problems we consider tractable. Winston Churchill was quoted. Neal Postman was referenced. was commended. Win, win, and win.
All in all, an enjoyable trip and a solid talk with a first-class JUG. Thanks to Jay Zimmerman and the NYC Java SIG for the experience.
