The PyCon Blog

You might have known that Python's 1.0 release came at the start of 1994, but did you know Microsoft shipped its Merchant Server 1.0 product built on Python only a few years later in 1996? Microsoft, this year's Keystone sponsor, has long been a user and supporter of Python, with a history of use within build and test infrastructure and individual users all around the company. There are even a few lawyers writing Python code.

In 2006 they introduced the world to IronPython, a .NET runtime for Python, and later the excellent Python Tools for Visual Studio plug-in in 2011. They continue to release Python code, as it's "a must-have language for any team that releases developer kits or libraries, especially for services on Azure that can be used from any operating system," according to Steve Dower, a developer on Microsoft's Python Tools team.

"Python has very strong cross-platform support, which is absolutely critical these days," says Steve. "It’s …

We're really happy to be holding our fourth annual 5K Charity Fun Run on Saturday April 11 at 7 AM, before day two of PyCon kicks off. The event was introduced in Santa Clara and has been fun for everyone involved and each year has raised money for a bunch of great causes. This year's proceeds benefit Autism Speaks Canada!

Everyone is invited to come out and join us on the course which snakes along the Port of Montreál just a short walk from the conference center and hotels. Whether you're a runner, walker, or someone who just wants to come out and support Autism Speaks, registration is available at Eventbrite for $20.
In the past we've sponsored the American Cancer Society, Autism Speaks, the Epilepsy Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the John Hunter Memorial Fund.
For more information about Autism Speaks Canada, see http://www.autismspeaks.ca/. At Autism Speaks Canada, our mission is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorde…

As we previously wrote, signup for our free Sponsor Workshops is open and the schedule has now been completed! While registration isn't required, it helps us plan for room sizes and for drinks and snacks, so head to Eventbrite and choose as many as you want!

Wednesday morning gets under way at 9 AM with a team from Elastic taking attendees through the popular Elasticsearch distributed search engine. Honza Král will introduce the various Python clients for working with Elasticsearch, and will be joined by Logstash developer Pier-Hughes and Peter from their solutions engineering team. The full description is available at https://us.pycon.org/2015/schedule/presentation/475/.

The 3:30 PM Wednesday slot features Mark Lavin, Caleb Smith, and David Ray of Caktus Group taking the stage to share their knowledge of RapidSMS and Django. We previously wrote about how they've used SMS while building a voter registration system in Libya, so come see first hand how they do it. The talk is begi…

While the majority of the greater PyCon schedule consists of events that we've had calls for proposals for, there are two other big pieces to the weekend that are organized on-site in Montréal: Lightning Talks and Open Spaces.

Lightning Talks are five minute talks that take place at the beginning and/or end of the day in 30 or 60 minute blocks. We've had some amazing talks packed into such a small slot, either by people who planned them ahead, or even some that were conceived at lunch that day. The Django project was first introduced to the public in a lightning talk at PyCon 2004. Docker was first demoed in a lightning talk at PyCon 2013. It's definitely an event you don't want to miss, and there are five sessions worth of them: one Friday, and two each Saturday and Sunday.

If you're interested in giving a Lightning Talk, be on the lookout for the signup boards near the registration desks that you'll need to get your name onto. Unlike last year, we're not do…

Explore Montréal Sponsored by Caktus Group PyCon 2015 is in the center of an exciting city full of great food, culture, and history. It would be a shame to not check it out while you're in town! In addition to the conference's five tracks of talks, there will be a sixth track – an opportunity for you to explore Montréal. These events are open to all PyCon attendees and those traveling with them to PyCon. 
WhatWhenFree guided tour of Old MontréalFriday April 10h, 10:30am - 1pmFree guided tour of Plateau Mont-RoyalSaturday April 11th, 10:30am - 1pmYour own discovery of Montreal using DucklingSunday April 12th, 10:30am - 1pm
Guided Tour of Old Montréal (Friday) The conference venue is adjacent to Old Montréal, the historical part of the city. This tour will take you through narrow cobblestone streets lined with buildings that date as far back as the 1600s. We'll pass by many souvenir shops, galleries, and restaurants, as well as take in some of Montreal's landmarks. Since …

Our Sponsor Tutorial schedule has come together and we've opened registration on Eventbrite! Running Wednesday and Thursday April 8-9, these free tutorials are offered by several of our generous sponsors. While registration for these tutorials is not required, it helps us plan for food and room size.

Check out the schedule at https://us.pycon.org/2015/schedule/sponsor-tutorials/. Each tutorial is 1.5 hours, and free!

We kick off Wednesday with David Gouldin of Heroku walking through building and deploying applications on Heroku. After lunch, Eric Feng of Dropbox introduces the Dropbox API and will take attendees through authentication to reading and writing files. There are two other open slots on the Wednesday schedule, and we'll update this post once those are known.

Thursday's schedule begins with Steve Downer and Chris Wilcox showing off how to build a Django app on the Microsoft Azure cloud. The folks at Code Climate are going to be talking about a number of important de…

Got a couple of hours to give? PyCon is organized and run by volunteers from the Python community. This year we're looking for over 300 on-site volunteer hours to help make sure everything runs smoothly. Everyone who is attending PyCon is welcome to volunteer, but you must be registered to volunteer. All help is very much appreciated. Thank you! Pro Tip: Sign-up to be a Session Chair or Session Runner – it's a great opportunity to meet the speakers!
VolunteerSign-upWhenSession StaffSession Staff sign-upFri - SunRegistration DeskRegistration sign-upTues - SunHandout Swag BagsSwag handout sign-upFri - SatSwag Bag StuffingJust Show Up! Stuff 10 bags!Thur (3 - 6pm)Tutorial SupportTutorial support / hosts sign-upWed - ThursMiscellaneous HelpMiscellaneous help sign-upTues - Sun
Session StaffVolunteer:Please read and understand the duties before you sign up to be a session chair/runner. Follow the links below for complete descriptions. Session Chairs and Session Runners are present for…