Sunday 14th March 2010

The Debconf team is excited to announce that we are now accepting proposals for contributions to this year’s Debian conference! We invite you to submit proposals for how you would contribute until the deadline: May 1st, 2010, 23h59 UTC.

There are many ways you can contribute, you could present a technical paper, host a panel discussion, put on a tutorial, do a performance, an art installation, a debate, host a meeting (BoFs, or Birds of a Feather Session), or other possibilities that you devise. This year we are also accepting proposals for tracks—a thematic grouping around a particular subject, and people to coordinate those tracks. If you are looking for ideas of things that you could contribute, or have ideas for things that you would like to see happen at Debconf, have a look at the Contribution Brainstorm page.

DebConf talks will be broadcast live on the Internet where possible, unless otherwise requested. Videos of the talks will be published on the web along with the presentation slides and papers.

Step 1. Submit Proposal

Proposals should provide an overview of your proposed contribution, similar to an abstract, and be no more than 600 words. Since contributions can cover a range of issues, please describe what your proposal covers, be it political (Free Software, law, advocacy, access, etc.), technical (d-i, OpenPGP, etc.), social (Debian structures and groups). It’s okay to hit all three of these. Your proposal should also include some information on why you’re qualified to present, or coordinate this topic. For example, you can include links to posts you have made to Debian mailing lists or other material that indicates your qualifications. Proposals and their abstracts will be accepted until May 1st, 2010, 23h59 UTC.

To submit your proposal, go to http://debconf10.debconf.org/register.xhtml and register as an attendee. Once you are registered, there is a “Submit a proposal” link. You will see your proposal on the site. You can choose between different presentation types. If you are unsure what type you should use, please read our definitions first. If it’s not there for some reason, or you have questions, please contact us immediately.

Step 2. Committee Review

The review committee for this year will make its decision by May 1st, 2010. All correspondence will be done by email.

Step 3. Paper Submission

Like last year, we are asking for papers to be submitted along with the presentations. A full paper is optional, however we strongly encourage you to submit one if possible as we intend to provide written information along with transcripts of the sessions for later viewing. Having written papers in advance will allow us to get translations done to help non-native-English speakers feel more comfortable with the topics presented. Papers are due by July 1st, 2010, and should cover the topic in reasonable depth (3 pages A4 text, plus pictures and diagrams). We will use LaTeX to typeset the proceedings. Please submit your paper formatted in LaTeX. Should you be unfamiliar with LaTeX earlier submission in plain text is also fine.

Step 4. Live Presentation

Longer presentations may have a break in the middle and should include workshop items that directly involve the participants. If using slides or any other presentation, please consider that your audience will consist of people who use free software, and your choice of application to prepare and display the slides should reflect this if at all possible.

Fine Print Publication Rights

Debconf requires non-exclusive publication rights to papers, presentations, and any additional handouts or audio/visual materials used in conjunction with the presentation. The authors have the freedom to pick a DFSG-free license for the papers themselves and retain all copyrights. The presentations will be recorded, and may be broadcast over the Internet. Any copies of the presentation will be made available under a license like the MIT/X11 license.

Failure to Submit

In the event that a deadline is missed we reserve the right to revoke any offer to present.

It is a little later than we wanted but here it finally is: Debconf10 call for contributions. Do read as it has some new ideas, categories, and prospects. Also make sure to share with us on the brainstorming page.

Today is day 2 of my 7 day photo challenge, so here is todays shot of a glass of red wine.

It was quite interesting trying to find something to shot for today, I tried several things but I eventually decided on this glass of red wine.

I'm collecting information (or at least links) about functional programming languages on the the JVM. I'm going to intentionally leave "functional programming language" undefined here, so that people can have fun debating :).

Functional Languages

• scala
• clojure
• CAL
• sisc
• OCaml
• Fantom

Languages with functional features

• jruby
• jython
• javascript

Projects and rumours.

• There has been discussion about making the jhc target the jvm. They both start with 'j', so that is hopeful.

• Java itself may (soon? eventually?) support closures

While writing the post about performance, I got interested in Template Haskell, specially in the $(lift) construction.  Investigating a little bit about it, I got to the following code:

{-# LANGUAGE TemplateHaskell #-}

import Language.Haskell.TH.Syntax
import X

main :: IO ()
main = print $(lift $ x)

With X.hs:

module X where

import System.IO.Unsafe

x :: Int
x = read $ unsafePerformIO $ putStr "Number: " >> getLine

The result was a surprise to me. It asked for the number in compilation time.

$ ghc --make main
[2 of 2] Compiling Main             ( main.hs, main.o )
Loading package ghc-prim ... linking ... done.
Loading package integer-gmp ... linking ... done.
Loading package base ... linking ... done.
Loading package array-0.3.0.0 ... linking ... done.
Loading package containers-0.3.0.0 ... linking ... done.
Loading package pretty-1.0.1.1 ... linking ... done.
Loading package template-haskell ... linking ... done.
Number: 5
Linking main ...
marcot@zezinho:~/codigo/haskell$ ./main
5

That’s right: I am taking the train uptown to my old romping ground, Columbia University, for Debconf10. I am supremely and superbly excited as I tend to really like these events, so much so, that I am also pretty involved with the organizing team.

For those on the edge of a decision, here are a few thoughts that might push you toward the edge of “f*ck yea, I am gonna go!”

So one important, one of the MOST important parts of the conf is the venue and Columbia University is a fantabulous venue. In fact, it is the only great venue, imho, in all of Manhattan so I was pretty thrilled (and relieved) to hear that it was secured.

It is an oasis in an otherwise bustling city. And better, a compact oasis where everything is nestled and close to each other, within like 3 minutes walking distance of each other. Even better is that the grounds and architecture are quite beautiful and charming. There are these majestic stairs, “the steps” where you can soak in the sun, great lawns for tossing a Frisbee, wonderful and smaller patches of lawn behind old school red brick buildings, and statutes, one of which is great for climbing on to sit and contemplate the day or night or just life, as I used to love to do. It is a great campus for staying up late and watching the sun rise. My fondest times was when the campus was blanketed under a mountain of snow, but it is pretty nice over the summer as well.

We have also secured an all night hack lab, which is a pretty essential touch.

We are also thinking beyond the venue, concocting and expanding ideas for contributions, a great day trip (that will likely not entail a bus but a beach, lots of Russians, roller coasters, and even baseball, oh and lots of NY Kitsch), and there are many other ideas swirling around. We are about to release the call for contributions so you will learn more, including some information on how to brainstorm with us, so be on the look out and remember to register if you’ve made your decision!