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.