Dabeaz

If you've been paying any attention, you've probably noticed programmers talking a lot about multicore, concurrency, distributed computing, parallel programming, and more. If you've ever wanted to know more about how all of this stuff works, then you should come to Chicago and attend my upcoming Python Networks, Concurrency, and Distributed Systems course September 13-17.

Simply stated, this is probably the most intense and in-depth course on this topic you are going to find anywhere--the kind of course where you'll start with the basics and dig deep to see how everything else works under the covers.

If you attend, here's what to expect.

Day 1 (Fundamentals): The first day introduces some fundamental topics including socket programming, encoding/decoding, data handling (XML, JSON, etc.), and aspects of writing HTTP-based web services.

Day 2 (Threads and Multiprocessing): An in-depth look at Python thread programming, multiprocessing, and concurrent programming techniques. This includes knowing how to properly use synchronization primitives (locks, semaphores, etc.) and queues. Naturally, I'll probably say a few things about the GIL.

Day 3 (Serialization, Messaging, and Distributed Computing): Details on data serialization, message passing, message queues, and distributed computation. Major topics include the actor model, remote procedure call (RPC), REST, and distributed objects.

Day 4 (Async, Events, and Tasklets): An in-depth examination of asynchronous and event-driven I/O handling. Part of the coverage will simply be about I/O handling in the operating system. We'll then build some event-driven applications and look at different event-driven programming models. This includes the use of generators and coroutines to implement microthreads or tasklets.

Day 5 (Coding): The last half-day will be spent coding. Possible topics include implementing your own map-reduce library, using third-party libraries (Twisted, Py0MQ, gevent, etc.), or simply working on your own projects.

You should know that my classes are small--no more than 6 people. As a result, there is a significant amount of coding, discussion and interaction. This is not a course where you will simply sit in the back and listen the whole time. For instance, here's a scene from my recent "Advanced Python Mastery" course:

Finally, I should emphasize that you do not need to be an expert in the course topics to attend--in fact, that's the whole point. All you need is a passion for Python and a desire to learn new things. If you come, you'll have a great time.

More information on the upcoming course can be found here. Hopefully I'll see you in a future class.

posted by Dave Beazley  # 7:39 AM