My PyCon US 2025 - How'd it go?
Hey y'all! I know it's been a while since my last post (cough, years), so I'm hoping this post will be the first of many to come in the next few months. Let's get started!
"What's a PyCon?"
PyCon US is an annual conference in the U.S. about all things Python, the world's most common programming language. Python is revered for being easy to get started with while being a highly capable and powerful language. As such, PyCon attracts a diverse set of attendees, from people who have never written a line of code in their lives (yes, really!) to members of the core maintainer team. Even Guido van Rossum. creator of Python, attends every year! There are keynotes from prominent community members, tutorials, workshops, and impromptu social gatherings of people with similar interests!
Why I was There
A friend of mine, Peter, is currently a member of the triage team and attended so he could meet all the people he'd been talking to as part of his position. He invited me to attend, and despite being not much more than an intermediate Python user, I couldn't say no!
The List
In no particular order, here's some cool things that happened:
- Made my first pull request to Python, where I clarified the documentation on the JSON module, under the instruction of a core team member
- Attended a tutorial on comprehensions and one on re-implementing
itertools- both were very educational and interesting! - Got a list of things to do for improving the Python docs
- Made a second PR to the Python devguide
- Learned a new card game, Cabo
- Went to this really strange breakfast-only vegan place, Viridis, which had incredible food
- Did a lot of networking, met lots of cool people!
- Made eye contact with Guido for less than a second while walking past him - He was busy talking with other people and I was walking with someone, but it was still cool!
Would I do it again?
YES! It was a great time, and I'm so glad I went! Big thanks to the team behind PyCon, and thank you for reading!
Until next time,
Micha
