Community/Conference2012

Welcome to the Jsoftware Conference 2012 page.

Jsoftware has set the dates, booked the venue, selected caterers, arranged a banquet, and will manage registrations. The rest is up to you!

How you, and the rest of the community, respond and develop this page will determine the overall tone, details, and success of the conference.

Organizer

Most things will sort out interactively on this page. If you have a question or concern that requires a more direct touch, please email conference organizer Liz Giddens (Liz dot Giddens at jsoftware dot com).

Dates

The conference is July 23/24 (Monday/Tuesday) 2012. Both days start with a continental breakfast at 9am and sessions run to 6pm. The first day ends with an open bar reception and banquet.

Venue

The conference is in Toronto and is held in the Novella and Prologue rooms of The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library.

The Toronto Reference Library is located on Yonge street a short block north of Bloor street and is convenient to transit, hotels, and the Yorkville dining, shopping, and entertainment district.

Catering

Each day starts with a continental breakfast and includes lunch. Beverages and snacks are available throughout the day. The Prologue room is a large, bright area for eating, snacking, relaxing, and small discussion groups. There is direct access to large outdoor balconies.

Banquet

The banquet celebrates J, but is also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Ken Iverson's A Programming Language and the larger legacy of Ken and his colleagues. If Ken influenced you and attending the conference doesn't make sense, and you'd like to celebrate with like minded folk, please join us. Get extra Reception/Banquet tickets and look forward to a great evening.

The banquet will be held in The Panorama Lounge. This restaurant has been voted as having the "best views" and the "best cocktails" in the city! It is located A five minute walk from the Toronto Reference Library on the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre at 55 Bloor St. West. You enter the Manulife Centre, walk past the first escalator and take the second (south) escalator up one floor, then proceed to the second elevator that is dedicated to the Panorama Lounge. Don't forget to bring your camera.

Registration

Register for the conference at Conference 2012. Early registration makes for a better conference and is much appreciated by the conference organizer.

Early (before April 1st)

conference $1000
student $120
extra banquet/reception $120

Late (after April 1st)

conference $1200
student $150
extra banquet/reception $150

50th Anniversary

Ken Iverson's A Programming Language was published in 1962.

The conference includes a brief session in celebration and a display of a signed copy and the pantograph device that Jean Iverson used to create the APL and mathematical glyphs on the drafts and final copy.

New Eyes

Let's get word out beyond the J forum. Post to others you think might be interested. Record your efforts here so we don't duplicate and perhaps to stimulate more ideas.

Posted to comp.lang.apl on 2011-11-16.
Posted to the FinnAPL members on 2012-03-06

Speakers

Speakers are by invitation. If you are interested in speaking, please send a brief message with name and abstract to the conference organizer. There are slots available, but they may go quickly, and you are encouraged to contact us as soon as you can make the commitment to attend.

Speakers must register and pay the registration fee. With a high proportion of attendees speaking it is not possible to have them subsidized by non-speakers.

The following is a preliminary list of speakers and topics.

Baker, John - Writing Portable J Addons
Basum, Christoph von - An Interactive JDB-Application for Analyzing Software Quality Metrics
Bernecky, Bob - Compiled J
Burke, Chris - Source Management in the GTK IDE
Christensen, Gitte - The Business of APL
Costigliola, Thomas - GPU Programming with J and OpenCL
Dykman, Michael - Android J - native build from GPL Source
Garland, Simon - same difference
Harrington - J. Patrick, Prototyping Problems in Astrophysics with J
Hui, Roger - J GPL Source Overview
Iverson, Eric - JD (JDB+) announcement
Kromberg, Morten - Exciting Times for APL
Lathwell, Catherine - APL Array Programming Language Family Documentary
Leibs, David - Escaping from a Groove
Lochbaum, Marshall - Image processing in J
McCormick, Devon - Parallel Simulation in J
Quintana, Pepe - Tacit Programming in Action: A Decade of Experience
Randall, John - Topological Approximations from Point Clouds
Reiter, Cliff - The story of Fractals, Visualization and J
Rich, Henry - Teaching J to Highschool Students
Scholes, John - Dyalog Adoption of J Ideas
Seppälä, Anssi - J in power market applications: load modelling, loss estimation, market data management and statistics
Sherlock, Ric - J and Genomics
Thomas, Dave - Arrays for the Rest of Us
Tuttle, Joey - Memories and Musings of J
Whitney, Arthur - kOS

Attendees

Please add your name to this list (or ask us to) if you are attending the conference and include affiliation, home town and country. Let others know they'll get to see you if they come.

Alis, David - Basel, Switzerland
Baker, John - Programmer MWECC, author of JOD Addon, St. Louis Missouri, USA
Baronet, Dan - Dyalog Ltd., Montreal, Canada
Basum, Christoph von - SAP, Germany
Becker, Brian - Dyalog Ltd., Rochester, New York, USA
Bernecky, Bob - Snake Island Research, Toronto, Canada
Bierly, Ed - Director of software development, Millennium Partners, New York, NY, USA
Bohart, Joe - Campbell & Company, Maryland, USA
Brown, Jim - Director, Platform Engineering, Fiserv Investment Services, Jersey City, NJ, USA
Burke, Chris - Jsoftware and Kx, Hong Kong
Carroll, Doug - Toronto, Canada
Christensen, Gitte - Dyalog Ltd., CEO, Denmark
Costigliola, Thomas - BEST, LLC, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Dykman, Michael - Independent Consultant, Toronto, Canada
Garland, Simon - Kx Systems, Fanas, Switzerland
Giddens, Liz - Jsoftware, Toronto, Canada
Harrington, J. Patrick - Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Hui, Roger - Jsoftware and Dyalog Ltd., Vancouver, Canada
Iverson, Eric - Jsoftware, Toronto, Canada
Jacobs, Adam - 1010data, New York, NY, USA
Kaplan, Joel - 1010data, New York, NY, USA
King, Dan - Toronto, ON, Canada
Kirouac, Gilles - Myriade, Quebec City, QC, Canada
Kromberg, Morten - Dyalog Ltd., CTO, Denmark
Lathwell, Catherine - Toronto, Canada
Leibs, David - Oracle Labs, Redwood Shores, CA, USA
Lettow, Ken - Thomas Publishing Company, New York, NY, USA
Lippu, Esa - Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co., Helsinki, Finland
Lochbaum, Marshall - Freshman at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill studying mathematics and computer science. Former student of Henry Rich. Intern with ThomasNet. USA
McCormick, Devon - Daedalus Strategies, New York, NY, USA
Mitchell, David - Hewlett-Packard, Victor, NY, USA
Neville, Harriett - Victor, NY, USA
Quintana, Pepe - BEAM, LLC, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Randall, John - Rutgers University, Newark NJ, USA
Reiter, Cliff - Lafayette College, Easton, PA, USA
Rich, Henry - Teacher, Raleigh Charter High School, Former engineer and stock trader. Author of J for C Programmers, Raleigh NC, USA
Sawyer, Jorge - Thomas Publishing Company, New York, NY, USA
Scholes, John - Dyalog Ltd., APL language implementor, England
Seppälä, Anssi - Enease Oy, Finland
Sherlock, Ric - Bioinformatician, LIC, New Zealand
Thomas, Dave - Bedarra Research Labs, Ottawa, Canada
Tirrell, Jordan - Thomas Publishing Company, New York, NY, USA
Tirrell, Justin - Student, Intern with ThomasNet
Tuttle, Joey - Independent Consultant, Aptos, California, USA
Whitney, Arthur - Kx Systems, Palo Alto, California, USA

Topics

List topics you would like to learn about or discuss. These could show up in talks or they could be handled by smaller interest groups that take advantage of break times.

Android and iPhone/iPad ports
J GPL source
How will user contributions become part of J.dll in the standard download from Jsoftware?
GPU
Parallel computation
cloud computing
databases
success stories

Schedule

The evolving schedule.

	Monday, July 23
9:00		continental breakfast
9:30	opening session - Jsoftware team
10:00	Burke, Chris - J7 Overview and J iPhone / iPad
10:20	Dykman, Michael - Android J - Native Build from GPL Source
10:40	Iverson, Eric - JD (JDB+) announcement
11:00	break
11:30	Hui, Roger - J GPL Source Overview
11:50	Garland, Simon - same difference
12:10	Whitney, Arthur - kOS
12:30	Rich, Henry - Teaching J to High School Students
1:00	lunch
1:30	lunch
2:00	Costigliola, Thomas - GPU Programming with J and OpenCL
2:30	Quintana, Pepe - Tacit Programming in Action: A Decade of Experience
3:00	break
3:30	Seppälä, Anssi - J in power market applications
4:00	Basum, Christoph von - Interactive JDB - Analyzing Software Quality Metrics
4:30	break
5:00	Leibs, David - Escaping from a Groove
5:30	Lathwell, Catherine - APL Array Programming Language Family Documentary
6:00	banquet - Panorama Lounge
12:00	banquet - Panorama Lounge

	Tuesday, July 23
9:00		continental breakfast
9:30	Tuttle, Joey - Memories and Musings of J
10:00	Lochbaum, Marshall - Image processing in J
10:30	McCormick, Devon - Parallel Simulation in J
11:00	break
11:30	Baker, John - Writing Portable J Addons
11:50	Kromberg, Morten - File:Exciting Times for APL - J Conference - Toronto July 2012.pdf
12:10	Christensen, Gitte - The Business of APL
12:30	Scholes, John - Dyalog Adoption of J Ideas
12:50	Bernecky, Bob - Compiled J
1:10	lunch
1:30	lunch
2:00	Reiter, Cliff - The story of Fractals, Visualization and J
2:30	Randall, John - Topological Approximations from Point Clouds
3:00	break
3:30	Harrington, J. Patrick - Prototyping Problems in Astrophysics with J
4:00	Sherlock, Ric - File:Document J Scripts.pdf
4:30	break
5:00	Thomas, Dave - Arrays for the Rest of Us
5:30	Jsoftware team - Closing comments

Accommodations

Neither the venue nor banquet is in a hotel, so there are no special arrangements with a particular hotel. There are many hotels within easy walking distance of the TRL. Post what you find here as a guide to others. In particular, good finds that are inexpensive, such as hostels and university residences would be helpful.

Inexpensive accommodation is available at New College residence halls at the University of Toronto. Daily rates for short term stays are $42 for a single and $63 for a double ($38 and $52.50 for students). Google maps says that New College is 2.2 km or a 27 minute walk from the conference venue.
Another option is at Ryerson University Summer Accommodation. Daily rates for the International Living Learning Centre Residence are $84 for bed and breakfast. Google maps indicates a 25 minute walk to conference venue. Pitman Hall is $54 for bed and breakfast with a shared bathroom, or $69 with a private bathroom. Google walking time is 22 minutes.

Comments

Toronto - Things to Do and See

The Beaches (also known as The Beach)
You can stroll along the boardwalk, sit in the shady parks or explore the shops and restaurants of Queen Street East.
Getting there: Streetcar - 501 East from downtown Toronto to Woodbine Avenue. Subway - Bloor-Danforth line East to Woodbine Subway then take the Woodbine bus Route 92 south down Woodbine to Queen Street.

High Park
Toronto’s largest park. There are formal gardens and woodland trails and The Grenadier Cafe has light meals and ice cream. The intrepid traveller can follow a trail along Grenadier Pond, south across Lakeshore Blvd. under the Gardiner Expressway and come to the lake with the Martin Goodman trail and board walk. If you follow this west you will find butterfly gardens and the Humber River. East will take you towards downtown Toronto.
Getting there: Subway - west along Bloor Danforth line to the High Park Subway then walk south. Streetcar - 506 Carlton/College west to the High park loop at Parkside Drive

Harbourfront
There are waterfront bars and restaurants, shops, a variety of programs at The Power Plant Gallery and York Quay Centre as well as ongoing outdoor shows and events. It’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon or evening. Harbourfront
Getting there: From Union Station - (look for Harbourfront signs) and take the 509 Exhibition or 510 Spadina streetcar, get off at the third stop, directly in front of Harbourfront Centre. From Spadina Station take the 510 streetcar south.

Kensington Market
Just west of downtown and pulsating with energy, Kensington Market has lots of open air stalls, places to eat and drink and stores selling everything from vintage clothing to bicycles. Baldwin Street is also worth a visit, it is packed with restaurants and cafes and runs east from Spadina and south of College
Getting there: From the Bloor subway get off at Bathurst or Spadina and take the streetcar south to College. The market area is between Dundas and College and Bathurst and Spadina.

Ossington and Dundas West
This is where the hippest of the hip come to eat. Try to get a table at The Black Hoof on Dundas West or Foxleys or Pizzeria Libretto on Ossington. You can dance to rockabilly bands at the Dakota Tavern or sit and watch and listen to music at The Painted Lady or The Communisit’s Daughter.
Getting there: Subway - get off at Ossington on the Bloor subway and take the 63 bus south to College or Dundas west.

Toronto Islands
A 10 minute ferry ride from the foot of Yonge Street gives you a fabulous panorama of the city and miles of parkland with beaches, and boat, canoe and bicycle rentals. It is a wonderful place to take a picnic or enjoy a meal at The Rectory Cafe on Wards Island.
Getting there: Ferries leave evey 10 minutes from the Ferry Docks. The 509 or 510 streetcar south from Union subway station takes you to the Ferry Docks in a few minutes

Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)
In addition to the main collection there is an exhibit of Picasso masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso.
Getting there: subway - get off at St. Patrick station on the University line and walk west along Dundas to 317 Dundas St. W Streetcar - take the 505 Dundas streetcar from the East and get off at McCaul Street.

Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)
You can explore themed galleries with over 6 million objects in the museum’s collection spanning world cultures and natural history.
Getting there: subway - Museum stop on the Yonge/University Line.

The Gardiner Museum
An amazing display of ceramic from the Ancient Americas through to Asian and European collections.
Getting there: subway - get off at Museum on the Yonge /University line

Philosopher’s Walk Take a break from the the noise and hubbub of downtown Toronto. The entrance is on the southwest corner of Bloor Street West and Avenue Road, just west of the ROM. It is a tranquil walk running south through the Univeristy of Toronto campus.

Interesting Destinations near Toronto

Niagara Falls
In case it is on your bucket list, here is a link: Niagara Falls

Stratford
This is a lovely Victorian town filled with culture and scenic parkland complete with swans along the River Avon (no you are not in England). It is famous for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, North America's largest repertory theatre. It is an easy 2 hour drive or train ride from Toronto and there are many fine restaurants and B&Bs. The festival web site has links to accommodations, dining and travel.

Niagara on the Lake
This is another festival town on the shores of Lake Ontario. There are four theatres at the Shaw Festival which celebrates the work of George Bernard Shaw and playwrights anywhere in the world writing during, or about, the era of Shaw's lifetime. It is situated near some of Ontario's best vineyards and there are many fine wineries to visit, restaurants and beautiful B&Bs and hotels. We can highly recommend The Stone Road Grille, you will need reservations.

Elora
About 1.5 hours from Toronto is the village of Elora. The limestone houses were built along the Elora gorge in the 1800s and today have been converted into galleries, antiques stores and artists studios. If you would like something a little more exciting there is a spectacular walk along the Elora Gorge or you could try tubing or canoeing the Grand River.

Prince Edward County
Prince Edward County is two hours east of Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario. There are lovely beaches and a boardwalk trail at Sand Banks Provincial Park as well as wineries, restaurants and charming historic towns. We can also recommend The County Cider Company. There is an outdoor wood burning pizza oven and a lovely view that is perfect accompanied by a Waupoos Cider.

Algonquin Provicial Park
If you have the time and would like to camp, hike, bike, backpack or canoe then you should try to visit Algonquin Park. This link has all the information you will need, from making camp site reservations to renting equipment.

FAQ

Bus 192 runs from the Toronto Pearson International Airport to the Kipling subway station, from which you can take the subway downtown. It runs frequently; it is fast; and it is reliable. Cost: $3.
The meeting room has a Panasonic PT-F100 NTU projector. (Specs and review.)
Public Transportation is managed by the TTC on a system of subways, buses and streetcars. Fares are $3.00 cash or 3 tokens/$7.80. Buses and streetcars require exact cash fare or a token. A weekly unlimited ride pass is $37.50 and a weekend pass is $10.50. This is good for 2 adults and there is unlimited travel on a Saturday or Sunday.