Random Interview: Wesley Chun

What's your name and what do you do?

My name is Wesley Chun. By day, i'm a Developer Advocate at Google representing all of our cloud technologies like Google App Engine.

After work, I'm a Python advocate, having used Python for 15 years, writing 3 Python books, and teaching numerous Python training courses.

How did you start using Python?

I first learned Python early in 1997 at a small company called Four11. We built the web's second web-based email system. it was called RocketMail, but most people know it by its name after our acquisition by Yahoo! yes, it was and is still called Yahoo!Mail today!

Name one Python feature you wouldn't live without.

The interactive interpreter is an invaluable tool, whether you learned Python 1.4 back in 1997 or Python 3.2 today. it also doesn't matter whether you use the standard one that comes with Python or newer and more advanced shells like IPython and bpython.

What is your talk/training about?

I'm giving 5 talks at EuroPython this year! i wasn't sure how popular the talks were going to be, and i submitted a total of 7 talks this year with the hope that one of them gets accepted!

Writing Books using Python & Open Source Software - this talk is about how the tools we use to write applications can also be used for authors to create books with.

Python 3: the Next Generation (is here already) - Python 3 has been out for 2.5 years now, but most of the world still runs on Python 2. Why, and when will adoption of Python 3 be complete?

Using Python in Software for the Medical Industry - this talk is based on the experiences i had years ago writing software for doctors. yes, Python can be used for apps to help analyze patients with spinal fractures.

Python 103: Mmmm... Understanding Python's Memory Model, Mutability, and Methods - let's say you've coded Python for 1-3 years now. you know the syntax and can make your way around. however, there is still code out there that puzzles you, code that *seems* absolutely correct but still doesn't do exactly what you want. we try to reveal the secrets here.

What is Google App Engine? - many people still have not heard about this revolutionary cloud-based application development and hosting platform. this talk gives a quick intro to cloud computing and where App Engine fits into this new way of thinking.

Tease us with one secret that will be revealed during your talk/training

In the writing books talk, i'll reveal the tools the 3 authors used to write the book, "Python Web Development with Django"

Name another talk you wouldn't miss in the same track on the same day, and why.

This one is hard. because i'm giving so many talks, this takes away from the time for me *going* to talks. however, I wouldn't miss the keynotes by Alex Martelli and Raymond Hettinger.

Name another training that you wouldn't miss at EuroPython.

I would love to attend Raymond's advanced python training, or the functional programming one or the one on MongoDB.

What would you tell someone who is still in doubt whether to register to EuroPython or not?

This is the biggest Python event in Europe, so you *shouldn't* miss it. the fact that it is in Florence makes that even *more* so! :-)

Next Interview Online: May 24th.