ACCU Cambridge’s next talk will hear Russel Winder Closing the Case for Groovy (and Ruby, and Python).

Synopsis:

Although a few people still insist on using C and C++ for applications (not systems programming, for that C++ is almost certainly the language of choice), some even use Java or C#, the majority of the wise are moving to Python, Ruby and Groovy — the (popular) dynamic programming languages. Why eschew strong typing in favour of duck typing? Expressivity. The dynamic programming languages allow algorithms to expressed in less code, and as we know, “less is more”.

The triumvirate of Ruby, Groovy and Python actually split into two camps: those that have closures (Ruby and Groovy), and those that would like them (Python). Closures are not new: Scheme, Smalltalk, etc. have had them for ages, but they do represent the next stage of evolution of programming. Witness the rush to get closure included in Java 7.0.

This session will be something of a compare and contrast of the languages to try and tease out why Python, Ruby and Groovy have become “The Next Big Thing” in programming, and why closures are causing such a stir.

The talk will take place on 4th October at DisplayLink, Cambridge and will start at 19:00. You don’t have to be an ACCU member to attend. Visit the ACCU Cambridge page for more information (and to preregister).