Coder Nights

Thursday 7th November at 7pm will be Coder Night (and every 2 weeks after)

8395923694_63ddba89f1Photo by iLikeSpoons on Flickr

 

Starting this Thursday we’re bringing coding nights back to Tog!

For our first night its going to be a casual affair, with no speakers or projects or prescribed idea of what we’re going to do. It will be much like the lock picking and crafting nights, with a meet-up of people interested in programming as a general topic.

If you are knowledgable in a particular framework or language, it’d be great if you could come along and lend a hand if somebody has any questions.

There is no language favouritism, there’ll be people attending with Python, Objective-C, Java, Javascript, C#, C++, UnityScript (Unity3D), and many other tools and languages.

I will personally be working on a mobile app for Tog for both iOS (Objective-C) and Android (Java), but you can come along with whatever project you have in mind, or none at all.

We’ll be using the first few nights to figure out how people want these nights to be, whether they should be project based, or remain very much a casual affair. So please come along if you have some ideas, or just to chill out with fellow would-be and expert coders.

3D Printer Reprep Code Improvement

220px-RepRap_'Mendel' SmartController

On Saturday 5th of October from 2pm-6pm TOG is holding a 3D Printer Arduino code improvement day.

3D printers are all the rage at the moment. However they are not without their faults and some of the budget, hobbiest models could do with an improvement or two.

The aim of the afternoon will be to improve the Reprap code to add extra features.
The stand alone reprap uses an Arduino based stand controller to print without needing a computer connected.

A second project would be to add bluetooth wireless operation.

The controller being used is:
http://reprap.org/wiki/RUMBA

The display is:

http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRapDiscount_Smart_Controller

and the code is:
https://github.com/ErikZalm/Marlin/tags

http://reprap.org/

Whoever works on the project will be given access to a working Reprap with all the hardware for testing the setup. There may be a budget for the time involved if working on the code after the first day. The main plan for the day is to specify what changes need to be made.

No need to book, just show up. Anyone with an interest in 3D printing is welcome. While the event is free we will be asking for donations to cover the hosting costs.

International Space Apps Challenge

On the 21st to 22nd of April, TOG will host the Dublin base for the International Space Apps Challenge.

The International Space Apps Challenge is a two day event that will be taking place all over the world and off world (on the International Space Station). The event is aimed at solving global problems through collaboration both at the local and international level.

There are four main categories of challenges: software, open hardware, citizen science, and data visualisation. You can collaborate on one of the listed challenges or you can propose your own challenge for people to collaborate on.

You can register to take part in the event at http://spaceappschallenge.org/location/tog. TOG will be open for the duration of the event, and if you have any questions, please post a comment.

Note: This a free two day (or overnight) event. Please only register if you can attend both days as the number of places are limited. You can also register if you can only make one day or part of the day.

The plan is to start at 12:00 (noon) on Saturday. We are collecting useful information about our activities here

Unity3D Development Workshop

Unity is a fantastic tool/engine for game development, but what’s not obvious when developing it is the best methods for developing the game code.

Coming from a programming background, Unity can be quiet confusing. The idea of attaching components to objects in order to add functionality is easy to grasp and makes creating small games fast any easy, but what about larger and more complex games?

The Dublin Unity3D Development Workshop is designed to compliment the Dublin Unity3D Development Discussion, which occured in January. Instead of talking about development methods and patterns we’ll be using them to create a game.

 

I’ll be bring assets and (some) scripts, we’ll use them to build a game. Rather than following a set plan we’ll be “winging it” and each person will be encouraged to make theirs unique, trying different things to see what happens. The goal isn’t to create a full game, it is to understand how you might go about doing that.
Some of the things we’ll be covering are:

  • Using design patterns in Unity to structure code:
    • Singleton – For instantiating a single Scene Manager
    • State – For GameStates which encapsulate logic/code for each scene
    • Observer – Having components/classes subscribe to event notices
    • Object Pool – Limiting instantiations of GameObjects to reduce garbage collection (improve performance)
  • Version control

Continue reading “Unity3D Development Workshop”

PHP + MySQL intensive weekend-class

Hey there eager programmers!

Interested in learning a new programming language or in freshening up your rusty skills? Here is your chance! A whole weekend of PHP and MySQL fun is awaiting you.

When is all the coding happening, you ask?

Friday, 2nd of Dec – 7.30pm till 10pm
Saturday, 3rd of Dec – 1pm till 6pm
Sunday, 4th of Dec – 1pm till 6pm

3 days, 10 hours (excl. breaks)

Continue reading “PHP + MySQL intensive weekend-class”

Ubuntu Global Jam!

There’ll be an Ubuntu Global Jam on in TOG on Saturday 3rd September 2011, starting at about 10:00am. The event is open to members & non-members. It’s a chance to learn about how to contribute to ubuntu, both from bug fixes, testing, translations, documentation etc. It’s open to people of all skill levels.

If you were interested in Julie’s recent lightening talk about making your first open source contribution, then could be a practical introduction.

If you want to help work on ubuntu and already know how to do it, then you can come along and meet like minded people!

More info:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGlobalJam
http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/ubuntu-ie/1211/detail/